Wheat flour formulation by mixture design and multivariate study of its technological properties

Wheat flour plays a pivotal role in determining the overall quality of bread (loaf dimensions, crumb texture and consistency). A precise knowledge of flour chemical and technological properties is of paramount importance for the baking industry, to tune the modifications of the recipe and production parameters. However, it is still common to have to deal with an empirical, 'trial and error'-based approach, and generally, time consuming techniques are employed to determine the quality indexes for flour. In the context of an industrial bread-making process, this study addresses the evaluation of the effect of a systematic variation in the mixture composition of wheat flours on their properties. The main objective is to offer this field a more rigorous method to evaluate and improve flour properties, by employing experimental design methodologies and interpreting the results in a multivariate way, instead of the common 'one variable at a time' approach. The results show that a careful planning of flour mixtures when testing new varieties and formulation helps to obtain meaningful and easy-to-understand results as far as their properties are concerned. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.