Relationship of creep-recovery and dynamic oscillatory measurements to durum wheat physical dough properties

Durum wheat gluten strength is important in determining extrusion properties and pasta cooking quality. Durum wheats varying in strength were tested using an alveograph and a 2-g micro-mixograph, both widely accepted techniques for determination of physical dough properties. Doughs from the 2-g micro-mixograph were characterized by dynamic oscillatory and large deformation creep tests using a controlled stress rheometer. Mechanical properties obtained from both testing regimes were strongly correlated with many of the parameters provided by the alveograph and micro-mixograph. Maximum strain attained after 5 min creep ranged from <5% for the: strongest least extensible cultivar to >25% for the weakest cultivar, with a coefficient of variation among replicates of <10%. Storage modulus (G') at 2 Hz ranged from approximate to 7,000 Pa for the weakest cultivar to >16,000 Pa for the strongest least extensible cultivars, with a coefficient of variation of <6%. Tan delta (G "/G') values were approximate to 0.4 for the strongest versus >0.5 for the weakest cultivars, indicating the larger contribution of the elastic component in the strong cultivars. The rheometer allows discrimination of durum wheat cultivars of varying gluten strength while requiring less sample than traditional physical dough testing techniques.