The aim of this work was to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of cassava flour in bread
making, and the sensory acceptability of the final product. Different baking trials were carried
out by using egg white and extra-virgin olive oil, in consideration of their high nutritional
value with respect to other food additives (i.e., hydrocolloids). Significant (p < 0.05)
improvements of loaf specific volume (from 2.24 to 3.93 mL/g) and crumb firmness (from
9.14 to 4.67 N) were achieved by contemporarily including egg white and extra-virgin olive
oil in the formulation. Cassava breads containing both these ingredients obtained the best
scores from panelists for all the test breads examined and resulted attractive as the wheat
bread prepared as reference.
A significant improvement of the sensory characteristics of gluten-free bread was
achieved by contemporarily adding egg white and extra-virgin olive oil to the cassava
bread formulation. The breads developed containing both these ingredients showed an
improved loaf volume with a softer texture, a more regular crumb structure and reduced
gumminess, compared with pure cassava bread. As a consequence, they obtained the best
scores from panelists and resulted as attractive as wheat bread. These results demonstrated
that nutritious and palatable gluten-free cassava breads, suitable for the diet of celiac
patients, can be produced by using egg white and extra-virgin olive oil, even in the
absence of hydrocolloids and industrial improvers.