Sprouting improves the bread-making performance of whole wheat flour (Triticum aestivum L.)

BACKGROUND: Pre-harvest sprouting of wheat is viewed negatively because of the high level of enzymatic activity, which leads to a deterioration in the bread-making performance of the related flours. On the other hand, improvements in bread properties (i.e. volume and crumb softness) are reported when sprouted wheat under controlled conditions is used in mixtures with a conventional unsprouted flour. However, knowledge about the effects of sprouting on gluten functionality and its relationship with bread features is still limited, especially in the case of whole wheat flour. RESULTS: Under the conditions applied in this study (48 h, 20 °C and 90% relative humidity), proteins of sprouted wheat were still able to aggregate, even if changes in gluten aggregation kinetics suggested gluten weakening. On the other hand, sprouting led to an increase in gluten stretching ability, suggesting an increase in dough extensibility. In the dough system, sprouting was responsible for a decrease in water absorption, development time, and stability during mixing. However, when the values for development time and water absorption indicated by the Farinograph® were followed carefully, sprouting improved bread height (~20%), specific volume (~15%), and crumb softness (~200% after 24 h of storage), even when whole wheat flour was used. CONCLUSION: It is possible to produce bread with improved volume and crumb softness using whole wheat flour from sprouted kernels. Thus, sprouting can be exploited as a pre-treatment to improve the bread-making performance of fiber-enriched systems. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.