## 1 Introduction  
Rice is one of the most widely cultivated cereal crops. The four major categories of rice grown worldwide are Indica, Japonica, aromatic, and glutinous [1, 2].  
There are several criteria used for classifying the rice, and the most important criteria refer to the amylose content and the pigments content. From the point of view of the amylose content, the rice can be classified as: waxy rice (0-2%), rice with very low content (3-9%), with low content (10-19%), with intermediate content (20-25%), and with high amylose content (>25%) [3]. In terms of pigments content, there are two types of rice: unpigmented rice, which is the white rice, and pigmented rice, which can be further divided as red, black, and brown [4].  
The chemical composition, functional, thermal, pasting, and rheological properties of the rice flour vary significantly with the type of rice [5]. In addition, the grinding process impacts the particle size distribution and the starch content of the rice flour, and therefore the technological behavior and suitability of the flour for preparing different types of end products [6].  
The white rice flour has been extensively studied and is currently the most widely used for obtaining different types of food and beverages. Although appropriate for the diet of the celiac people, it was reported that high intake of white rice-based products might increase the glucose homeostasis disorder and type 2 diabetes [7, 8]. On the other hand, the pigmented rice flour gained increasing attention in the last years because of the high nutritive value and potential health benefits associated with its consumption [5, 8]. The black rice has a higher content of proteins which are well balanced in essential amino acids,vitamins (A, E, and B complex), minerals (Fe, Mg, Cu, Zn, K, Mn, and P), and bioactive compounds compared to the white rice. The black rice is particularly rich in phenolic compounds, including anthocyanins and phenolic acids, tocopherols, and tocotrienols [8]. Because of the high level of bioactive compounds, the pigmented rice flour was reported to possess many functional properties, including antioxidant capacity, inhibiting effect on the activity of different digestive enzymes, such as \(\alpha\)-amylase and \(\alpha\)-glucosidase, and therefore the ability of lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes, dysplasia, obesity and/or hypertension, anticancer, and protection effects towards endothelial cells and against heart and cardiovascular diseases [8; 9; 10; 11].  
There are many available studies regarding the food applications of the white rice flour, but the information regarding the technological functionality and bread making applications of the black rice flour is scarce. In order to exploit the unique ability to prevent different chronic diseases and the health-promoting properties of the black rice flour, different food products were developed using this cereal as a minor or major ingredient. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [8] provided a nice overview on the use of the black rice for obtaining novel foods products like porridge, puddings, and other types of desserts, anthocyanins enriched bread, beverages, rice cakes, and pasta.  
The objective of this paper was to provide a comparative analysis of the chemical composition, functional, and thermo-mechanical properties of flours obtained from two white rice and one black rice. In addition, the influence of water absorption on the thermo-mechanical behavior of the dough and on the quality of the bread was investigated.