Particle Size Distribution and Starch Damage Included in some Soft Wheat Cultivars

The degree of milling of flour of soft wheat is carried out in order to estimate the degree of sifting of the flourmill. Milling technology affects the percentage of damaged starch that it is one of the factors responsible for the rheological-qualitative behaviour of flour during bread-making. In this report we have estimated the distribution of particle dimensions by laser scattering characterised by greater accuracy compared with traditional sieve systems and the percentage of damaged starch by X-ray diffraction techniques. In particular, one variety has been split into fractions by sieves and analysed for further information. The results suggest that there is no clear correlation between the particle size distribution and percentage of damaged starch.