Flour Facts

April 18, 2024

Weekly Market Highlights

• The USDA released its weekly crop progress report showing overall winter wheat condition at 55% good/excellent, down 1% from the previous week. This continues to be much better than the 27% at this point last year.
• Spring wheat planted came in at 7% which matched analyst estimates heading into the report. This is 5% better than this time last year, and 1% better than the 5 year average.
• The US dollar has been hitting 5 month highs which continues to make US exports difficult to be competitive in the world market.

Malting Flour

    Why are most Hard Wheat Flours treated with malted barley flour? Malted barley flour (MBF) is added to Hard Wheat Flours to assist yeast fermentation. During the dough forming stage, the MBF provides specific enzyme activity that converts the starches in the wheat flour into simple sugars. These sugars then are available as a food source for the yeast to maintain proper fermentation.
    A related effect of MBF is proper crust browning. Yeast activity will continue in the baked good until it reaches 120º to 130º F in the oven. Up to this point, the yeast is still consuming simple sugars. Once the yeast activity ceases, any remaining (residual) sugars in the dough will assist in crust browning. Bakers who desire increased crust color often will supplement their dough with additional sugar sources. The most common is regular sugar or non-fat dry milk solids.

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