Functional Characteristics of Sprout‐Damaged Soft White Wheat Flours

Abstract

ABSTRACTSoft white wheat was sprouted in the laboratory for 1, 2 and 4 days, respectively, before milling the wheat into flours. The flours were used to bake cakes and cookies and to determine thickening powers. The flours milled from wheat which had been sprouted for 2 or 4 days were slightly higher in ash and protein and darker in color than the flour from the sound wheat. Sprouting of the grain for longer than 1 day resulted in flours of poor cake baking quality. The cakes were low in volume, had a dip in the center, a coarse grain and a firm texture. Cookie spreads increased and cookie top grain score improved with longer times of sprouting of the grain, but the crust color of the cookies darkened. The flavor was not affected by sprouting. The thickening power of the sprout‐damaged soft wheat flours decreased with time of sprouting of the soft wheat before milling into a flour. Generally, laboratory sprouting of soft white wheat had an adverse effect on the functionality of flours in soft wheat applications. Effects of field sprouting on soft wheat flour performance are expected to be similar to those observed with laboratory sprouted soft wheat.