Evaluation of the Technological and Compositional Features of Pancakes Fortified with Acheta Domesticus

This work focused on the nutritional and technological evaluation of pancakes fortified with increasing Acheta domesticus powder (AP) levels. Scientific literature underscores AP's potential as an ingredient in bakery formulations due to its notable fiber and protein content. Thus, we formulated different pancake samples by replacing wheat flour (WF) with 10, 20, and 30% of AP, denoted as AP10, AF 20, and AP30, respectively, alongside a control sample (CP). We evaluated Water Absorption Capacity (WAC) and Water Solubility Index (WSI) on WF, AP, different WF and AP mixes, and batters' rheology. Lastly, we assessed the pancakes' physical, technological, and compositional parameters. The consistency index, flow index, and density increased from CP to AP30. A similar trend was observed for the textural parameter of hardness and chewiness, while cohesiveness slightly decreased. The pancake diameter and height were higher in fortified samples than in CP. A noticeable shift from brighter to darker color was observed from CP to AP30, with an increase in the a* (toward red) and b* parameters (toward blue). AP can represent a valuable ingredient for baked good fortification.