Independence of Thermal, Pasting, and Gelling Properties From Particle Size in Cereal Flours Across Heating Temperatures

ABSTRACT Background and Objectives This study investigated how particle size influenced pasting and gelling behaviors of cereal flours across a wide range of heating temperatures. Hard wheat, soft wheat, oats, barley, and rye were milled into flours using 0.5‐, 1.0‐, or 2.0‐mm screens, and the resulting flours were subjected to heating over 95°C–140°C in a Rapid Visco Analyser. Findings Within each cereal, damaged‐starch contents and water‐holding capacity of the flours generally decreased as the particle size increased. Overall, thermal properties as well as pasting and gelling behaviors of the flours from the same grain were not substantially influenced by the different particle sizes over the tested heating range. Across the five grain types, volume‐weighted mean particle sizes were only negatively correlated with the damaged‐starch contents ( r = −0.536, p < 0.05), whereas no significant correlations were observed for other functional properties. Conclusion Thermal, pasting, and gelling properties of cereal flours were largely independent of particle size across 95°C–140°C heating, which could be related to their coarse particle structure. Significance and Novelty This study revealed the impacts of particle size on the functional attributes of cereal flours at high heating temperatures, offering valuable insights for optimizing flour utilization in diverse products.