Wheat Grinding Process with Low Moisture Content: A New Approach for Wholemeal Flour Production

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the grinding characteristics of wheat with a low moisture content. Two kinds of wheat—soft spelt wheat and hard Khorasan wheat—were dried at 45 °C to reduce the moisture content from 12% to 5% (wet basis). Air drying at 45 °C and storage in a climatic chamber (45 °C, 10% relative humidity) were the methods used for grain dehydration. The grinding process was carried out using a knife mill. After grinding, the particle size distribution, average particle size and grinding energy indices were determined. In addition, the dough mixing properties of wholemeal flour dough were studied using a farinograph. It was observed that decreasing the moisture content in wheat grains from 12% to 5% made the grinding process more effective. As a result, the average particle size of the ground material was decreased. This effect was found in both soft and hard wheat. Importantly, lowering the grain moisture led to about a twofold decrease in the required grinding energy. Moreover, the flour obtained from the dried grains showed higher water absorption and higher dough stability during mixing. However, the method of grain dehydration had little or no effect on the results of the grinding process or dough properties.

Nano Functional Food: Opportunities, Development, and Future Perspectives

“…Grinding is a traditional method that can mechanically crush active ingredients into nanoscale particles with physical action. For example, the grinding technology can be used to prepare fine grain wheat flour with a low moisture content [114] and can also be used to enhance antioxidant activity in green tea powder [115]. Homogenizers are often used to reduce the size of fat balls to increase the stability of the emulsion [116].…”

“…It has certain requirements for wall materials and is not suitable for nano-thermal materials. [114] High pressure homogenization Good emulsification performance and efficiency.…”

Rye Flour and Rye Bran: New Perspectives for Use

“…However, the granulation of flour streams and bran significantly influences the properties of wholemeal flour. Therefore, different grinding techniques are used to increase the degree of fineness of the outer layers of grain [34][35][36]. Wholemeal rye flour contains about 2% ash and 15%-21% fiber [9].…”

“…The chemical composition and consequently the baking properties of rye flour significantly depend on the milling process and the flour yield [32]. The type of mill used for milling operation, grinding conditions, and separation parameters have a significant impact on the chemical composition and properties of rye flour [30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37]. Bread obtained from wholemeal flour is characterized by a lower volume and a denser and dark crumb compared to bread produced from refined flour.…”

Challenges and Opportunities in Wheat Flour, Pasta, Bread, and Bakery Product Production Chains: A Systematic Review of Innovations and Improvement Strategies to Increase Sustainability, Productivity, and Product Quality

“…For this reason, the correct management of this unit operation is essential to obtain final products with suitable characteristics [25][26][27]. In this direction, for optimal conservation of wheat kernels during storage, in the post-harvesting phase, it is necessary to reduce significantly the moisture to a very low content (lower than 10%) [28]. In order to optimize the milling process, after storage, it is necessary to rehydrate the wheat kernels to the optimal level using a process called conditioning [29].…”