Development and characterisation of gluten‐free fresh pasta using teff, rice, and buckwheat flours enhanced with thermal waters: a mixture design approach

To meet the demand for gluten-free (GF) products, this study developed artisanal fresh pasta using teff, rice, and buckwheat flours, enhanced with mineral-rich thermal waters (TW). A mixture design approach optimised flour proportions to balance texture, cooking time, water absorption, and cooking loss, along with functional properties such as total phenolic compounds (TPC) and antioxidant activity. Two promising formulations were identified: 36.3 g buckwheat, 9.35 g rice, and 9.35 g teff; and 27.5 g teff and 27.5 g buckwheat. These formulations, with and without TW, were evaluated for chemical, technological, microbiological, and functional attributes. The pasta had satisfactory technological properties, macronutrient levels comparable to standard pasta, and was rich in phenolic compounds with antioxidant activity. Ca, Zn, Fe, K, and Mn were predominant, although TW incorporation did not significantly affect their levels in the samples. All formulations showed microbiological stability for at least 3 days at 4 °C. The authors are grateful to the Fundação “La Caixa” for the financial support through Project “Aquae Vitae - Água Termal como fonte de vida e Saúde”, Promove Mobilizador “O futuro do Interior”, call 2020. This work was also supported by national funds from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT/MCTES - PIDDAC) through the base funding UIDB/00690/ 2020 (DOI: 10.54499/UIDB/00690/2020) and UIDP/ 00690/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/UIDP/00690/2020); and from SusTEC (Associate Laboratory for Sustainability and Technology in Mountains Region), LA/P/0007/ 2020 (DOI: 10.54499/LA/P/0007/2020). L. Barros and S. A. Heleno thank FCT through the institutional scientific employment program–contract for their contracts. T. Silveira, thanks to Fundação BPI La Caixa, within the project titled “AquaeVitae”, for her research contract. A. Lemos acknowledges national public funding through “Investimento RE-C05-i02 – Missão Interface N.° 01/C05-i02/2022”, a project supported under the PRR (www.recuperarportugal. gov.pt), and financed by the European Union program called Next Generation EU.