Lipid compositions, baking qualities and other characteristics of wheat varieties grown in the U.K.

Abstract

The breadmaking performance of flours milled from U.K.-grown wheat varieties has been studied in relation to the composition of the ‘free’ lipids extractable by light petroleum (b.p. 60–80°C) from the wheats and to other attributes of the flours. The results with six varieties grown at three sites in 1983 appeared to confirm reports of significant correlations between loaf volume and ‘free’ polar lipid contents in wheat samples from the U.S.A. and Canada. However, with 15 winter varieties and six spring varieties grown at three sites in 1984, no significant correlations were found between any lipid parameter and loaf volume or quality score of breads prepared by both the Chorleywood Bread Process and long fermentation methods. The best single indicator of breadmaking quality was the sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) sedimentation test. No useful equations for predicting breadmaking quality were found by multiple regression techniques using the various flour properties measured in this study.