Selected quality parameters of wheat flour and dough for the production of Iraqi flatbread

Abstract

Characterization of some products and finding a correlation with well-known chemical or rheological properties is an important issue in terms of facilitating trade worldwide. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to characterize and score Iraqi flatbread in addition to discover a correlation between the scored flatbread and the chemical or rheological properties of wheat flour. Multilinear regression was used, and several models were created to predict flatbread scores. The results showed that gluten index was highly correlated to flatbread (R2 = +0.8672, p < .0001) followed by the degree of dough softening (R2 = −0.8406, p < .0001) and resistance to extension (R2 = +0.7293, p < .0006). The highest correlated model to predict Iraqi flatbread was by combining the three mentioned properties (R2 = 0.9303, p < .0001). The confidence 95% of predicting flatbread scores by following the models was high and significant, and the models can be helpful for wheat trading to Iraq. Novelty impact statement Iraqi flatbread is the most common type of bread eaten in Iraq, and wheat imported to Iraq must be suitable for producing this kind of bread. Determining wheat flour quality in terms of the chemical or rheological properties that are understood by all experts in the field facilitates wheat trading to Iraq. The current study found that gluten index and degree of dough softening were the main chemical and rheological properties that described the quality of wheat flour that is suitable for producing Iraqi flatbread.