Effect of incorporation of solid-state fermented edible insects Tenebrio molitor and Sphenarium purpurascens with Aspergillus oryzae in the elaboration of bread

Interest in incorporating edible insects into the diet is increasing due to their nutritional content. The most critical challenges are related to the low acceptability of the consumer due to changes in taste, color, and textural properties of the final product when edible insect flour is added. This work proposes solid-state fermentation (SSF) as a strategy to improve its use in food formulations. Fermented and unfermented insect meal were chemically and techno-functionally characterized and used to produce bread to evaluate the effect of ingredients added. Freeze-dried insect powder was inoculated with A. oryzae and incubated at 30 °C for four days. For bread making, unfermented and fermented substrates were tested using 5% of wheat flour substitution. Rheological characterization of dough and physical, chemical, textural, and sensory analysis of bread were performed. Fermentation improved the texture and sensory analysis of S. purpurascens used on bread and the rheological properties of dough in comparison with the non-fermented insect. Additionally, the protein content of bread was increased compared to the control. Results of the present study support that solid-state fermentation of S. purpurascens can be used to improve bread's sensory properties and enhance its nutritional content. [Display omitted] •Solid-sated fermentation (SSF) with Aspergillus oryzae increased protein content of T. molitor and S. purpurascens.•SSF of S. purpurascens improved texture and sensory analysis of bread in comparison with the non-fermented insect.•SSF of S. purpurascens improved rheological properties of dough in comparison with the non-fermented insect.•SSF of edible insects could be used as a strategy to improve sensorial properties of bread and enhance nutritional content.•No significant differences on sensory, rheology and texture analysis were found when SSF of T. molitor was performed.