Abstract: In this study, the effects of the addition of different amounts of gluten on quality characteristics of extruded buckwheat-adzuki bean composite noodles were studied to solve the problem of muddy broth production after boiling noodles made from coarse cereals. The results showed that increasing gluten addition significantly increased the optimum cooking time of composite noodles while significantly reducing the cooking loss rate and water absorption, suggesting that gluten improved the cooking characteristics of noodles, thereby solving the above problem. The addition of gluten effectively improved the texture properties of noodles. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed that gluten could promote the formation of porous network structure in buckwheat-adzuki bean composite noodles, making the starch in noodles turn from a non-crystal to a crystal structure and reducing the infiltration of water molecules into noodles, which corroborated the finding that gluten increased the optimum cooking time of composite noodles. The results of E-tongue showed that adding gluten significantly decreased the sourness and bitterness of composite noodles while significantly increasing the umami and richness. This research provides theoretical guidance for the application of gluten in coarse cereal products, and also provide new ideas for further improving the quality of noodles made from coarse cereals.

Key words: gluten; coarse cereals; composite noodles; porous network structure; cooking characteristics