Wheat Flour Quality Assessment by Fundamental Non-Linear Rheological Methods

The assessment of wheat quality is a physical, physicochemical, sensory and chemical analysis of wheat kernels as well as the wheat flour that results dough, bread, and flour. The tests that are conducted on dough made from wheat are based mostly on the empirical method. These methods have proved useful in both research and industry to link wheat flour quality in baking results. However, they have the drawback of presenting data in undefined units, which makes basic interpretation of results challenging.

Therefore, this article concentrates on the application of rheological fundamentals to evaluate the quality of wheat flour with respect to processing performance. When converting between bread and wheat flour, the dough made from flour is subjected to massive deformations and the quality of the wheat flour is a factor in its reaction to these deformations as well as the baking quality. Therefore, this article focuses solely on the use of rheological tests with fundamentals which are carried out in the non-linear region of viscoelastics where dough made from wheat flour experiences significant deformations.

Additionally, the inherent variability in the quality of wheat flour makes it challenging to bake for a longer period of time using constant recipes and the same process parameters It is also difficult to bake with constant process parameters and recipes. 4 ]. To ensure that the quality is consistent in products, a set of physical and physicochemical sensory and chemical tests are carried out on wheat kernels, wheat flour dough, and baked goods. In the wheat quality assessment techniques This review concentrates on the physical methods of testing dough which are based upon the rheological characterisation that wheat flour doughs.During breadmaking, a diverse range of physicochemical reactions (i.e. gluten network development, expansion of gas cells trapped in the starch-glucose matrix, starch gelatinization as well as the heating of gluten proteins, and so on.) are observed, causing noticeable variations in the properties of rheology 5 ].

These changes in the rheological responses of dough made from wheat flour through the breadmaking process can have an impact on the quality of baked goods. 6 , 7 ]. Thus, the rheological characterisation of the dough made from wheat flour is vital to provide data about what the qualities of raw materials as well as the texture and sensory qualities of the product 8 ]. The techniques used to measure the properties of rheology in wheat flour dough have historically been classified into descriptive empirical methods and fundamental measurements 9 , 10 ]. The most significant methodological rheology methods are these: the Farinograph, Mixograph, Extensograph, Alveograph, Kieffer dough and gluten extensibility equipment and Rheofermentometer.

These techniques monitor dough behavior throughout different processing processes including mixing and fermentation, as well as baking and allow for the estimation of loaf size as a component of baking quality 10 , 11 , 12 ]. While empirical methods have proven their utility in industries as well as research to link the rheological characteristics of dough with the baking characteristics, they suffer from the disadvantage of providing information in undefined units, making the essential interpretation of results a challenge to interpret. 9 , 13 , 14 ]. In these processes that are described above, compression, shear and extension, which are the fundamental kinds of deformation, happen at the same time 12 , 15 ]. Additionally, the strain and stress states are not controlled, complicated, and irregular. The geometry employed isn’t properly established.

Therefore, it is difficult to determine rheological properties using the parameters of scientific units 9 ]. In contrast, the fundamental testing techniques for rheology are conducted with scientific instruments specifically designed to ensure that the results can be expressed in terms like shear rate, stress, modulus, strain and so on. [ 13 ]. Contrary to empirical testing only one kind of deformation can be used in the fundamental rheological test. The advantages associated with the fundamental rheological techniques include simple computation of the relevant physical properties, precise analysis and comparison of the data gathered as well as the limited quantity of samples required to test