Establishment of flour quality guidelines for northern style Chinese steamed bread

Forty-three Australian and six Chinese wheat flours were used to investigate the flour quality requirements for northern style Chinese steamed bread. Significant correlations were found between flour quality and steamed bread quality. Protein quantity and quality and starch quality were important factors determining steamed bread volume. Dough strength was the major determinant of overall steamed bread quality. Hard wheat flour was found to be superior to soft wheat flour in production of good quality steamed bread. Flour with medium to strong strength is recommended for the production of this product. This study also confirmed the usefulness of the stress relaxation test for the prediction of steamed bread quality.