Selecting Soft Wheat Genotypes for Whole Grain Cookies

Increased consumption of whole grain cereal products has broad health benefi ts. Using an experimental whole grain fl our-milling system, we evaluated soft wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) winter wheat genotypes in whole grain fl our for use in cookies. Grain from 14 soft winter wheat cultivars grown in two locations within two crop years was milled using a short-fl ow fl our mill to produce white fl our, and then the bran was ground and reconstituted with a white fl our to produce a whole wheat fl our for comparison baking. Flour samples were evaluated with the solvent retention capacity (SRC) test and the wire-cut cookie method. Bran fractions were analyzed for water-extractable nonstarch polysaccharides. Whole grain fl our cookie diameter could be estimated from the diameter of cookies made with white fl our. The best predictive models for whole grain wire-cut cookie performance were based on milling softness equivalent and the whole grain sucrose SRC test. Greater softness equivalents and smaller whole grain sucrose SRC values were predictive of larger cookie diameters. Variation in whole grain cookie diameter and texture was due to total water extractable arabinoxylan and the arabinose:xylose ratio in the bran. Early generation selection for whole grain characteristics can use softness equivalent and cookie quality information from white fl our. Yet identifi cation of the lines with uniquely superior whole grain fl our quality may require whole grain fl our analysis. Edward Souza, USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Soft Wheat Quality Lab., Wooster, OH 44691; Mary Guttieri and Clay Sneller, The Ohio State Univ., Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Wooster, OH 44691. Received 12 May 2010. *Corresponding author ([email protected]). Abbreviations: CVD, cardiovascular disease; SRC, solvent retention capacity. Published in Crop Sci. 51:189–197 (2011). doi: 10.2135/cropsci2010.05.0263 Published online 23 Nov. 2010. © Crop Science Society of America | 5585 Guilford Rd., Madison, WI 53711 USA All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Permission for printing and for reprinting the material contained herein has been obtained by the publisher.