Measurement and characterization of pigmented cereals in composite flour systems: structure–function and processing implications

Pigmented cereals like black and red rice, pigmented sorghum, purple and blue wheat, coloured barley, millets, and pigmented maize are increasingly used in composite flour systems to add colour, bioactive compounds, and structure modification. Beyond nutritional enhancement, these cereals affect dough and batter behaviour through complex interactions between starch, proteins, dietary fibre, and phenolic pigments, especially anthocyanins. This review synthesises 2020–2026 literature on pigmented cereal performance in composite flours measurement and characterisation methods. In wheat-based and gluten-free systems, rheological behaviour, pasting, thermal transitions, baking and textural quality, colour stability, and sensory-related instrumental metrics are prioritized. Pigmented cereals increase water absorption, alter viscoelastic balance, suppress starch swelling, and modify gelatinisation and retrogradation via polyphenol–starch–protein interactions, according to farinograph and mixolab analysis, oscillatory rheology, rapid visco analyser, differential scanning calorimetry, texture profile analysis, and colorimetry. Cereal type, particle size, substitution level, and processing history strongly influence technological properties. Moderate inclusion levels improve antioxidant content and visual appeal while maintaining processing and product quality, while higher substitution often requires targeted interventions like fermentation, enzymatic modification, milling control, or hydrothermal treatment. Limited fundamental understanding of pigment–biopolymer interactions in real food matrices, lack of standardised composite formulations, and insufficient predictive models linking instrumental measurements to product performance are key challenges. Pigmented cereals can be used in clean-label, functional, and gluten-free foods, but integrated, measurement-driven frameworks are needed for rational formulation and processing.