Wheat Baking Research Articles

Water‐soluble carbohydrates during fermentation and baking of composite wheat and lentil flour—Implications for enhanced functionality

AbstractBackground and objectivesThe nutritional benefits of Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) have been widely acknowledged. Enriching wheat flour using pulses such as lentil flour is a way of increasing both the nutritional and functional content of wheat‐based foods. The properties of lentil that may have specific health benefits to the individual are also widely acknowledged. Functional compounds from plant‐based foods are commonly attributed to polyphenols, inhibitors, vitamins, and soluble and insoluble fiber. Water‐soluble carbohydrates, (WSCs) consisting predominantly of oligosaccharides, make up part of total dietary fiber. The beneficial role of oligosaccharides promoting probiotic health is widely acknowledged. Equally, it is recognized that oligosaccharides cause irritable bowel syndrome limiting the ability for some individuals in consuming pulses.FindingsWe investigated changes in water‐soluble carbohydrate (WSC) composition during the dough fermentation phase of bread making and quantified the residual WSC in the bread. As expected, the addition of lentil flour increased the WSC profile of the resulting composite flours which included raffinose, stachyose, ciceritol, and verbascose. A threefold decrease was observed only for verbascose during the dough mixing phase; however, during fermentation, raffinose and stachyose decreased, but ciceritol was not affected.ConclusionsThe baking process may reduce the effects of IBS suffered by some individuals who consume lentil products prepared by traditional methods. Our study concluded that bread prepared from wheat–lentil flour results in a more complex carbohydrate profile and may potentially enhance the prebiotic functionality compared with bread made from wheat alone.Significance and noveltyIt is now recognized that alternate sources of protein can be gained using plant‐based constituents. The functional properties of plant‐based compounds are also widely accepted. Processing, such as fermentation and baking, can alter the concentration and functionality of plant‐based compounds. In this study, we identified the changes in carbohydrate composition that occur in a wheat–lentil composite flour under the conditions of fermentation and baking.

Grain quality in bread wheat lines T. aestivum with introgression of genetic material T. dicoccoides and T. dicoccum

Related wild and cultural wheat species are regularly involved for expanding T. aestivum genetic diversity because they contain many valuable genes. We evaluated the effect of the genetic material of tetraploid species of the genus Triticum (T. dicoccoides, T. dicoccum) on the grain quality of introgression lines of spring bread wheat. The composition of the high molecular weight glutenin subunits which play an essential role in the formation of wheat baking properties was identified in the introgression lines of bread wheat and their parental forms. The traits of grain quality (hardness, protein and gluten content, gluten quality) were also evaluated. The lines with Glu-1 loci alleles from wheat relatives T. dicoccoides and Т. dicoccum were selected. It was found that the introgression of alien genetic material into the common wheat genome had a positive effect on the parameters of grain quality such as hardness, protein and gluten content. The lines with Glu-A1 loci alleles from T. dicoccoides and Glu-B1 from T. dicoccum were at the level of a parent wheat variety or of a higher gluten quality. As a result of the research, the new lines of bread soft wheat with high grain quality were found and can be used in the crop breeding.

Изменение биохимических, физико-химических и микробиологических свойств пшеничной хлебопекарной муки в процессе созревания

Изменение биохимических, физико-химических и микробиологических свойств пшеничной хлебопекарной муки в процессе созревания

Effect of germinaton on acrylamide reduction during baking of wheat

Effect of germinaton on acrylamide reduction during baking of wheat

Resource allocation optimization with multi-trait genomic prediction for bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) baking quality

Key MessageMulti-trait genomic prediction models are useful to allocate available resources in breeding programs by targeted phenotyping of correlated traits when predicting expensive and labor-intensive quality parameters.Multi-trait genomic prediction models can be used to predict labor-intensive or expensive correlated traits where phenotyping depth of correlated traits could be larger than phenotyping depth of targeted traits, reducing resources and improving prediction accuracy. This is particularly important in the context of allocating phenotyping resource in plant breeding programs. The objective of this work was to evaluate multi-trait models predictive ability with different depth of phenotypic information from correlated traits. We evaluated 495 wheat advanced breeding lines for eight baking quality traits which were genotyped with genotyping-by-sequencing. Through different approaches for cross-validation, we evaluated the predictive ability of a single-trait model and a multi-trait model. Moreover, we evaluated different sizes of the training population (from 50 to 396 individuals) for the trait of interest, different depth of phenotypic information for correlated traits (50 and 100%) and the number of correlated traits to be used (one to three). There was no loss in the predictive ability by reducing the training population up to a 30% (149 individuals) when using correlated traits. A multi-trait model with one highly correlated trait phenotyped for both the training and testing sets was the best model considering phenotyping resources and the gain in predictive ability. The inclusion of correlated traits in the training and testing lines is a strategic approach to replace phenotyping of labor-intensive and high cost traits in a breeding program.

Does Late Maturity Alpha-Amylase Impact Wheat Baking Quality?

Late maturity α-amylase (LMA) and pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) are both recognized as environmentally induced grain quality defects resulting from abnormally high levels of α-amylase. LMA is a more recently identified quality issue that is now receiving increasing attention worldwide and whose prevalence is now seen as impeding the development of superior quality wheat varieties. LMA is a genetic defect present in specific wheat genotypes and is characterized by elevated levels of the high pI TaAMY1 α-amylase, triggered by environmental stress during wheat grain development. TaAMY1 remains present in the aleurone through the harvest, lowering Falling Number (FN) at receival, causing a down-grading of the grain, often to feed grade, thus reducing the farmers’ income. This downgrading is based on the assumption within the grain industry that, as for PHS, a low FN represents poor quality grain. Consequently any wheat line possessing low FN or high α-amylase levels is automatically considered a poor bread wheat despite there being no published evidence to date, to show that LMA is detrimental to end product quality. To evaluate the validity of this assumption a comprehensive evaluation of baking properties was performed from LMA prone lines using a subset of tall non-Rht lines from a multi-parent advanced generation inter-cross (MAGIC) wheat population grown at three different sites. LMA levels were determined along with quality parameters including end product functionality such as oven spring, bread loaf volume and weight, slice area and brightness, gas cell number and crumb firmness. No consistent or significant phenotypic correlation was found between LMA related FN and any of the quality traits. This manuscript provides for the first time, compelling evidence that LMA has limited impact on bread baking end product functionality.

Assessing the variation and genetic architecture of asparagine content in wheat: What can plant breeding contribute to a reduction in the acrylamide precursor?

A large genetic variation, moderately high heritability, and promising prediction ability for genomic selection show that wheat breeding can substantially reduce the acrylamide forming potential in bread wheat by a reduction in its precursor asparagine. Acrylamide is a potentially carcinogenic substance that is formed in baked products of wheat via the Maillard reaction from carbonyl sources and asparagine. In bread, the acrylamide content increases almost linearly with the asparagine content of the wheat grains. Our objective was, therefore, to investigate the potential of wheat breeding to contribute to a reduction in acrylamide by decreasing the asparagine content in wheat grains. To this end, we evaluated 149 wheat varieties from Central Europe at three locations for asparagine content, as well as for sulfur content, and five important quality traits regularly assessed in bread wheat breeding. The mean asparagine content ranged from 143.25 to 392.75mg/kg for the different wheat varieties, thus underlining the possibility to reduce the acrylamide content of baked wheat products considerably by selecting appropriate varieties. Furthermore, a moderately high heritability of 0.65 and no negative correlations with quality traits like protein content, sedimentation volume and falling number show that breeding of quality wheat with low asparagine content is feasible. Genome-wide association mapping identified few QTL for asparagine content, the largest explaining 18% of the genotypic variance. Combining these QTL with a genome-wide prediction approach yielded a mean cross-validated prediction ability of 0.62. As we observed a high genotype-by-environment interaction for asparagine content, we recommend the costly and slow laboratory analysis only for late breeding generations, while selection in early generations could be based on marker-assisted or genomic selection.

Microbiological analysis and assessment of biotechnological potential of lactic acid bacteria isolated from Tunisian flours

This work was carried out to identify lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from baking wheat flours and to evaluate their technological capabilities for potential incorporation in sourdough process. Six samples of wheat flours obtained from different geographical regions of Tunisia were microbiologically analyzed. Several technological features including acidification, antimicrobial, amylolytic, proteolytic, and antioxidant activities of six selected LAB strains were investigated for future in situ applications. Moreover, LAB were investigated for their ability to produce exopolysaccharides. A total of 45 autochthonous LAB were isolated and identified by genetic analysis of 16S–23S rRNA intergenic transcribed spacer (ITS)-generated patterns ITS-PCR. One of each ITS-PCR pattern was subjected to partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and strains were identified as Weissella cibaria, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus brevis, Pediococcus pentosaceus, Pediococcus pentoseus, Pediococcus acidilactici, Enterococcus faecium, Enterococcus casseliflavus, and Enterococcus faecalis. All tested LAB showed good acidifying ability by decreasing significantly (p < 0.05) the pH of flour extract below 4.0 after 24 h and below 3.0 after 72 h. Pediococcus pentoseus and P. acidilactici presented fermentation quotient (FQ, ratio of lactic and acetic acids) close to the optimal range. All LAB isolates demonstrated extracellular proteolytic activity. Weissella cibaria S25 had the highest radical-scavenging activity with 25.57%. Lactobacillus plantarum S28 demonstrated the highest amylolytic activity (1386 U/mL) followed by P. acidilactici S16 (1086 U/mL). Although, L. plantarum S28 showed the highest production of exopolysaccharides (0.97 g/L). Moreover, varying halo of inhibition was detected against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Aspergillus niger, and Penicillium expansum. This study revealed that autochthonous flour LAB had interesting technological features and thus could be used in sourdough production.

Effect of a gene for high dough strength on whole wheat baking parameters of hard white spring wheat

Background and objectivesWhole wheat flour has weaker mixing properties and produces bread with smaller loaf volume than bread made from white flour. The objective of this research was to test the effect of an allele for increased dough strength on the quality of bread made from whole wheat flour.FindingsAn allele for increased strength at the Gli‐B1 locus was introduced by backcrossing into four hard white spring wheat backgrounds. Whole wheat flour was used for a mill and bake analysis with near‐isogenic lines containing alternative alleles at Gli‐B1 grown in dryland and irrigated environments. The allele for strong gluten did not impact flour protein. However, the strong gluten allele resulted in increased dough strength and greater loaf volume in near‐isogenic lines from different genetic backgrounds and under multiple environments.ConclusionsThe allele for strong gluten at Gli‐B1 may be useful to improve the end‐use quality of hard white wheat for the purpose of making whole wheat leavened bread.Significance and NoveltyIntrogression of specific genes for gluten proteins may positively impact baking quality of whole wheat.

Rye and oat flour enriched baked wheat chips: bioactive and textural properties

This study investigates the effect of rye and oat flour incorporation into baked wheat chip formulation on the bioactive, textural and sensory attributes. The increase in the ratio of rye and oat flours ranging from 0-50% resulted in gradual increase in both total phenolic content and diphenylpicrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity and the chip formulation of 50% wheat+50% oat had the highest values. Texture as assessed hardness value indicated that rye and oat flours addition leads to much more compact structure as compared to 100% wheat flour. Sensory analysis revealed that the samples containing rye and oat flour are acceptable as proved by their scores. It is therefore may be reasonable to fortify the wheat flour formulation with rye/oat flour to produce and health beneficial bakery product.

Prediction of bread wheat baking quality using an optimized GlutoPeak®-Test method

The GlutoPeak®-Test (GPT) as a rapid small-scale technique was optimized to evaluate the gluten aggregation properties and to predict the loaf volume, on the basis of a multiyear and multilocation analysis of wheat samples, using different solvents. 5 % lactic acid and 1 % sodium chloride displayed significant GPT responses. Relationships between protein content, sedimentation value, GPT parameters and loaf volume were investigated. With 1 % sodium chloride, the torque 15 s before maximum torque (AM) presented the highest correlation with loaf volume of samples from 2013 to 2014 (r = 0.77, r = 0.63, p < 0.001, respectively). A multiple regression analysis indicated that the best prediction of loaf volume was a linear function of protein content and AM, explaining the variation in loaf volume by 63 % and providing an uncertainty of ±39 ml. The accuracy of the validation of the linear function leads to 64 % correct and to 36 % incorrect predictions of the loaf volume. This emphasizes that the application of the linear function of protein content and AM cannot replace the actual measurement of loaf volume, but it could be a useful rapid screening test in breeding for improved baking quality in bread wheat.

Protein Profile and Molecular Markers Related to the Baking Quality of Brazilian Wheat Cultivars

To carry out wheat breeding programs, proteins were identified and quantified (through sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis [SDS‐PAGE] and size‐exclusion high‐performance liquid chromatography [SE‐HPLC]) and six allele‐specific markers were tested on 45 Brazilian cultivars. A microscale baking test was applied to associate analytical and genetic responses with baking quality. The results suggested a prevalence of the subunits 2* and 1 in chromosome 1A; 7+8, 7+9, and 17+18 in 1B; and 5+10 in 1D; absence of 1BL/1RS translocation in 62.2% of the genotypes; and presence of Pinb‐D1b and Glu‐A3d in 8.9% of the genotypes. The average SE‐HPLC values were 37.50 and 45.42% for polymeric protein in total protein (PPP) and unextractable polymeric protein (UPP), respectively, and 1.29 for the gliadin‐to‐glutenin (GLI/GLU) ratio, with significant variation among the genotypes (P ≤ 0.05). The baking test also showed a significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) between the cultivars under the same conditions. The cultivars without the 1BL/1RS translocation with rye also showed better results for UPP, PPP, and GLI/GLU in relation to those possessing translocation. These results corroborate for selection of HMW subunits 5+10, cultivars without translocation with rye, with high UPP values and a balanced GLI/GLU ratio (around 1.0) with the objective of obtaining greater wheat baking quality.

Breeding progress, environmental variation and correlation of winter wheat yield and quality traits in German official variety trials and on-farm during 1983\u20132014

Key messageOver the last 32 years, a large gain in grain yield (24%) was achieved in official German variety trials, and despite considerable loss in protein concentration (−7.9%), winter wheat baking quality was partially improved over the last 32 years. On-farm gain in grain yield (32%) exceeded gain in trials, but at yield level about 25 dt ha−1lower. Breeding progress was very successfully transferred into both progress in grain yield and on-farm baking quality.Long-term gains in grain yield and baking quality of 316 winter wheat varieties from German official trials were evaluated. We dissected progress into a genetic and a non-genetic part to quantify the contribution of genetic improvement. We further investigated the influence of genotype and environment on total variation by estimating variance components. We also estimated genetic and phenotypic correlation between quality traits. For trial data, we found a large gain in grain yield (24%), but a strong decline in protein concentration (−8.0%) and loaf volume (−8.5%) relative to 1983. Improvement of baking quality could be achieved for falling number (5.8%), sedimentation value (7.9%), hardness (13.4%), water absorption (1.2%) and milling yield (2.4%). Grain yield, falling number and protein concentration were highly influenced by environment, whereas for sedimentation value, hardness, water absorption and loaf volume genotypes accounted for more than 60% of total variation. Strong to very strong relations exist among protein concentration, sedimentation value, and loaf volume. On-farm yields were obtained from national statistics, and grain quality data from samples collected by national harvest survey. These on-farm data were compared with trial results. On-farm gain in grain yield was 31.6%, but at a mean level about 25 dt ha−1 lower. Improvement of on-farm quality exceeded trial results considerably. A shift to varieties with improved baking quality can be considered as the main reason for this remarkable improvement of on-farm baking quality.

Split Nitrogen Application Improves Wheat Baking Quality by Influencing Protein Composition Rather Than Concentration.

The use of late nitrogen (N) fertilization (N application at late growth stages of wheat, e.g., booting, heading or anthesis) to improve baking quality of wheat has been questioned. Although it increases protein concentration, the beneficial effect on baking quality (bread loaf volume) needs to be clearly understood. Two pot experiments were conducted aiming to evaluate whether late N is effective under controlled conditions and if these effects result from increased N rate or N splitting. Late N fertilizers were applied either as additional N or split from the basal N at late boot stage or heading in the form of nitrate-N or urea. Results showed that late N fertilization improved loaf volume of wheat flour by increasing grain protein concentration and altering its composition. Increasing N rate mainly enhanced grain protein quantitatively. However, N splitting changed grain protein composition by enhancing the percentages of gliadins and glutenins as well as certain high molecular weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS), which led to an improved baking quality of wheat flour. The late N effects were greater when applied as nitrate-N than urea. The proportions of glutenin and x-type HMW-GS were more important than the overall protein concentration in determining baking quality. N splitting is more effective in improving wheat quality than the increase in the N rate by late N, which offers the potential to cut down N fertilization rates in wheat production systems.

Two Novel Y-Type High Molecular Weight Glutenin Genes in Chinese Wheat Landraces of the Yangtze-River Region.

High molecular weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GSs) are key determinants for the end-use quality of wheat. Chinese wheat landraces are an important resource for exploring novel HMW-GS genes to improve the wheat baking quality. Two novel Glu-1Dy HMW-GSs (designated as 1Dy12.6 and 1Dy12.7) were identified and cloned from two Chinese wheat landraces Huazhong830 and Luosimai. The 1Dy12.6 and 1Dy12.7 subunits were deposited as the NCBInr Acc. No KR262518, and KR262519, respectively. The full open reading frames (ORFs) of 1Dy12.6 and 1Dy12.7 were 2022 bp and 1977 bp, encoding for proteins of 673 and 658 amino acid residues, respectively. Each contains four typical primary regions of HMW-GSs (a signal peptide, N- and C-terminal regions, and a central repetitive region). Their deduced molecular masses (70,165 Da and 68,400 Da) were strikingly consistent with those identified by MALDI-TOF-MS (69,985Da and 68,407 Da). The 1Dy12.6 is the largest 1Dy glutenin subunits cloned in common wheat up to date, containing longer repetitive central domains than other 1Dy encoded proteins. In comparison with the most similar active 1Dy alleles previously reported, the newly discovered alleles contained a total of 20 SNPs and 3 indels. The secondary structure prediction indicated that 1Dy12.6 and 1Dy12.7 have similar proportion of α-helix, β-turn, and β-bend to those of 1Dy10 (X12929). The phylogenetic analysis illustrated that the x- and y-type subunits of glutenins were well separated, but both 1Dy12.6 and 1Dy12.7 were clustered with the other Glu-1Dy alleles. Our results revealed that the 1Dy12.6 and 1Dy12.7 subunit have potential to strengthen gluten polymer interactions, and are valuable genetic resources for wheat quality improvement.

The relationship between wheat baking properties, specific high molecular weight glutenin components and characteristics of varieties

The main objective of this study was to compare the aeration level of ring shaped breads, produced from flour made from different winter wheat varieties with different glutenins composition. Analysis of the qualitative and quantitative composition of low molecular weight glutenins (LMW-glutenins), high molecular weight glutenins (HMW-glutenins) and wheat gluten protein fractions α-, γ-, ω-gliadins was performed by electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gel using sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). For qualitative evaluation of HMW-glutenin subunits, the obtained electrophoregrams were compared with the standard electrophoretic spectrums of the glutenin components presented in the catalogue. In particular, the indirect acoustic echolocation method can be applied in measurements of the structures of ring shaped breads. Correlations between wheat gluten fractions and some quality parameters characterizing the raw grain material show that HMW-glutenins have the strongest influence on the wheat flour baking properties, and the acoustic method allowed us to assess the quality of ring shaped breads according to the amount of water absorbed and the nature of swelling. This made it possible to classify the ring shaped breads into three quality categories: good (the amount of water absorbed from 37.5 to 50.75 relative units), medium (the amount of water absorbed from 2.54 to 6.28 and from 23.45 to 24.91 relative units), and poor (the amount of water absorbed from 3.6 to 14.7 relative units). According to the specific HMW-glutenin components, it is possible to select the best quality wheat varieties for flour production which could be recommended for ring shaped breads production.

“Productivity, quality and sustainability of winter wheat under long-term conventional and organic management in Switzerland”

Long-term sustainability and high resource use efficiency are major goals for high quality baking wheat production throughout the world. Present strategies are low input systems such as organic agriculture or improved conventional systems (integrated). The fertilisation level and strategy, crop protection as well as preceding crop effects may modulate system performance with respect to wheat grain yield, quality and environmental performance of the systems.Our aim was to evaluate data of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) performance from the DOK long-term systems experiment in Switzerland comparing two mixed organic (biodynamic and bioorganic: BIODYN and BIOORG) and a mixed conventional cropping system (CONFYM) using mineral fertilisers and farmyard manure at two fertilisation intensities (level 1: 50% of standard fertilisation, level 2: standard fertilisation) since 1978. A conventional system was fertilised exclusively minerally at level 2 (CONMIN) and a control remained unfertilised (NOFERT). We compared crop yields, baking quality parameters, the nitrogen use efficiency and the effect of maize and potatoes as preceding crops obtained between 2003 and 2010 along with long-term soil sustainability parameters.The mean grain yields across both fertiliser levels of the organic cropping systems (BIODYN and BIOORG) were 64% of CONFYM, whereas crude protein contents were 79% of CONFYM at fertilisation level 2 and achieved 90% at level 1. The main driving factor of lower yields was a reduction of the numbers of ears per m2 and the thousand kernel weight. The apparent nitrogen use efficiency decreased with increasing N fertilisation. Doubling the organic fertilisation in the organic systems only slightly improved wheat grain yields but was not able to improve grain baking quality, due to low mineral N additions via slurry and farmyard manure. In contrast the effects of the preceding crop potatoes in comparison with preceding silage maize outperformed the organic fertilisation effects, resulting in 33% higher yields and 11% higher crude protein contents. The yield components recorded in the case of preceding potatoes demonstrated a more synchronised nutrient supply throughout the wheat development. Over all low input systems and both fertilisation levels in the conventional mixed farm system at half standard fertilisation (level 1) performed best with distinctly higher grain yields and crude protein contents than in the organic systems with standard fertilisation. However, all systems, organic and conventional, with the low or zero organic fertiliser inputs performed poorly considering the long-term soil quality parameters, indicating a degradation of soil quality. The DOK long-term experiment allows an integrated view on the performance of baking wheat production and long-term sustainability. The results emphasise the importance of a sufficient supply of soils with organic fertilisers as well as the need to improve the availability of organic nitrogen and synchrony between nutrient supply and demand in organic baking wheat production, beside the selection of a suitable preceding crop.

Cloning and characterization of a Weissella confusa dextransucrase and its application in high fibre baking.

Wheat bran offers health benefits as a baking ingredient, but is detrimental to bread textural quality. Dextran production by microbial fermentation improves sourdough bread volume and freshness, but extensive acid production during fermentation may negate this effect. Enzymatic production of dextran in wheat bran was tested to determine if dextran-containing bran could be used in baking without disrupting bread texture. The Weissella confusa VTT E-90392 dextransucrase gene was sequenced and His-tagged dextransucrase Wc392-rDSR was produced in Lactococcus lactis. Purified enzyme was characterized using 14C-sucrose radioisotope and reducing value-based assays, the former yielding K m and V max values of 14.7 mM and 8.2 μmol/(mg∙min), respectively, at the pH optimum of 5.4. The structure and size of in vitro dextran product was similar to dextran produced in vivo. Dextran (8.1% dry weight) was produced in wheat bran in 6 h using Wc392-rDSR. Bran with and without dextran was used in wheat baking at 20% supplementation level. Dextran presence improved bread softness and neutralized bran-induced volume loss, clearly demonstrating the potential of using dextransucrases in bran bioprocessing for use in baking.

Donner un nouvel avenir au pain dans le cadre d’une alimentation durable et préventive

During a long time, the wheat-bread sector has privileged the production of a very airy white bread, and the development of traditional bread has not solved all the problems. White bread, made with flour type 55-65 has a too low nutritional value, too much salt and the nature of its gluten seems to induce in predisposed individuals non-coeliac gluten hypersensitivity. The solution to these problems would be to increase the nutritional value of bread by increasing flour type and improving gluten digestibility by a judicious choice of varieties and improved wheat baking processes. This article describes various solutions to fight against the risk of a hypersensitivity to gluten and gluten phobia it induces. Furthermore, it is proposed to diversify the supply of bread and use this essential food as an effective vehicle for a successful preventive nutrition.

Proteomic Analysis of Wheat Seed in Response to Drought Stress

Drought stress is one of the major factors affecting in wheat yield and grain quality. In order to investigate how drought stress might influence wheat quality during grain filling, three wheat cultivars Gaocheng 8901, Jagger and Nongda 3406 were subjected to drought stress during the grain filling stage. Neither globulin and glutenin, nor the relative percentage of amylose significantly changed following drought treatments, whereas albumin and gliadin concentrations did. The SDS-sedimentation, which has a strong linear correlation with wheat baking quality was markedly decreased following drought stress. These results indicated that drought had an adverse effect on wheat quality. In order to investigate the protein complexes in the wheat flour, the data from native PAGE and SDS-PAGE were combined and a total of 14 spots were successfully identified, and of these eight protein types were determined to be potential complex forming proteins.