Exploring the impact of agroecological management, genotype, and harvest year on wheat flour quality and breadmaking properties

Wheat flours were treated with ozone gas at low- and high-intensity conditions (0.61 and 3.82 g/h) for different durations (short: 5 min; long: 30 min), and the ozone-treated flours were evaluated in quality properties, including pH, protein component, water molecular mobility of dough, pasting property, and steamed bread quality. At both conditions, ozone treatment decreased the pH of wheat flour. Long duration of high-intensity treatment aroused significant increase in insoluble polymeric protein (IPP) content of wheat flour, but other treatments did not significantly change the IPP content. Dough of ozone-treated flour had higher water molecular mobility than that of native flour. Short duration of low-intensity treatment did not significantly change most pasting viscosity parameters of wheat flour, but other treatments increased the peak viscosity, breakdown viscosity, and setback viscosity. Steamed bread of ozone-treated flour had lower specific volume and pore uniformity than that of native flour. Long duration of high-intensity treatment of flour increased the hardness and chewiness of the steamed bread product, but other treatment showed opposite effect. Among the four ozone treatments, long duration of high-intensity treatment aroused the greatest change in pH, IPP, water molecular mobility of dough, and the quality of steamed bread, while short duration of low-intensity treatment had the minimum effect. Long duration of low-intensity treatment was close to the short duration of high-intensity treatment in quality attributes of wheat flour and the total ozone yield. These results suggested that the quality of wheat flour gradually changed with the increase of total ozone yield, and overozonization would greatly deteriorate the quality of wheat flour.

In Peru, wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the main resources in the food industry; however, due to its low harvested area, it is the second most imported cereal. The quality of wheat flour was studied to verify that it has desirable characteristics for the preparation of bakery products. The quality of commercial and monovarietal wheat flours was assessed by measuring their physicochemical and rheological parameters, as well as the gluten content and wheat protein fractions. Eight commercial wheat flours and four monovarietal wheat flours (Barba negra, Candeal, Espelta, and Duro) from Peru were evaluated. Commercial wheat flours presented significantly higher levels of protein and gluten index compared to monovarietal wheat flours (p < 0.05). Between both groups, no significant differences were observed in the content of wet and dry gluten. Interestingly, monovarietal wheat flours presented a higher percentage of gliadins and albumins/globulins, as well as lower levels of glutenin, compared to commercial wheat flours (p < 0.05). According to the logistic regression models, the baking strength (W) was the most important parameter to evaluate the quality of commercial and monovarietal wheat flours. Our results show that monovarietal wheat flours show a lower quality compared to commercial wheat flours.

The wheat flour quality is influenced by several factors, including the packaging type used and the length of storage time. This research aims to determine the effect of packaging type (polypropylene and polyethylene) and storage time on the wheat flour quality at PT XYZ. The wheat flour quality described refers to SNI No. 01-3751-2018, including water content, ash content, protein content, and organoleptic properties. The research results show that the packaging type and storage time affect the wheat flour quality. The analysis results show that wheat flour produced and packaged using polypropylene and polyethylene with variations in storage time shows a real influence on the wheat flour quality. The analysis results showed that the smallest water content in polyethylene packaging was 13.28% with a storage time of 21 days, the smallest ash content in the polypropylene packaging type was 0.56% with a storage time of 9 days, and the highest protein content was 15.24% in the polypropylene packaging type with a storage time of 14 days. Meanwhile, the analysis of organoleptic properties including color tests and aroma tests did not have a significant effect on the wheat flour quality.

The quality and safety of wheat flour are of public concern since they are related to the quality of flour products and human health. Therefore, efficient and convenient analytical techniques are needed for the quality and safety controls of wheat flour. Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has become an ideal technique for assessing the quality and safety of wheat flour, as it is a rapid, efficient and nondestructive method. The application of NIR spectroscopy in the quality and safety analysis of wheat flour is addressed in this review. First, we briefly summarize the basic knowledge of NIR spectroscopy and chemometrics. Then, recent advances in the application of NIR spectroscopy for chemical composition, technological parameters, and safety analysis are presented. Finally, the potential of NIR spectroscopy is discussed. Combined with chemometric methods, NIR spectroscopy has been used to detect chemical composition, technological parameters, deoxynivalenol, adulterants and additives of wheat flour. Furthermore, NIR spectroscopy has shown great potential for the rapid and online analysis of the quality and safety of wheat flour. It is anticipated that the current review will serve as a reference for the future analysis of wheat flour by NIR spectroscopy to ensure the quality and safety of flour products.

The occurrence of recalls involving pathogenic Escherichia coli-contaminated wheat flours show the need for incorporating antimicrobial interventions in wheat milling. The objectives of this study were to assess the efficacy of sodium bisulfate (SBS) tempering in reducing E. coli O121 (ATCC 2219) and O26 (ATCC 2196) wheat load and to evaluate the impact of effective (≥3.0 log reductions) SBS treatments on wheat flour quality. Wheat grains were inoculated with E. coli (~6 log CFU/g) and tempered (17% moisture, 24 h) using the following SBS concentrations (%wheat basis): 0, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, 1.25, and 1.5% SBS. Reductions in E. coli O121 and O26 wheat load at different time intervals (0.5, 2, 6, 12, 18, and 24 h) during tempering were evaluated. The addition of SBS during tempering resulted in E. coli (O121 and O26) log reductions of 2.0 (0.5% SBS) to >4.0 logs (1.5% SBS) (p ≤ 0.05). SBS tempering (1.25 and 1.5% SBS) produced acidic wheat flours (pH = 4.51–4.60) but had comparable wheat flour properties in terms of composition, dough, and bread-making properties relative to the control (0% SBS). SBS tempering reduced the E. coli O121 and O26 load of wheat after tempering with minimal effects on wheat flour quality.

Early Program Assessment of the Haryana Wheat Flour Fortification Program, India

The present study investigated effects of germination and fermentation on protein quality of the wheat flour. The wheat seeds were obtained locally and were divided into three portions and processed as raw wheat flour (RWF), germinated wheat flour (GWF) and fermented wheat flour (FWF) respectively. The samples were analysed for chemical and protein qualities using standard methods. Protein content (g/100g) varied between 10.77±0.66 (RWF) and 13.70±0.30 (FWF). Mineral composition of RWF, GWF and FWF had potassium as the highest while zinc (RWF and FWF) and nickel (GWF) were the least. For amino acid, glutamic acid was the most abundant; while cysteine (RWF and FWF) and methionine (GWF) were the least. Total essential amino acid plus histidine and arginine range between 26.4% (FWF) and 37.9% (GWF). For protein efficiency ratio (PER), RWF had the highest value (1.99), while GWF had the least (0.86), while for the essential amino acid index (EAAIs), RWF was higher than that of GWF and FWF. Similarly, the biological value of RWF (31.8%) was higher than those of GWF (29.4%) and FWF (29.1%) sample respectively. The anti-nutrient compositions of the wheat flour samples were low, while phytate:zinc, phytate:calcium, (Ca)(phytate):zinc and phytate:iron molar ratios were lower than the critical values. Bulk density (BD) ranged between 0.80±0.04 and 0.86±0.02, swelling capacity (SC) 0.0±0.03 and 1.23±0.21, water absorption capacity (WAC) 315 and 415% and least gellation 3.33±1.10 and 14.6±1.16%. The finding concluded that the employed processing methods, particularly fermentation, influenced the chemical composition of the wheat flour in terms of protein content and reduction of anti-nutrient composition. Key words: Germinated wheat flour, fermented wheat flour, nutritional quality.

Wheat flour is the main ingredient used in the preparation of bread. Factors such as low gluten content and the addition of nontraditional ingredients in baking affect the quality of wheat flour and may limit its use in baking. With the increasing trend of “clean label” products, it may be interesting to develop and use physical processes to improve the quality of wheat flour and avoid the use of chemical additives. High hydrostatic pressure, non-thermal plasma, ultrasound, ozonation, ultraviolet light, and pulsed light treatments are non-thermal emerging technologies (NTETs) that have been studied for this purpose. They were originally developed to inactivate microorganisms and enzymes in foods. Additionally, these technologies can be used at low temperatures to modify the most important component of wheat flour, i.e., gluten and its fractions, which are responsible for the rheological properties of wheat flour dough. Thus, this review focuses on the effects of these NTETs by considering the following factors: (1) the technological properties of gluten, (2) gluten–starch interactions, (3) possible effects of NTETs on minor components of flours, and (4) the quality of wheat flour and the resulting final products.

All kinds of flour products which are made of wheat flour have already become the staple food on people's dining table. With the improvement of living standard, the quality requirements for the flour products have gradually improved. In addition to the production technique, the quality of wheat flour as the raw material is also very important for the quality of flour products. This paper briefly introduced wheat flour and two main components that affected its quality: starch and protein. Then, the related quality of starch and protein and the quality of corresponding flour products were tested for five kinds of wheat flour. The experimental results showed that the quality indexes of five kinds of wheat flour were obviously different and representative. The regression analysis on the quality data of wheat flour and flour products showed that the water absorption of flour decreased with the increase of total starch content, dry gluten content and gluten index, the water solubility of flour decreased with the increase of total starch content and gluten index and increased with the increase of ratio of amylose to amylopectin, and the radial expansion rate of the flour products decreased with the increase of wet gluten content. To sum up, the quality of wheat flour will affect the water absorption, water solubility and radial expansion rate of flour products in the production process.

ABSTRACTFruits of Capsicum species such as paprika (Capsicum annuum cv.), Tomapi (Capsicum annuum subsup. annuum var pomiferum), pimento (Capsicum annuum var. angulosum), and cayenne (Capsicum annuum L.) were blended with wheat flour for breadmaking. Breadmaking properties such as the bread height (mm) and specific volume (cm3/g) are improved by the addition (8%) of any mature fruit of Capsicum species. Among these species, paprika at different growth and maturity stages was used for breadmaking. Breadmaking was enhanced with increasing fruit maturity. Bread height and specific volume on baking with green paprika‐wheat flour were lower than those of controls. When green paprika was heated in an autoclave, the breadmaking properties matched those of controls, which suggested that the impaired breadmaking properties caused by green paprika were due to protease. Size‐exclusion high‐performance liquid chromatography (SE‐HPLC) of flour proteins extracted from wheat flour mixed with heated and unheated paprika also suggested the presence of protease in green paprika. When red paprika was heated under the same conditions, the color changed to brown, and the breadmaking properties did not decrease but increased only slightly. This suggested that carotenoids were not related to the breadmaking properties. A suspension of the heated red paprika was dialyzed against water; after dialysis, the water was concentrated to syrup. The concentrated syrup and dialyzed suspension in the dialysis tube were blended with wheat flour and breadmaking was performed. The results indicated that the improvement of breadmaking properties was due to the dialyzed outer solution, which was heat‐stable and contained LMW materials derived from red paprika.

Wheat infections caused by Fusarium represent a global agricultural problem that reduces grain yield and negatively impacts wheat’s technological and rheological quality. Although fungal proteases or an increase in endogenous proteases due to Fusarium infection could negatively influence wheat storage proteins and dough performance, little research has been performed on either of these topics. The primary objective of this study was to identify the effect of Fusarium infection on protease activity in 25 wheat cultivars grown in two distinct locations in eastern Croatia. Apart from proteolytic activity, this paper describes the impact of Fusarium head blight (FHB) infection on the technological quality parameters of wheat flour and the dough’s rheological properties. The first treatment consisted of naturally grown, healthy wheat without fungicides, while the second treatment utilized wheat varieties subjected to intense FHB infection. Protein and wet gluten content in wheat grain and flour of uninfected cultivars were heavily influenced by testing location, soil type, and quality. Fusarium infection increased the activity of nonspecific proteases by 43% in flour samples from Osijek and 125% in flour samples from Tovarnik. Estimates of effect size showed that FHB infection had twice as big an effect on protease activity in Tovarnik as in Osijek, and a similar trend was found for dough softening. Moreover, the infection significantly impacted wheat cultivars’ extensograph values, indicating a lower resistance to stretching, extensibility, and total stretching energy in infected flour samples, indicating that dough functionality and volume loss can be attributed to exogenous fungal proteases. Still, the magnitude of the effect varied depending on the growth location and the cultivar’s traits. Multivariate data analysis identified three clusters of wheat cultivars, each with varying degrees of the Fusarium infection’s effects. Some cultivars displayed consistent protease activity and flour quality across sites. In contrast, others showed variability in their responses due to environmental conditions. To conclude, genetic resistance could provide adequate control of FHB, guaranteeing the successful protection of wheat quality. However, the possibility of confounding factors influencing genetic and cultivation conditions must be considered, and further research is needed to understand their interaction.

Wheat quality assessment involves physical, physicochemical, chemical, and sensory characterization of wheat kernels and the resulting wheat flour, dough, and bread. The physical tests conducted on wheat flour dough are mostly based on empirical methods. Empirical methods have been useful in industry and research to relate wheat flour quality to baking performance. However, these methods have the disadvantage of providing data in arbitrary units, which makes the fundamental interpretation of results difficult. Therefore, this review focuses on the use of fundamental rheological methods to determine wheat flour quality in terms of processing performance. During the transition from wheat flour to bread, wheat flour dough is mostly exposed to large deformations, and the quality of wheat flour determines its response to these large deformations and its baking quality. For this reason, this review only focuses on the application of fundamental rheological tests that are conducted in the non-linear viscoelastic region where wheat flour dough experiences large deformations.

Effect of Egg White Powder on the Quality of Wheat Flour and Noodle

Effects of tempering with phosphoric acid and potassium carbonate solutions on microbial load of wheat flour streams and quality properties of flour

The quality of grains and flour can be influenced by genetics, crop management, and environment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the technological quality of wheat grains and flour influenced by the interaction among genotype, nitrogen (N) fertilization and weather conditions in different regions of wheat crop adaptation in southern Brazil, aiming to support farmers and the bakery industry sector in their decision-making processes. The experiment was carried out in three environments (Londrina in rainfed and irrigated conditions; and Ponta Grossa in rainfed) in a randomized block design with a 10 × 2 factorial scheme. Ten wheat genotypes (BRS Sanhaço, BRS Graúna, BRS Gaivota, BRS Gralha-Azul, TBIO Sinuelo, TBIO Mestre, TBIO Sossego, TBIO Sintonia, TBIO Toruk, and Quartzo) and two N rates (40 and 120 kg ha-1) were assessed. The following technological quality analyses were performed in grains or flour: hectoliter weight, thousand-kernel weight, falling number, grain protein concentration, experimental flour extraction (i.e. flour yield), wet gluten concentration, and alveography. Increasing N rates from 40 to 120 kg ha-1 enhanced the concentrations of grain protein and wet gluten. However, it did not influence dough gluten strength and the commercial classification of the flour. Nitrogen fertilization also influenced the flour yield, dough tenacity and elasticity index, depending on the genotype × environment interaction. Environments with higher temperatures favored the flour yield and wet gluten concentration, while lower temperatures increased thousand-kernel weight and falling number. Water deficit increased the dough extensibility and grain protein concentration, whereas higher water availability favored the falling number, dough tenacity, and tenacity/extensibility ratio. Therefore, these outcomes are important drivers for farmers when choosing specific wheat genotypes for the environmental conditions of their farms, when they intend to meet the industrial requirements of mills and food companies that use wheat flour.