Proximate Analyses of Three Brands of Bread under Different Storage Conditions Available on the Ghanaian Market

Abstract

A study was conducted to evaluate the proximate value of three brands of bread under different package conditions available on the Ghanaian market. Bread samples were analyzed at the Crops Research Institute laboratory in Kumasi for proximate composition (moisture, carbohydrate, crude protein, crude fat, crude ash and crude fibre) of the freshly baked bread and bread of 10 days storage duration. The treatment was a 3×2 factorial with three replicates. Factor A (bread types - wheat, sugar and butter); and factor B (storage condition- refrigeration and ambient). The proximate analyses showed that the raw material for baking the three bread types was composite flour and there was a significant difference between the bread types with regards to carbohydrates, crude protein, crude fibre and ash contents even though the difference in crude protein level between sugar and butter breads were not significant. There was a significant difference (P˃0.05) in the crude fibre content between wheat and butter bread and ash content between wheat, sugar and butter breads. Wheat bread had the highest ash and moisture contents compared with sugar and butter types but there was no significant difference in moisture content between sugar and wheat. Key Words: Proximate, Analysis, Wheat, Sugar, Butter, Bread