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Effect of Partial Waxy Wheat on Processing and Quality of Wheat Flour Tortillas

¹Professor and graduate research assistant, Cereal Quality Laboratory, Dept. Soil & Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-2474. ²Corresponding author. E-mail: waniska@tamu.edu Phone: 979-845-2925; Fax: 979-845-0456. ³Research geneticist, USDA-ARS, 344 Keim Hall, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, 68583.

The processing and quality of wheat flour tortillas prepared with partial waxy and normal flour were evaluated. Control procedures and formula were utilized with water absorption varied to obtain machineable doughs. Amylose content was lower in most partial waxy compared with normal wheats. The type of wheat starch did not affect most dough properties or tortilla diameter. Tortilla height and opacity were adversely affected by the decreased amount of amylose in partial waxy wheats. Sufficient leavening reactions occurred early in baking (after 10 sec) to yield an opaque disk, but some baked tortillas lost opacity and become partially transparent after baking. Starch gelatinizes, disperses, and retrogrades concurrently with the leavening reaction during the short (<30 sec) baking time. Amylose functionality during baking and cooling appears to be involved in the retention of air bubbles in tortillas.