Influence of mechanical activation of starch using planetary ball milling on the development of little millet gluten free bread.

Planetary ball milling is a simple and cost-effective green technology to mechanically activate starch. In the
present study, little millet flour (LMF) was ball milled (BMF) and substituted in different amounts from 5 to 25 g/
100 g in LMF. Herein, flour morphology, functional properties, batter rheology, bread physical and sensorial
characteristics were investigated. Ball milling improved the ultrafine flour content (<40 μ) by 56.58 %. Flour
microstructure revealed that mechanical activation structurally altered the starch granules and protein crosslinks
leading to increased damaged starch content. In thermogravimetry, BMF (89.98 %) showed highest mass change
than LMF (88.34 %) due to larger surface area. Also, BMF substitution significantly improved the water absorption
(41.8 %), swelling power (93.77 %) and solubility (30.28 %), whereas gelatinization temperature, peak
viscosity and enthalpy reduced signifying faster gelatinization. The XRD pattern and FT-IR spectra (1047/1022
cm