Refrigerated dough quality: effect of environment and genotypes of hard red spring wheat

Refrigerated dough products use wheat flour as their primary ingredient, so the quality and chemical composition of the flour determine the quality of the final product. Six varieties of hard red spring wheat, grown in 3 locations in Minnesota, U.S.A., were evaluated for use in refrigerated dough products. Total arabinoxylan percentages in the flours ranged from 0.97 to 1.54. Xylanase activity of the flour was measured and ranged from 0.20 to 0.84 mU/g. An important factor in the suitability for refrigerated dough is the syruping during storage. A large amount of variability in dough syruping was observed among the varieties and locations when the extent of dough syruping was measured over a period of 10 d. The mean dough syruping on day 10 ranged from 2.05% to 14.83%. Despite the significant interaction effect of genotype and environment, 2 varieties, Glenn and Oklee, had lower dough syrup formation with greater stability across growing locations and storage days than other varieties. Practical Application: Refrigerated dough production is one of the fastest growing segments of the ready-to-use food industry. Well-formulated and processed refrigerated doughs are practical to consume and should stay fresh during extended periods of storage; thus, maintenance of dough quality during refrigeration is critical. This study was designed to perform the research on genotypic and environmental effects on variations in dough syruping during refrigeration storage of doughs from hard red spring wheats.