Thiamine and Riboflavin Contents of Finnish Breads and Their Corresponding Flours

Abstract

Thiamine and riboflavin contents were determined in breads from six large-scale and three small-scale bakeries in Finland. Thiamine content of French bread ranged from 0.28 to 0.54 mg/100 g fresh wt with an average of 0.45 mg/100g, and riboflavin content ranged from 0.07 to 0.10 mg with an average of 0.08 mg/100 g. Thiamine content of rye bread ranged from 0.20 to 0.25 mg/100 g and riboflavin content ranged from 0.09 to 0.12 mg/100 g. Thiamine content in oat breads ranged from 0.21 to 0.43 mg/100 g with an average of 0.36 mg and riboflavin content from 0.08 to 0.18 mg with an average of 0.10 mg. Freezing did not significantly affect the thiamine and riboflavin contents of bread. Thiamine and riboflavin contents were also determined in pooled flour and corresponding bread samples. Thiamine content ranged in rye bread from 56 to 76%, in French bread from 58 to 75%, in coffee bread from 51 to 73%, and in oat bread from 52 to 66% of the thiamine content in corresponding flours, respectively. Different thiamine contents in breads among bakeries were mostly due to differences in the thiamine contents of flours. Riboflavin content in breads was not dependent only on the riboflavin content of the flour. Riboflavin content was usually lower in the flour than in the bread, except for rye bread, for which the riboflavin content was higher in the flour.