Analysis of rheological properties of common winter wheat cultivars

The paper presents the quantitative measurement and variability of six non-traditional grain quality indicators of 10 cultivars of common winter wheat harvested in 2021-2022, obtained during tests using the Chopin+ protocol in the polythermal mode on the Mixolab device. The results of the study showed that lower temperatures and a lack of precipitation in July 2022 (44.0 mm with a norm of 69.0 mm) led to a significant (p<0.05) increase in the average viscosity of the dough to 5.9 points versus 4.2 points in 2021, as well as a significant decrease in amylolytic activity (from 4.4 to 1.0 points) and the level of starch retrogradation (from 5.6 to 3.3 points), which reflects the direct dependence of these indicators on the hydrothermal regime during the critical period of grain filling. Statistical analysis of the data using the NIRSMAIN program and the method of variance analysis revealed differences in the rheological properties of the dough depending on the wheat cultivar and growing conditions. Rheological properties of the dough, such as water absorption capacity (WAC), dough stability during kneading, viscosity, amylase activity and starch retrogradation, were investigated. It has been shown that some cultivars, such as ‘Sirena’, ‘Vezelka’, ‘Korochanka’ and ‘Larisa’, have high indicators of water absorption capacity and dough stability, which makes them promising for use as improvers in mixtures with lower quality wheat cultivars. Particular attention is paid to the assessment of the rheological properties of the dough in different temperature ranges, which makes it possible to identify the best suitability of varieties for specific stages of technological processing. ‘Almera’ and ‘Ariadna’ cultivars demonstrate high resistance to staling due to significant starch retrogradation. The characteristics of different wheat cultivars are manifested in their technological properties. ‘Zarechnaya’ and ‘Almera’ have a high gluten index. This fact indicates an improvement in the protein structure's parameters, such as elasticity and stability. ‘Olshanka’ exhibits a low torque at C5, indicating a tendency towards accelerated hardening. The ‘Sintetik’ and ‘Sirena’ cultivars showed low torque values at C2 point, indicating potential limitations in achieving maximum bread volume. The obtained results make it possible to recommend the ‘Sirena’, ‘Vezelka’, ‘Korochanka’, and ‘Larisa’ cultivars as effective improvers for mixtures due to their optimal combination of water absorption and dough stability, and ‘Almera’ and ‘Ariadna’ as the most promising cultivars for the production of products with extended shelf life.