Hard Red Spring Wheats Ideal for Frozen Dough

The frozen dough industry has been identified as a potential niche market for increased wheat demand.  Bakers and consumers are increasingly becoming aware of the convenience, cost-effectiveness, and efficiency benefits of bread products made from frozen dough over conventional methods. To meet with this augmented demand for superior quality baked products, it is necessary to identify ideal wheat genotypes (varieties) best suited for making high quality frozen doughs, which are generally prone to moisture loss and weak dough structure, as they are stored under extremely low temperatures, and are often subjected to freeze-thaw cycles during transportation and storage.

Hard red spring wheats have been shown to produce superior quality frozen dough, possibly due to their high protein content, although little is known about the effect of their genotypic differences on product quality. Thus, Monish Bhatta-charya and Tami Langstaff, Department of Cereal and Food Sciences, North Dakota State University, conducted a study to compare the quality of frozen doughs made from nine HRS wheat varieties grown at two different locations in N.D.  The influence of environment, protein quality, and starch pasting properties on frozen dough quality were evaluated.

The doughs were subjected to a 12-week frozen storage period, during which they were also exposed to repeated freeze-thaw cycles. Significant differences were observed among the varieties in their frozen dough quality, despite their similar protein content. All varieties produced frozen doughs of desirable quality, although the variety Parshall displayed significantly higher loaf volume and crumb softness compared to the other varieties.  Quite interestingly, none of the varieties showed deterioration in baking performance under repeated freeze-thaw cycles or prolonged frozen storage treatments, clearly indicating that HRS wheat varieties are ideal for producing superior quality frozen dough.