2. Nutritive value of cereals
The cereal group provides important amounts of most
nutrients (Truswell, 2002) and forms an important part of a bal-anced diet (i.e. one that provides all the food groups in the
nutrition education pyramid or plate and all recommended
dietary intakes). Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is by far the
most important crop for breadmaking because of its supreme
baking performance in comparison with all other cereals.
However, there may also be very good reasons to use other
cereals (Eliasson and Larsson, 1993). The nutritive value of
bread could be increased if, for example, rye (Secale cereale),
barley (Hordeum vulgare) and oats (Avena sativa) are incorpo-rated into the bread formula.