ABSTRACT

The category of sweet goods made from wheat flour encompasses a wide variety of products with different appearances, textures, flavors, nutritional values, and shelf lives. These include different types of cakes, cookies, doughnuts, pastries, and many more items. The quality of these goods begins with that of the soft wheat flour used to produce them. Flour quality is, in turn, affected by the wheat genotype, growing environment, and processing. The genotype and growing environment determine the amount and characteristics of the wheat components, including proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids. To produce high-quality flour, wheat must be properly milled; postmilling processing such as chlorination is also sometimes utilized for its benefits. Quality testing assures that a flour meets any necessary standards and gives valuable information to those seeking to improve it. These tests include the determination of proximate composition along with various chemical, rheological, and baking tests. The following sections of this chapter describe the milling of soft wheat into flour, composition of flour, quality testing, and how flour properties relate to the quality of products such as cookies and cakes.