Comparison of the rheological and end-product properties of an industrial aleurone-rich wheat flour, whole grain wheat and rye flour

• Rheological properties of an aleurone-rich wheat fraction are presented.
• The end-product performance and the chemical composition are described.
• Parameters of aleurone-rich flour are compared to commercial fiber-rich flours.
• Aleurone-rich fraction dosage has little adverse effect on the end-product quality.

In our previous work a novel type of wheat milling fraction was developed at industrial scale. The new fraction is rich in aleurone layer; therefore it is a good source of dietary fiber, protein, oil and minerals. This study aimed to characterize this novel fraction in terms of rheological properties and baking quality. The mixing-, viscous rheological and end-product properties of the aleurone-rich flour were investigated and compared to commercial whole grain wheat- and rye (medium, whole grain) flours. In order to examine the effect of blending, the aleurone-rich, the common rye- and wheat flours were added to bread wheat flour in the ratio of 15, 40 75 and 100%. The rheological properties of the aleurone-rich fraction resulted in significant differences compared to those of the studied milling products. It showed significantly longer dough development time, higher mixing and dough stability, and in spite of the reduced starch content it had higher ability for gelling. The end-product quality of the novel fraction was weaker but comparable to that of the commercial white bread. The aleurone-rich flour is a nutritionally valuable milling product that caused smaller reduction in the end-product properties of bread wheat blends than the other common flour types.