With the objective of offering a product for people with celiac disease, due to their gluten intolerance, gluten-free bread made with rice flour was elaborated, in substitution of the wheat flour. To increase the protein content of the bread, dried Spirulina platensis, a microalga, was added to the products in the range from 2 to 5% (flour basis). The bread samples were evaluated according to their specific volume (V/W), crumb hardness, measured with a texturometer, and the crumb color. It was shown that the specific volume and crumb hardness were not affected by the addition of up to 4% of alga, but a decrease of 22% in the volume and an increase of 113% in crumb hardness of the bread were noted with the addition of 5%. The addition of Spirulina resulted in products with improved nutritional quality, with a significant increase of 39.04% in the protein content as well as of some essential amino acids (threonine, methionine, isoleucine and leucine), when compared to bread without the addition of the alga. With respect to color, the bread with Spirulina showed a decrease in luminosity with increase in the addition of the alga and a displacement of the hue angle towards a green color. With respect to the sensory evaluation, no significant difference was found between the bread with 3 and 5% of Spirulina in the formulation.
celiac; Spirulina platensis; protein enrichment
