Wheat’s Journey to Flour

Wheat is the main nutrient for flour and feed production. Wheat (Triticum) is an annual herbaceous plant that prefers continental climate.

Worldwide, 700-800 million tons of wheat is produced. It is a very strategic cereal in human nutrition and animal feed production with the highest yield after corn.

The annual production amount in our country varies according to seasonal conditions and is 18-21 million tons. Although it has a wide variety of cultures, it is generally divided into 3 classes as red wheat, white wheat and durum wheat in the commercial market. The highest cultivation area and yield are red bread wheat varieties. Bread red wheat is used extensively in flour production. There are hundreds of flour factories in Turkey, large and small, and they work intensively to meet domestic and international flour needs. Our flour production sector, which is professionalized in the production of quality flour suitable for every purpose, is also achieving significant success in exports. 

• – Moisture analysis gives an idea about whether the wheat is stored in healthy conditions or not, and the moisture content of wheat is also commercially important. In purchases, it is requested that the moisture content should not be above 14%.
• – Hectoliter is the weight of wheat grains in 1 liter volume. The hectoliter value of wheat with high specific gravity will be higher. In terms of flour milling, a high value of this value means a high efficiency in milling.
• – Gluten represents the amount of water-insoluble protein in wheat endosperm. It is a very important element in the production of all kinds of bakery products. Gluten quality and gluten quantity are very important in creating flour varieties.
• – Gluten Index is one of the criteria used to determine the quality of gluten. The wet extract obtained is placed in cartridges containing special sieves and centrifuged and the percentage of the part remaining on the sieve is defined as “gluten index”. Flours with the same amount of protein or wet germ may have different bread making properties. This difference is due to their protein quality. Gluten index value is a measure of the strength of flour.
• – Sedimentation is one of the easiest and fastest test methods to determine the bread quality of wheat and flour in general. The values obtained at the end of this analysis give important information about the quality and structure of wheat flour. Sedimentation tests are based on the principle of swelling of flour particles in a solution prepared with flour and lactic acid solution depending on the quality of gluten and measuring the amount of precipitation of these swollen particles in a certain time. The higher quality and quantity of gluten in flour particles shows a slower settling and this results in a higher sedimentation value. Sedimentation analyses are performed in two ways: normal sedimentation and waiting sedimentation. Briefly, sedimentation analyzes reveal the gluten content and quality of flours. These analyzes are also performed to determine the protein amounts of different flours with the same gluten quality.
• • Falling number, one of the factors affecting the bread making quality of wheat is the activity of amylase enzymes and especially α-amylase enzyme in wheat. In bread making, carbon dioxide gas is the substance that makes the dough rise both during fermentation and baking. This gas is formed by yeast cells from simple sugars formed by the action of amylolatic enzymes from damaged starch in flour during fermentation. Amylases are found in wheat flour in the form of β and α. Generally, β-amylase is present in sufficient amounts in wheat flours. α- amylase activity is variable. When wheat is ripe in the field but not harvested, the rainy weather causes the grains to germinate. Such grains have very high α-amylase activity. As a result of the rainy harvest season, even if germinated grains are not visible in the wheat, the α-amylase activity is high. Such flours are not suitable for yeast-raised bread. They can be used by blending with flours with low α-amylase activity. Wheat grown and harvested in dry weather has low α-amylase activity. Breads made from this type of wheat flour have some quality deficiencies.
  • – Amylograph analysis reliably and reproducibly measures (according to Fn analysis) the enzyme activity in flour and whole grains and its graph. These measurement parameters allow you to make statements about the suitability of flours for baking in the oven and, for example, to control the baking of malt or enzyme preparations.

  – Farinograph analysis, Farinograph is a device used to determine the kneading properties of dough and provides information on the breadability of flour. This test provides information on the water absorption of flour, the rheological properties of dough during kneading (water absorption, development time, stability, degree of softening 10 and 12 minutes) and the dough-forming properties of gluten proteins.

• In extensograph analysis, the elongation ability and resistance to elongation of 150 g pieces cut from the dough prepared with flour, water and salt after being kept in the fermentation cabinet of the device at 30°C for a certain period of time are determined. If the wheat, which has been analyzed and evaluated by the quality control units in the facilities, meets the purchase criteria, it is passed through wide-spaced iron gates called tremi. This process is a pre-cleaning process to remove coarse stones, soil and dead rodents. Afterwards, the wheat is sifted and sorted by bucket and chain carriers in garbage sifters and transported to suitable steel or concrete silos and stored. The production and planning unit plans the types of flour to be produced in the light of the information received from the sales unit of the enterprise and requests the required amount and types of wheat from the purchasing unit. Purchased wheat is stored in silos determined as a result of the previously mentioned analysis and evaluations. The production and planning unit performs a ragging operation  at certain rates from wheat varieties suitable for the product it plans to produce. The ragged wheat is cleaned from all non-wheat materials in the cleaning group machine park and taken to the washing process. The washing process is basically to increase the moisture value of the wheat to a moisture value suitable for milling. In this way, it is aimed to easily separate the endosperm from the shell part of the fruit by means of grinding and sieving group machines. During the washing process, the calculated amount of water is added to the relatively dry wheat grains and the wheat is rested in the washing silos for 16-36 hours. In fact, this process has two steps before milling. The first step is washing and the next step is called tempering. During the first quenching (washing process), wheat grains absorb water into their structure very quickly. The reason for this is the low relative humidity of the grain and the rapid absorption of water into the endosperm by the shell pores of the fruit. After this process, the wheat is kept in silos for a certain period of time. The main purpose of this waiting is that a certain time is required for the grain to absorb the water given. The grain that absorbs the water swells and the shell becomes rubbery, which is very necessary for the shell to mix with the endosperm as a whole and protect the flour from contamination. After washing, the transfer process is done. At this stage, wheat grains usually need additional water due to evaporation and lack of water from washing. Additional annealing is done so that the grains come to the grinding rolls with 16-17% moisture. After this process, after resting in the annealing silos for a certain period of time, everything is ready for the milling process. In each of the washing and transfer processes, the wheat grains pass through various cleaning machines to remove unwanted weed seeds and the bran and beard micelles of the annealed grain. Wheat grains ready for grinding first meet the first crushing roller. The structure, whose body is opened in the crusher and broken to a certain extent and partially returned to the endosperm, is separated into flour and bran after being processed by sieves, crushers and milling (lyso) rolls according to the diagram system. . In the grinding and sieving system, flour particles processed to a certain fineness flow through flour pipes and meet on the flour screw. At this stage, flour improvers are added from the flour additive machine on the flour screw in proportion to the determined need of the product. After a certain period of time from the start of milling, flour samples are taken from the flour screw at certain intervals and quality controls are carried out and the production process is monitored to see whether the milling is going as planned. The flour obtained is rested in wooden or concrete silos suitable for food storage. Although the resting process varies from enterprise to enterprise according to the capacity of the flour silo of the enterprise and the intensity of shipment, the general acceptance is that it should be subjected to a maturation process for at least 10-15 days.

• Before shipment, the product is subjected to various physical, chemical and rheological tests.  If we talk about these superficially;

  – Color, odor, moisture, ash, sieve, 

  – Protein, gluten, gluten index, sedimentation,

  – Falling number, fungal falling number,

  Farinograph, Extensograph, Amylograph analyzes.

  Flour varieties meet with the final consumer after the approval of the quality control engineers of the company as a result of all these tests.