PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE

The issue related to suitable wheat age after harvesting for producing flour is raised regularly during a harvest season. Therefore, determining the suitable wheat storage for different wheat strength and with high extraction rate (80%) is necessary to produce a good quality flour. Four varieties of bread wheat (Adina, Aibaa99, Sham6, and Rasheed) were tested. Gluten amount, gluten index, amylase activity, dough rheological properties (farinograph parameters), and flour size were detected. Results showed that gluten index was stable for Adina variety (the strongest variety), but it was reduced significantly during week 11^th and 15^th for Sham6 and Aibaa99 (weak wheat varieties) respectively. The α-amylase activity of all varieties was reduced during storage periods. Dough stability increased during storage period for all four varieties. However, the increment was higher in Adina compared to others (lower strength wheat). Mixing tolerance index (MTI) of Adina was changed slightly during the storage period while for other varieties MTI increased sufficiently. In conclusion, wheat varieties behaved differently depending on wheat strength, and there was no specific time that all that dough properties improved during the study period.