Sprouted wheat flour: recognising it, measuring it, correcting it

After a rainy harvest, part of the soft wheat sprouts in the field or in the silo. The flour drawn from it gives a flat loaf, a sticky crumb and a crust that darkens too fast. The problem is measurable and correctable.

In short. Sprouted wheat has excessive amylase activity: the amylases degrade the starch during fermentation and baking. Result: less structure, a moist, gummy crumb, a volume that collapses. It is detected by the Hagberg falling number and corrected by reducing the flour's net enzymatic activity.

1. Recognising it by eye and in the bakery. Sticky crumb at the slicer, tight and irregular grain, bread lacking volume and spreading, pronounced reddish-brown crust at normal oven temperature, underside of the loaf sticking to the sole. These signs appear together.

2. Measuring it. The Hagberg falling number is the reference test. Benchmarks: above 300 s, weak activity (rather inert flour); 250-300 s, favourable zone; 200-250 s, high activity to watch; below 200 s, sprouted wheat, correction required. To be crossed with the alveogram: the sprout also brings the W down and unbalances the P/L.

3. Correcting in the mill. Three levers, often combined: - Blending. Dilute the sprouted lot with a high-Hagberg wheat (> 320 s) until the mix is back in the 250-280 s zone. It is the cheapest lever when you have sound wheat on hand. - A mill flour corrector bringing gluten and a rheological rebalancing, to compensate for the loss of strength. The dosage is set in trial baking. - Bakery process management downstream: slightly reduced hydration, shorter fermentation, a slightly lower but longer bake. This limits the damage but does not replace the flour correction.

4. What does not work. Adding enzymes: sprouted wheat already has too many. Increasing the yeast: it only speeds up the starch degradation. Ignoring it and shipping: the customer miller or baker sends the flour back.

Having a suspect lot analysed. The FinaAfric laboratory measures the falling number and the alveogram, then proposes a blending plan and a quantified correction dosage, validated in a comparative trial baking — free rheological audit. See also: reading a flour analysis report · reference rheological values · our flour correctors.