Demand-Driven Technologies for Sustainable Maize ... - IITA

456considerably and this is attributable to genetic factors, environmentalinfl uences, level of agronomic practices during production (for example,fertilizer application), degree of milling and storage conditions (FAO1993). With the continuous release of maize cultivars, by researchstations, it is essential to determine the quality characteristics of newcultivars in order to assess their potential for domestic, small-scaleand industrial uses. Several reviews of the literature on cereal fl ourproduction have been published (Watson 1984; Munck 1995 interalia) and wet-milling has been found to be the most frequently usedprocessing technique in northern Cameroon. Maize fl our obtainedby this semi-mechanized method is usually processed into couscous(semolina or thick paste) and porridges (Ndjouenkeu et al. 1989).Although different types of fried dough products consumed daily inCameroon (such as Makala, Cen-cen, Taara-pott-en, Wardi, Wayna)have been described (Lopez 1996), information on use of compositefl ours in the preparation of these products are lacking. The objectives ofthis study were to evaluate the effects of (i) wheat fl our replacement bymaize fl our and (ii) differences among fl ours made from Cameroonianimproved maize cultivars on the properties of Makala.Materials and MethodsMaize grain and wheat flour sourceGrain samples from four maize cultivars (CMS 8806, CMS 8501,CMS 9015 and CMS 8704), obtained from the Institute of AgriculturalResearch for Development (IRAD) in Garoua, Cameroon, wereanalyzed in this study. These cultivars were grown under the sameenvironmental conditions and fertilizer rates. Commercial baker’swheat fl our (12% protein), sugar, salt and vegetable oil were purchasedfrom the local market.Pre-treatment of grains and production of maize floursFlours were produced from the maize cultivars as illustrated in Figure1a (Ndjouenkeu et al. 1989). Dry grains were cleaned of debris,washed using clean tap water and dehulled (Engelberg type dehuller,France). Dehulled grains were then soaked in clean tap water (4 h, 1:3w/v) and partially sun-dried for 4 h. The grains were milled using ahammer mill (Manucycle, Cameroon). The resulting whole fl ours weresun-dried for 6 h, passed through a 400µm sieve and then mixedthoroughly with wheat fl our to form composite fl our, using a bakerymixer (Bonnet, Villefranche Sur Saône, Type 450A34, France). Forthe purpose of the study, the composite fl our was mixed in the ratios90:10, 80:20, 70:30 and 60:40 w/w wheat:maize fl ours. Wheat fl ourwas used as the control. The composite dough samples were laterprepared as commonly done in Cameroon.