International Gluten Workshop, 11th; Beijing (China); 12-15 Aug 2012

1. Transferring research
findings into industry
application
Dr. Craig F. Morris, Director
USDA-ARS
Western Wheat Quality Laboratory
Pullman, Washington, U. S. of A.

2. Need for new raw materials, consumer foods,
and solutions to processing problems
Consumer
Food Manufacturer
Miller
Merchandizer
Farmer
Breeding
Research

3. Research, new traits and new varieties –
new and more consistent raw materials
Research
Breeding
Farmer
Merchandizer
Miller
Food Manufacturer
Consumer

4. Wheat is used in a nearly limitless
variety of foods and is the
leading cereal for human consumption

8. Humans have „interacted‟ with wheat
for thousands of years
We have influenced wheat evolution
and wheat has influenced us
We have learned to exploit genetic
variation in wheat to make different foods
We now manipulate wheat to expand the
ways in which we can utilize it

9. Milling and end-use
quality of wheat results
from the composition
of the kernel, and
especially the
endosperm, but the
bran is becoming more
important

10. Grain composition and physical
features also result from an
interaction between the „genotype‟
and the environment in which
the plant grows

11. We should think of milling and
end-use quality as „phenotypes‟ that
are genetically based, and that
we can understand and
manipulate in the same way as,
say, disease resistance
Breeding for quality should be no
more mysterious than breeding for
rust resistance

12. There is no absolute
definition of wheat or flour quality
End-use quality of wheat is defined
by milling performance, processing efficiency,
and specific end-uses
for example, bread vs. noodles vs. cake

13. We often want to measure wheat „quality‟
-- to quantify the physical
and chemical differences
Measurement of quality
always involves some error
and depends on the instrument/method
being used

14. Our aim is to predict
commercial processing and
end-product quality
through small-scale
laboratory tests
These tests may target one constituent/
trait or aim to sum a number of traits

15. Major end-use quality traits of wheat
* kernel texture - „hardness‟
also kernel color, size, shape
* milling performance - particle size,
starch damage, flour yield, etc.
* gluten strength & amount
* water absorption
* arabinoxylans - „pentosans‟
* starch pasting / amylose content
* pigments / color
* enzymes - PPO, α-amylase, etc.

16. Genetic „cascade‟ for quality
example: puroindoline gene expression
puroindoline haplotype (Pina-D1 / Pinb-D1)
→ puroindoline a and b expression
→ kernel texture differences
→ flour starch damage/granularity
→ dough water relations
→ processing and baking performance
→ end-product quality

17. Two examples of transferring research
findings into industry application
(and applying an understanding
of industry needs into research activities)
Both involve challenging some
pre-conceptions of kernel texture and quality
* An end-use quality model for soft wheat
* Development of soft durum

18. Why soft wheat?
Why hard wheat?
When hexaploid wheat was first formed,
it was soft, and soft wheats reached
Europe, China, Japan, Canada,
the U.S., and Australia first
So why hard wheat?
The answer has almost nothing to do with
quality, and yet everything to do with quality

19. Historical context:
When people migrate, they usually take
their possessions with them,
including their crops
Raising something is better than raising nothing
Disease resistance, and adaptation to
other biotic and abiotic stresses is key
to growing food

20. Neolithic wheat movement (soft)

21. Early colonial wheat movement (soft)

22. Late 1800‟s wheat movement (hard)

23. Hard wheats ascended because:
1) they were disease resistant and well
adapted to heat and drought
(not because they were hard)
2) they also happened to have stronger gluten
and made superior bread
3) invention of the purifier, “high milling”
and then the steel roller mill facilitated
their technological adoption

24. The current model for soft wheat quality:
Soft kernel
High break flour yield
Low pentosans (arabinoxylans)
These tend to produce fine-textured flours
with low starch damage and
low water absorption
(cf. large AACCI cookie diameters)
What else would we like?

25. Gluten strength?
Sometimes weak, but not always
Good cake quality?
difficult to define/predict –must bake a cake
White bran?
Generally preferred, but preferred
in hard wheats, too
Low PPO?
Good for soft and hard wheats

26. Partial waxy/reduced amylose?
Depends on the use --
For udon soft bite noodles, absolutely
Pigments?
Consumer preference
(cf. pasta/semolina)

27. What else?
How about price?!
Aug. 2012 local delivery,
Pullman, Washington:
Soft white $327/metric ton
Hard red winter $351
Hard red spring $379

28. What are you paying for?
Kernel hardness?
No. First, wheat that will process on your mill,
but more importantly, gluten strength
Local Washington prices:
Hard red spring wheat –target of 14% protein
For each 1% above, +$3/ton
For each 1% below, -$10/ton

29. Bakery flour $660/mt
Vital wheat gluten $1,000/mt

30. So the baker should be thinking:
“What is the cheapest way to buy gluten strength?”
“How much strength do I really need?”

31. Gluten strength has little if anything to do
with kernel texture

32. Evolving model for soft wheat quality
Are soft wheats going to get stronger?
Yes.
Do we need some weak-gluten wheats?
Yes.
The question will be,
“How will we segregate the market?”

34. Second example of transferring
research findings into
industry application
Development of soft durum
Acknowledgements: Leonard Joppa, Marco
Simeone, Domenico Lafiandra,
Jeff Casper, Jodi Engleson

35. Durum is characterized by its very hard kernel texture

36. Kernel texture influences damaged starch
and flour granularity
Soft hexaploid Hard hexaploid Durum semolina

37. Conventional thinking:
“Durum wheat is used to make pasta because of
its hard nature, which produces a firm cooked
product. Semolina is coarsely ground durum
with a texture somewhat like sugar. It is the best
product for pasta.”
- U.S. National Association of Wheat Growers

38. Current situation:
Most durum is milled into semolina
Semolina has 4-5% damaged starch
Semolina particle size is about 3-4x that of
regular flour
Semolina is expensive

39. Issues with standard durum:
* Larger particles require longer hydration times
* Reducing particle size creates higher starch
damage
* Higher starch damage requires increased water
* High water absorption increases production
costs, mixing and drying times, and energy
requirements
* Non-uniform particle size results in uneven
hydration and pasta defects

40. So why is durum hard?
By design?
No.
It was an accident of nature
Can we make durum soft?
Absolutely!

41. Soft durum milling properties
are similar to soft wheat
* Commercial milling trial has been conducted
* Soft durum mills like soft wheat
* SDF has the particle size distribution of soft wheat
flour with similar low starch damage
* Ash content equivalent to soft wheat flour
* Power required to mill is significantly reduced
* No need for complex milling flow required to
produce semolina

42. Durum flour Soft Durum Flour
500 μm 500 µm
100 µm 100 µm

43. Pilot Scale Pasta Tests
* Wheat SKCS = 24.0
* 17% wheat protein; 15.5% flour protein; ash 0.57%
* Median flour particle size 57 microns
* The SDF had starch and gluten that was similar to
semolina based on testing in the Farinograph,
Alveograph, and Rapid Visco Analyzer
* Optimum paste water absorption 28-29%
(14% m.b.) vs. 32% for semolina

44. This shows defects of normal commercial
semolina at the very low 28-29% water absorption …
note the white strands with uneven water absorption.
This defect was not observed in the SDF

45. Checking observed in semolina pasta but not SDF

46. Soft durum makes high quality pasta
* Pasta can be produced with 10-15% less water
* Drying rates are similar; lower absorption translates
into shorter drying times and energy savings
* Pasta trials: SDF is as good as or better than semolina
* Lower cooking loss
* Firmer cooked product over longer cook times
(cooking tolerance)
* Reduced propensity for checking (packaging)

47. Soft durum can make novel bakery products
Soft durum flour can be used to make bakery
products with novel yellow color, richer flavor
and chewier texture than traditional baking flours
Gluten strength of SDF is the same as durum
wheat in general (no D-genome)

49. HRS bread (L), Soft durum pan bread (R)

50. Key benefits of Soft Durum:
To millers:
- Do not need dedicated durum assets;
higher throughput, higher yields(?)
To pasta manufacturers:
- Reduced energy consumption
To bakers:
- New and appealing artisan breads,
pizza products , etc.

51. Thank you!