Comparative bread quality of white flour and whole grain flour for hard red spring and winter wheat

Superior bread-making quality is a primary objective for most hard red wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) breeding programs. Milled white flour is traditionally used to measure quality. There is increasing demand in the domestic market for whole grain bread products. The objective of this research was to determine the relationship of bread quality parameters based on white flour versus whole wheat flour in a set of hard red spring and hard red winter wheat genotypes. Quality evaluations were conducted on sets of genotypes grown in four environments for both wheat classes. Correlations of genotype performance for white flour versus whole meal varied with the traits. Protein levels were highly correlated, but correlations tended to decrease as dough was processed into a final product. This was especially true for hard red spring wheat genotypes. Mixograph tolerance of white flour versus whole meal was correlated highly for both spring and winter wheat, while water absorption was correlated poorly for both classes of wheat. Correlations for final loaf volume of whole wheat versus white flour was significant in two environments, and ranged from 0.08 to 0.72 for spring wheat genotypes. Correlations for loaf volume were significant in all environments, and ranged from 0.76 to 0.92 for winter wheat genotypes. In general, our data indicated that quality measured on white flour could be used as an estimate of whole wheat performance, but that identification of the best genotypes for whole wheat performance may require separate quality analysis.