The ability of heat treatment of wheat and wheat flour to improve the baking functionality of flour was recognized by early researchers in the field of cereal chemistry (1). During the 1920's and 1930's a considerable amount of research was conducted o nthe heat treatment of flour for bread baking applications and a number of processes were patented, however it unclear to what extent these processes were commercialized. The foremost researcher in the area of heat treatment of bread baking type wheat flours was Kent-Jones. The research that Kent-Jones did for his thesis at London University (2) was the basis for a process patent issued in 1925 (B.P. 228, 841). In 1938 Fisher and Jones of the Research Association of British Millers were granted two patents (B.P. 300, 291 and 300, 537) for heat treatment processes for improving the baking functionality of wheat flour.
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