Flour Facts

December 5, 2024

Weekly Market Highlights

• Wheat prices have been mixed this week. Softer global export demand drove earlier weakness, but prices found strength yesterday on Russian wheat crop condition concern.
  o ProZerno stated that 37% of the Russian wheat crop condition is in poor condition, the worst in 23 years.
• The NOAA 6–10-day weather forecast is calling for above/slightly above normal temperatures and near normal/slightly below normal precipitation over the winter wheat areas.
• Australia’s ABARES is estimating wheat production at 1.172 billion bushels for this marketing year. If realized, it would be 23% higher than last year and 20% higher than the 10-year average.

Maturing Flour

    If bleaching describes the whitening of flour, what is maturing? For hard wheat flour, the term maturing implies the strengthening of dough forming properties, thus improving gas retention of the gluten. These maturing agents affect the physical properties of the dough and don’t have any direct effect on the yeast. Two common maturing agents are potassium bromate and ascorbic acid. Breads treated with these agents will generally exhibit increased loaf volume, finer grain and improved external characteristics. Although they produce the effects just stated, they mature at different rates. Ascorbic acid reacts toward the end of mixing and into the dough stage. Bromate works during the proofing and baking stages.

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