The use of malted sorghum in biscuit production

Abstract

Sorghum is abundant in Nigeria and the use of sorghum flour in biscuit production will effectively bring down cost of biscuits in Nigeria markets. This study investigated the use of malted sorghum in biscuit production and also the microorganisms involved in the spoilage of these biscuits. Biscuits were produced from malted sorghum flour, wheat flour and a blend of malted sorghum flour and wheat flour in a 50:50 proportion. Biscuits produced from wheat flour appeared yellowish after baking and tasted like cheese. Biscuits produced from absolute malted sorghum flour appeared brownish and had fishy taste. Biscuits produced from 50:50 blend of malted sorghum flour and wheat flour appeared a little brownish after baking and had a fishy taste. All the biscuits had crispy texture.  The spoilage microorganisms for the different produced biscuits are investigated. The fungi analysis showed that Aspergillus sp., Rhizopus sp., Penicillium sp., Candida sp. and Saccharomyces cerevisae which were associated with spoilage of produced biscuits. The study showed that biscuits of acceptable quality can be produced using malted sorghum flour and can be made available in Nigeria markets at cheaper rates.