Wheat varieties – how they differ and the impact on end-product

 Consumers around the world are interested to try new foods from other countries and manufacturers are fulfilling that need.

For bakers who want to recreate bakery goods from other areas, the quality of the flour used may have a significant impact on the authenticity of the product produced. Baati is one such example. This hard and unleavened bread may often be seen complementing dishes in northern parts of India, but European-based bakers may find recreating it difficult when using their usual flour.

A variety of ingredients can be added to flours to adjust their properties but choosing a flour that’s more similar to that used in the country of origin will keep the ingredients list short and may reduce costs. Both outcomes are important to the consumer and meeting them starts with the wheat.

Particularity of wheat

Wheat is a unique grain in its ability to make the fully elastic dough required for leavened products. This is achieved from the gluten forming proteins it contains.

The grain is made of a succession of different layers (bran) protecting the endosperm and the germ. A particularity of the wheat is the presence of a crease that extends the full length of the grain and this complicates the process of separating the endosperm from the other layers during milling into flour.

See also: https://grainrus.com/articles/pshenitsa/

Different species of wheat

Most flours used in baking processes are produced from naked, free threshing wheat varieties also known as common or bread wheat. Hulled wheats such as einkorn, emmer and spelt are also used in certain geographical areas, sometimes in significant quantities. Durum wheat, destined mostly for semolina and pasta production, is an important naked, free threshing wheat species and represents a significant proportion (around 5%) of the wheat crop. However, these species remain a minor part of global wheat production when compared to the common wheat that this article focuses on.