A bench-scale high-shear wet-milling test for wheat flour

Abstract

Bench-scale wet-milling tests for wheat flour are available for the traditional processes of Martin and Batter, but tests for the high-shear processes of Alfa-Laval/Raisio, Hydrocyclone, and High-Pressure Disintegration are few in number. In this study, critical processing parameters of a high-shear wet-milling process, namely high-shear mixing, gluten-aging, and gluten-washing steps, were investigated using response surface methodology, and those parameters led to a bench-scale wet-milling test starting with a “highly sheared flour–water dispersion” (HS-FWD). Optimum conditions for the test were: a water–flour ratio (db) of 1.7, water temperature of 35°C, and homogenizer speed of 6000rpm for 2.0min in the high-shear mixing step, a temperature of 40°C for 20min in the gluten-aging step, and gluten-washing of 2.0min in the Glutomatic system. The HS-FWD wet-milling test with high level of repeatability was capable of discriminating wet-milling qualities of several hard, soft, and coarsely ground wheat flours.