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.