Cowpea Flour in Bread Reduces Volume but Boosts Nutrition and Acceptability.
Blending cowpea flour with wheat flour at different levels affects the protein, fiber, fat, and ash contents of the composite flour. Increasing cowpea flour levels also impact the dough characteristics and bread quality. Higher cowpea flour levels result in decreased gluten content and bread volume, while increasing loaf weight. The sensory characteristics of the bread are also affected, with acceptability decreasing at higher cowpea flour levels due to a more compact bread structure. However, substituting up to 10% of wheat flour with cowpea flour still produces acceptable bread.