Chapter 8 - Farinograph applications for whole wheat flour: Exploring the influence of circulating water temperature and mixing speed on dough mixing properties in the Farinograph

Abstract

AACCI has an established method (54-21.02) in which the Farinograph is used to evaluate the water absorption of refined wheat flour and determine dough characteristics during mixing. As a result, the Farinograph has gained widespread usage in the flour and baking industry. However, whole wheat (WW) flour possesses abnormal dough mixing properties when utilizing this method, primarily because dietary fiber alters WW dough resistance and coarse WW flour particle sizes affect water absorption and dough development time when mixed in the Farinograph. The prolonged WW flour mixing process significantly increases the Farinograph testing time and negatively impacts Farinograph applications in WW flour and products. Changing the operating conditions could minimize the influence of dietary fiber and coarse particle size and shorten the testing time. This study explored the WW Farinograph dough mixing properties under different circulating water temperatures and mixing speeds. The results showed that elevated circulating water temperature required less water to reach the dough consistency of 500BU. The time to form dough and mixing tolerance were shortened at higher mixing speed and elevated circulating water temperature. These modified conditions reduced Farinograph test time and generated more repeatable test results for WW flour.