Dough characteristics of Irish wheat varieties II. Aeration profile and baking quality

The aeration profile of doughs made from Irish wheat varieties was examined during fermentation. The fermentation process was evaluated with a Chopin rheofermentometer and also by monitoring the dynamic dough density. Minimum dough density which indicates maximum dough expansion was correlated with maximum dough height reached in the rheofermentometer (r = −0.8). Baked loaves from the samples were evaluated for their overall quality. The poor baking potential of one variety (Trappe) as well as the low expansion capacity of another (Raffles) was discriminated from the results obtained from both tests. Loaf volume was correlated with the maximum dough height measured with the rheofermentometer and with the minimum dough density. The overall baking quality of the flours was evaluated by using 3D scatter plots which combined loaf volume with number of cells/mm2 and intrinsic hardness. Using this technique, the varieties were divided into clusters depending on their baking quality. Principal Components Analysis was carried out incorporating all the measured dough and bread properties. The loading plot indicated that rheological parameters are those most likely to predict loaf volume whereas other crumb characteristics such as cell size and crumb hardness were difficult to relate to measured dough properties.