Cricket Flour Makes Really Good Gluten-Free Bread

Celiac.com 07/28/2020 - Insects offer an edible, high protein alternative to traditional animal-based foods. Insects are consumed in many cultures, but are less commonly eaten in western cultures. One way around that is to produce goods using flour made from dried crickets. A team of researchers has been evaluating ways to use cricket flour effectively to create high quality gluten-free products that are also high protein, and rich in antioxidants.

The research team included Lorenzo Nissen, Seyedeh Parya Samaei, Elena Babini, and Andrea Gianottia. They are variously affiliated with the Interdepartmental Centre of Agri-Food Industrial Research (CIRI), Alma Mater Studiorum at the University of Bologna in Cesena, Italy; the Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (DISTAL), Alma Mater Studiorum at the University of Bologna, Piazza Goidanich in Cesena, Italy.

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The team fermented doughs using different methods, pH, microbial growth, volatile compounds, protein profile, and antioxidant activity, before and after baking. They then assessed the results against standard gluten-free doughs. They found that the fermentation processes was similar for both cricket-enriched doughs and standard sourdoughs. 

Cricket flour gave the breads a typical bread flavor profile, marked by a unique aroma that is the result of different levels of volatile compounds, including various amounts of nonanoic acid, 2,4-nonadienal (E,E), 1-hexanol, 1-heptanol, and 3-octen-2-one, depending how the dough was prepared. 

Finally, antioxidant activities were significantly enhanced in cricket breads, indicating that cricket powder offers gluten-free bakers a way to create flour that is high in protein and antioxidants, and yields high-quality baked products with a desirable aroma.

Could flour made with cricket flour become the go-to product for creating gluten-free breads that are nutritious and delicious? Would you try it? Let us know in the comments below.

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