Great part of the food industries in Brazil have found that the key for surviving in the market is the innovation of products. A new trend is the launching of products which besides having high sensorial and nutritional quality, they also present benefits associated with health, and are known as functional food. Among these products are the prebiotics, food ingredients that stimulate the growth and activity of bacteria which are beneficial to the health of the body. The aim of the present work is the development of a functional ready to bake dough for pies using inulin as a prebiotic. The development of this product was based on the tool QFD (Quality Function Deployment), and it was presented as a means to organize the development of new products, especially prototypes. Hence, studies, tests, and analysis suggested by the QFD were undertaken. According to the results of the matrix of quality obtained, it can be said that the characteristics that the consumers attribute as the most important for baking dough are: be functional, do not shatter, have a neutral flavor, and present uniform diameter and thickness. Consequently these characteristics were prioritized during the development of the product. The sensorial analysis indicated that the tasters really enjoyed all the quality attributes of the dough. On the other hand, the QFD proved useful for planning and conducting the necessary activities for the process of developing the product.
development of new products; functional food; inulin; method QFD
