End Users Give Report Card on Spring Wheat
By Tracy Sayler, Communications Specialist; Minnesota Assn. of Wheat Growers & Minnesota Wheat Council
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Prairie Grains is the
official publication of
the Minnesota
Association of
Wheat Growers,
North Dakota Grain
Growers Association,
South Dakota Wheat,
Inc., and the
Minnesota Barley
Growers Association.
Those are questions the Minnesota Wheat Research and Promotion Council (MWRPC) had answered recently in a study, funded in part by the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute and completed by Ag-nomics Research, a New Brighton, Minn., consulting firm.
"As growers we need to know what domestic spring wheat customers are looking for and how they view the spring wheat they use," says David Torgerson, executive director of the MWRPC.
Interviews were conducted with 50 users of hard red spring (HRS) flour to seek firsthand responses on how firms measure and define flour quality.
Over half of those interviewed were wholesale bakers, since they use 62 percent of total flour consumed in the domestic market. Input was also sought from frozen dough manufacturers, dry mix manufacturers, pizza crust makers, retail bakers and an industrial user.
The study identified seven factors deemed significant to domestic HRS flour users: consistency; protein level; absorption, which determines the amount of water that can be added to flour to make dough; mixing tolerance or flour strength; grain, texture, and loaf volume (important in pan breads) and ash, an impact on flour color.
End users ranked factors differently, depending on the product made. For example, wholesale bakers placed greater emphasis on mixing tolerance, texture, loaf volume, and absorption -- all factors directly influenced by wheat quality.
Wholesale bakers were also more critical of the performance of HRS flour and flour blends in meeting consistency and protein criteria.
On the other hand, pizza crust makers ranked consistency, protein, and absorption most important. They make a non-traditional product and placed very low importance on traditional breadmaking qualities such as loaf volume, texture, and ash. They generally offered favorable spring wheat performance ratings on all key factors.
Nearly half of the firms interviewed are using more HRS flour today than they did two years ago, primarily because of sales growth generated by products that demand higher protein flour.
However, survey results also indicate that 30 percent of the firms interviewed have decreased their HRS flour usage in the past two years.
Further, current flour usage is slanted towards lower protein, given that almost 60 percent of the firms interviewed have enacted a major reformulation of their primary flour mix in the past two years, with most of these occurring after the 1993 crop was harvested.
This can be blamed on the shortage and cost of high protein wheat, resulting from several poor growing seasons the last few years in many parts of the spring wheat growing area.
Many end users reformulated by either decreasing the amount of HRS used in a flour blend, using more vital wheat gluten, or using more hard red winter wheat flour.
The study identified the following seven factors deemed significant to domestic HRS flour users, listed in descending order of overall rated importance:
CONSISTENCY -- Critical to the modern baker. Baking technology and flour additives allow the baker to adapt to almost any flour quality problem, but adjustments or reformulations are difficult and require considerable time and effort. One end user said: "If you're going to send me bad flour, send it 365 days per year."
PROTEIN LEVEL -- As a measure of flour quality, this is often viewed as a key factor as it affects other factors including mixing tolerance, loaf volume, and absorption. Another reason protein level is so important: it has the highest impact on flour costs.
ABSORPTION -- This determines the amount of water than can be added to flour to make dough. Spring wheat is known for its higher absorption, as absorption increases with the protein level and quality. Absorption is important to bakers for two reasons: it must be known to add the right amount of water to a dough, and because "absorption is yield" -- more water in the dough means more product from a batch.
MIXING TOLERANCE -- Often measured with a farinograph or mixogram, mixing tolerance of strength in flour is considered a measure of protein quality. There is a difference between protein level and protein quality, as most sophisticated flour users were explicit in pointing out. "Everyone is concerned with protein quantity; I am concerned with protein quality," said one interviewee. "I need a good 14 percent protein wheat, not a higher protein that does not perform well."
GRAIN AND TEXTURE-- A quality factor that pertains to the finished product. It is most important to wholesale bakers of pan breads but of much less importance in whole grain products or products such as pizza crust.
LOAF VOLUME -- Anyone producing bread or rolls is concerned with the volume of their product. Loaf volume is directly affected by the quantity and quality of the protein in flour.
ASH -- An impact on flour color and a subtle impact on other flour attributes such as strength and absorption. A factor more important to wholesale bakers of pan breads than other end users.
Of the seven factors, consistency and ash are primarily controlled in the milling process. Absorption, mixing tolerance, loaf volume, and texture are flour quality factors, primarily dictated by the quality of wheat, and current USDA standards for wheat quality do not measure these factors.
WHOLESALE BAKERS-- Place greater emphasis on mixing tolerance, texture, loaf volume, and absorption -- all factors directly influenced by wheat quality. They are more critical of the performance of HRS flour and flour blends in meeting consistency and protein criteria.
Of those interviewed, nearly as many decreased (40 percent) as increased (47 percent) their usage of spring wheat flour in the past two years, and a large percentage increased their usage of vital wheat gluten. Also, 73 percent implemented major reformulations in the past two years.
BREAD AND ROLL MANUFACTURERS -- A large market segment; bread and rolls make up 88 percent of the total consumption of products made with hard wheat flours. Those interviewed placed greater importance on traditional breadmaking quality factors such as mixing tolerance, texture and loaf volume. Their performance ratings were among the lowest for all market segments, and more respondents decreased (39 percent) than increased (36 percent) their spring wheat usage in recent years.
FROZEN DOUGH MANUFACTURERS -- Spring wheat flour makes up 70 percent of total flour usage for those interviewed. They have concerns with the loaf volume, texture, and mixing tolerance of spring wheat flour, although none of the respondents decreased usage of HRS flour in the past few years and 67 percent of respondents did not reformulate flour used.
MIX MANUFACTURERS -- Together with frozen dough manufacturers, they consume 14 percent of the wheat flour used in the domestic market. Except for a very low performance rating on mixing tolerance, they generally have above average ratings for spring wheat flour performance.
PIZZA CRUST MAKERS-- Together with tortilla manufacturers, consume 8 percent of the wheat flour used in the domestic market. They consider consistency, protein, and absorption most important. They make a non-traditional product and place very low importance on traditional breadmaking qualities such as loaf volume, texture, and ash. Generally offered favorable spring wheat performance ratings on all key factors.
BAGEL MANUFACTURERS -- The fastest growing segment considered. Per capita bagel consumption increased over 50 percent from 1987 to 1992. Respondents gave high importance ratings to protein quantity and quality. They gave the lowest performance rating on protein, but generally gave favorable ratings to other key factors. All respondents have increased their usage of HRS flours in the past two years, evidence of a rapidly growing market.
LARGE FIRMS VERSUS SMALL FIRMS -- The small firms are technically less sophisticated in the measurement of flour quality. Large firms often have a lab and technicians on staff, were more critical in their ratings of HRS flour performance, and were more inclined to reformulate and use vital wheat gluten.