A novel laboratory scale method for studying heat treatment of cake flour

• Laboratory scale protocol developed for replicating industrial flour heat treatment process.
• Test baked cake volumes exhibit increase then decrease with extended treatment.
• Time–temperature correction gives common trend.
• Reasonable correlation between volume and gel strength.

A lab-scale method for replicating the time–temperature history experienced by cake flours undergoing heat treatment was developed based on a packed bed configuration. The performance of heat-treated flours was compared with untreated and commercially heat-treated flour by test baking a high ratio cake formulation. Both cake volume and AACC shape measures were optimal after 15 min treatment at 130 °C, though their values varied between harvests. Separate oscillatory rheometry tests of cake batter at 80–100 °C exhibited similar behaviour to the baking tests. The gel strength parameter in the weak gel model, measured at 100 °C, was shown to correlate with flour quality and was identified as a possible alternative to test baking as a means of assessing flour quality after heat treatment.