Evaluation of Hard Red Spring Wheat Mill Stream Fractions Using Solvent Retention Capacity Test

Abstract

Quality and functionality of flour is dependent on chemical components, including protein, gluten, starch and arabinoxylans. The suitability of solvent retention capacity (SRC) for assessment of hard red spring (HRS) wheat quality was evaluated for mill stream flour samples. The HRS wheat sample was milled using a Buhler mill to produce six different flour streams. Flour samples were analyzed using AACC-I approved methods. The farinograph stability had very highly significant (P < 0.001) correlations with the water SRC (−0.96) and the gluten performance index (GPI) (0.93). There was very highly significant (P < 0.001) correlation between wet gluten content and GPI (0.89). The starch damage showed very highly significant (P < 0.001) correlation with water, sodium carbonate, and sucrose SRCs and GPI. Bread loaf volume had very highly significant (P < 0.001) correlations with GPI (0.83). The results of this study show that SRC may be useful for evaluation of mill streams for their use in targeted end product applications. Practical Applications Solvent retention capacity (SRC) has been implemented as a quality test for soft wheat flour used for making cookies and pastries. The SRC profiles for soft wheat applications have been well established; however, hard red spring (HRS) wheat has unique applications and characteristics. A few studies have been conducted on SRC for hard wheat flour, which have determined that SRC and gluten performance index (GPI) may also be implemented as a quality test for hard wheat flour. More investigation is needed to link appropriate SRC profiles and GPI with HRS wheat end product requirements. Further development of the SRC method would be beneficial to the milling and baking industries for hard wheat flour. The following study is important for determining the usage of the SRC method as a quality assurance measure for millers, specifically to determine quality characteristics of mill stream fractions when blending flour for specific end product applications.