Fast-forward thousands of years, and many of the same challenges in the miller and baker relationship exist today. Bakers typically look to millers as the flour quality “expert.” As a result, if something goes wrong in their production, millers are typically the first to blame. It is true millers commonly have the tools and expertise needed to adjust formulations to certain specifications. 

Despite this, however, the baker knows their products best, not the miller. The miller can only reference flour specifications like starch, ash, protein, and others, which they formulate at the baker’s request. Even if the flour delivery has the correct specifications, putting that flour into the baker’s production may yield a different result. 

This frustrating cycle is the result of a disconnect between the two parties. Rarely do bakers ask the question “why” or “how” the flour, while provided by their miller according to specifications, did not yield the correct final product. However, as the “flour quality expert,” millers can help facilitate a new approach to empower bakers and educate them to take greater control of flour quality. 

Precision is essential when producing high-quality baked products. Quality control is vital throughout the process, from mixing dry ingredients with water to proofing, then baking. From a baker’s perspective, there is a specific wheat type that will yield an ideal flour and, ultimately, produce the ideal final product. However, the “ideal” product for one baker may differ from another, depending on their process, the final product, and their expectations. Again, the miller cannot know the intricacies of the baker’s product line.

The baker best knows their specific process, formula, and experience to produce products at their highest standards. But here is where the miller can assist: By helping the baker connect product quality and flour performance – presuming all other aspects of their products operate as usual – they can take better command over flour quality control. This will undoubtedly lead to better product consistency, less waste, and fewer uncomfortable conversations between the miller and the baker. 

Of course, a miller asking a baker to take time out of their busy schedule to tour the mill or have them shadow the miller through their process is easier said than done. But there is value to showing the baker “how” and “why” their formulations are developed the way they are and the tools that are used in the process. 

Since the Alveograph was introduced to the milling and baking industry over a century ago, many new technologies exist to help millers assess flour quality and create their baker’s flour formulations. Generally, all flour analysis tools fall into three core analysis categories: compositional analysis, rheological analysis, and functional analysis. 

Compositional analysis provides the basic specifications for flour quality, like moisture, protein, ash content, and water absorption. Millers are likely most familiar with ash furnaces to help assess ash values required by the baker’s specifications. However, near-infrared (NIR) analyzers offer a simple and fast way that bakers can verify flour compositions with the miller’s guidance. 

NIR technologies are a secondary measurement method applying calibrations from primary methods – like an ash furnace – to generate flour quality data. Most analyzers can output this valuable information in under one minute of analysis. 

Best of all – especially for the baker – very little training is needed to use these instruments. 

Many in the baking industry have likely heard of the Alveograph test – the original rheological analysis technology that has been the precursor to many other innovations. The Alveograph test analyzes the viscoelastic properties (tenacity, extensibility, elasticity, and baking strength) of gluten after the flour is mixed with water to form a dough.

However, other rheological analyzers can simulate the constraints a dough undergoes from mixing through baking. The Mixolab 2, for instance, is a great tool to help millers and bakers match flour quality specifications by developing a “profile” for each offering in the baker’s product line. This tool can help streamline baking tests and help millers and bakers build a stronger line of communication on quality with its data. 

While protein is an essential parameter in flour quality, the presence of damaged starch in flour significantly affects its water absorption capacity. However, a baker producing pan bread requires flour with a different level of damaged starch than one making flatbread, cookies, crackers, or other baked products. Not only should the miller consider the impact of damaged starch on the baker’s final product quality, but the baker should verify the miller’s flour delivery by prioritizing damaged starch analysis in their quality control program.

Easy-to-use damaged starch analyzers exist today. The SDmatic, for instance, is a fully automated, enzyme-free damaged starch analyzer that measures iodine absorption using one gram of diluted flour. Over the 10-minute testing period, the more the iodine is absorbed, the more starch damage is present in the flour sample. Because of the SDmatic’s simple design, millers and bakers can use this tool to compare their analysis data and close the loop on damaged starch control. 

Bakeries and their quality control teams need to ensure that the entire process results in a high-quality, consistent end product. If something has gone wrong and the dough does not rise well during proofing, it may not be the miller’s fault, it may simply be that the flour is not suitable for the desired product or the process had a consequence on this, etc. 

Rheofermentometers, like the Rheo F4, are designed to control this key step - proofing. These tools measure all types of yeast dough for dough development, yeast gas release, dough porosity and dough stability during proofing, all in one test. 

Functional analysis provides the final step in a comprehensive flour quality analysis that can help improve the relationship between millers and bakers. Functional analyzers measure the hydration of flour polymers (glutenins, damaged starch, and pentosans) to anticipate the water absorption potential of flour. This process is known as the Solvent Retention Capacity (SRC) test. Now with the SRC-CHOPIN 2 device, millers and bakers can evaluate the water absorption potential of their flours in an automated solution that removes many of the manual steps and subjectivity from the internationally recognized SRC method.

Open communication, collaboration, and a mutual understanding of goals are all essential for improving the relationship between millers and bakers. For the baker, this means taking a more decisive role in defining the flour specifications that produce their products to the highest standards. Incorporating more technologies into their process to collect insights independently – rather than relying solely on the miller’s specifications – will help the baker make data-driven decisions and the proper operational adjustments. 

For the miller, while they provide flours that are adaptable to the baker’s needs, they can improve their service by involving the bakers in their grain or flour selection process and seeking their input on desired characteristics. Additionally, millers that can encourage bakers to use the same analysis equipment that they use to determine flour specifications can help both parties develop a unified quality control protocol. 

To everyone’s benefit, advancements in the field of flour quality analysis have produced technologies that are automated, fast, simple to operate, and produce reliable data that is easy to interpret. Using these tools together, millers and bakers can cultivate a stronger working relationship that improves product quality, customer satisfaction, and overall success in their respective businesses.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hanna Zhyhunova is an Applications Project Leader with KPM Analytics supporting EMEA and Eastern European regions.
Hanna has earned two food engineering degrees in “Grain Storage and Processing Technologies,” from the Odessa

National Academy of Food Technologies (ONAFT), and a degree in science and engineering in the field of
“Quality Management and Food Science,” from ISA Lille in France. Hanna has been published multiple times for her research

on technological properties of emmer and spelt grain as raw materials for flour and groats manufacturing.

Her research also includes topics in the field of laboratory milling.