12 BULLETIN 328, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The admixture of kinghead seed in wheat greatly reduced the yield 

 of flour, the reduction being especially evident with an increased 

 amount of this impurity, while the addition of different percentages 

 of rye, corn cockle, and hairy-vetch seed did not so materially reduce 

 the amount of flour obtained. 



BAKING QUALITY. 



One of the prime requisites of flour is that it have good baking 

 qualities, that is, produce a large loaf having good texture and color 

 of crumb, and in addition have the power of absorbing and retaining a 

 large amount of water. Housewives demand a flour having a white 

 or creamy color. Any factor, therefore, which in any way injures the 

 baking qualities of flour, such as reducing the size of the loaf or low- 

 ering the color or texture of the bread, should necessarily be consid- 

 ered in placing a valuation on flour and consequently on the grade of 

 wheat from which the flour was milled. 



EFFECTS OF IMPURITIES IN WHEAT ON QUALITIES OF FLOUR AND BREAD. 



The presence of rye in wheat has a detrimental effect on the loaf 

 volume, and when more than 3 per cent of this ingredient is added the 

 color and texture of the bread will be noticeably injured. The effects 

 of the addition of such impurities as corn cockle, kinghead, or vetch to 

 wheat are much more detrimental in character than where rye is 

 added, as shown in the greater reduction in the size of loaf and the 

 decidedly lower scores given the color and texture of the bread. 



With an increased percentage of corn cockle there was a very decided 

 reduction in the loaf volume, with a consequent injurious effect on the 

 texture. In mixing the dough an irritation of the skin of the hands 

 was noticed with the flour milled from wheat containing 3 per cent 

 of corn cockle, with a decided increase in the amount of the irritation 

 when a larger amount of corn cockle was added. 



The amount of water absorbed was also considerably less in the 

 tests with flour from wheat containing more than 3 per cent of corn 

 cockle than in the check test with pure wheat flour. When more than 

 3 per cent of either corn cockle or vetch seed was added to the wheat 

 and made into flour, the dough was ' ' runny ' ; and sticky. In the tests 

 with 3 per cent and 5 per cent admixtures of hairy vetch, there was 

 an apparent increase in the percentage of water absorption as com- 

 pared with the check sample. However, the remarks concerning 

 the effect on the dough in this connection indicate that an excessive 

 amount of water had been added to the flour, resulting in a "runny" 

 and sticky* dough. A smaller amount of water was added to the flour 

 from the 10 per cent mixture of vetch in an attempt to improve the 

 consistency of the dough, but even then it was short and somewhat 

 "runny." A strong and disagreeable odor and flavor of vetch was very 

 noticeable in the bread made from flour of hairy-vetch mixtures. 



