Effect of grain hardness, fractionation and cultivars on protein, pasting and dough rheological properties of different wheat flours

Coarse flour fractions (CFFs) and fine flour fractions (FFFs) obtained from flour milled from twelve different wheat cultivars varying in grain hardness index (GHI) were evaluated for particle size distribution, pasting and protein characteristics. Cultivars with greater hardness produce flour with high protein content had more proportion of large size particles. FFF had higher unextractable polymeric protein, solvent retention capacity (SRC), sedimentation value (SV) and dough stability (DS) than their corresponding CFF. Both FFF and CFF from cultivars with lower hardness showed lower sodium SRC. CFF showed higher pasting viscosities than their corresponding FFF, and difference in these properties was greater amongst soft cultivars. DS increased with decrease in grain hardness, but medium hard cultivars showed exceptionally higher value. The concentration of HMW-GS in the CFF was higher than FFF of hard wheat cultivars, whereas the concentration of LMW-GS in the CFF and FFF was not influenced by the fractionation of flour.