Taking into Account Upstream Variability of Flours with Processing Variables in Legume-Enriched Soft Cakes: Conception of a Multiobjective Model for the Monitoring of Physical Properties

The use of composite wheat-pea flours is of nutritional interest because their essential amino acid profile is closer to human needs than that of wheat alone. However, composite flours might be more variable than wheat flour alone, so manufacturers need to be able to monitor the quality of the cakes. The effects of the quality of the raw material and cake manufacturing process variables on cake density and shape and crumb color, texture, and cell structure were studied. An experimental design with seven flour quality and processing variables was implemented (56 trials). A multiobjective model was built, and its prediction capacity was validated. It is able to compensate for variations in flour quality by adjusting the levels of the processing variables.