Effect of baking on nutritional properties of starch in organic spelt whole grain products

Consumers of organic spelt food products claim health benefits or sense of well-being from their consumption as opposed to consumption of common wheat products. This study was designed to help clarify the validity of such claims through the evaluation of nutritional properties of starch in a variety of organic spelt products, including breads, biscuits, cookies and muffins, in comparison with their respective common wheat products. Three fermented bread products, namely, yeast leavened, sour and yeast/sour dough were evaluated. Rate and extent of starch digestion were based on the measurement of starch digestion index (SDI) and rapidly available glucose (RAG). The commercial spelt variety used contained approximately eight to ten fold the amount of resistant starch (RS) as compared to common wheat, averaging 3.7% versus 0.4%, and exhibited lower SDI and RAG values. This is the first report to demonstrate high content of RS in spelt. After mixing and fermentation, RS, SDI and RAG reduced, but were still higher in spelt doughs and batters than in those of common wheat. After baking, slight differences were observed in rate and extent of starch digestion between spelt and common wheat baked products. The study showed that differences among baked products were more pronounced than those between spelt and common wheat products.