The chemical composition of wheat is well known and the contribution of individual components to the nutritional of wheat-based products well understood. However, the uniqueness of wheat does not come from its chemical composition but rather from theinfluence that its chemistry has on the structure of foods manufactured from cereal grains. After harvesting, wheat is converted into an intermediate product as some form of flour. The conversion, or milling, process requires a good deal of skill in order to provide a consistent raw material for use in the manufacture of baked products. This paper will discuss the problems associated with matching the physicochemical properties of wheat with the requirements of the milling and baking processes. In the chain of events which eventually leads to a baked product on consumers' tables, wheat variety plays a key role in determining a successful outcome. Despite many years of study some of the key properties of wheat and flour remain ill-defined and expert interpretation of the data generated are required. Examples of the complex physical and chemical processes which comprise milling and baking will be given to illustrate the uniqueness (and on occasions perversity) of wheat in determining the final outcome.
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