Contrasting Impacts of Pre-harvest Field Sprouting on the Functionality of Bread Wheat and Durum Wheat

This study was conducted to examine the impacts of pre-harvest field sprouting (PHS) on wheat end-use functionality of bread wheat Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) and durum wheat Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD). PHS affected CWRS and CWAD differently in milling performance, dough rheological properties, and final product quality. With decreasing Falling Number (FN), key quality attributes of CWAD remained mostly unchanged but CWRS quality progressively decreased, especially when FN dropped below 200 s. Both CWRS and CWAD showed signs of in situ starch hydrolysis in field-sprouted kernels with more damage apparent in CWRS as greater maltose levels were found in flour than in semolina. Analysis of gluten fractions in flour or semolina indicated that protein composition was not affected by PHS. Unlike pasta-making, which involves low water-absorption, short mixing time, and high-temperature drying, the combination of high water absorption, lower temperature, and long fermentation times magnify the detrimental effects of excessive α-amylase on the bread-making performance of CWRS.