Photo credit: Northern Crops Institute

Northern Crops Institute recently hosted a course titled “The Rheology of Wheat and Flour Quality”.

In this weeklong course, participants learned about all aspects of quality analysis from kernel quality, milling, rheology analysis, and baking evaluation.

The participants had several hands-on opportunities to work with a variety of rheological instruments including the TA.XTPlus Texture Analyzer. Participants learned how to conduct tests for gluten content, falling number, flour color, ash content, moisture, starch damage, and speck count. The testing experience helped them understand the impact of flour quality on baked products and baking performance.

The course covered the following topics:

  • an overview of the U.S. wheat classes
  • factors that define wheat and flour quality
  • impact of milling on wheat flour quality
  • impact of protein and starch on end product quality
  • characterization of mixing, fermentation, and baking processes
  • and functional ingredients in flour and flour based products.

Speakers included:

  • Rachel Carlson, NCI Food Technologist
  • Natsuki Fujiwara, NCI Food Technologist
  • David Hahn, Ph.D., NCI Director of Technical Services and Business Development
  • Alyssa Hicks, NCI Milling Specialist
  • Robert Meyer, Dakota Specialty Milling

For more information on this course, please contact John Crabtree at Northern Crops Institute.

Return to Blog Home