Delivering the right product to the customer is very important in the competitive world of flour milling. Nine participants learned more about how grain type and quality affect the milling and baking processes at the "Basics of Wheat and Flour Quality" short course offered by Northern Crops Institute May 19-21.

"This course is a great introduction to wheat and wheat flour quality," says Brian Sorenson, institute director and course lecturer. "In this course, we give the participants a broad knowledge of quality parameters, milling and lab equipment, and some of the issues that relate to processing wheat and product utilization.

"The participants learn testing procedures and protocols that will help them understand what's most important in wheat and flour quality. In the past few years, we have been incorporating more hands-on practice in the laboratories because the participants learn even more when they try out the lab procedures themselves."

Topics in the class included factors that define wheat and flour quality, environmental influences, quality tests and procedures, impact of milling on flour quality, role of protein and starch in flour based products, dough rheology, functional ingredients in flour and flour based products, baking technology, mixing, fermentation, and baking processes and hands-on baking.

Faculty and speakers included Mehmet Tulbek, institute technical director; Senay Simsek from the Department of Plant Sciences; Jason Romberg from Lab Synergy in Downers Grove, Ill.; and Thunyaporn Jeradechachai, institute crop quality specialist.