Opportunities for Australia to supply wheat for cake and biscuit applications in Asia

Key Messages

• The cake volume and biscuit spread ratio of off-grade Australian Noodle Wheat (ANW2) and Australian Soft (ASFT) are comparable to that of North American Soft White Wheat (SWW).
• There is export market potential for Australian soft-grained wheat to Asia to meet the growing demand for soft wheat.

Aims

1. Evaluate performance of low-protein soft-grained ANW2, ASFT and hard-grained ASW against that of North American SWW in Asian cake and biscuit products.
2. Investigate how Asian mills prioritise choices when purchasing soft-grained wheat.

Method

Choice Analysis

Choice Analysis was conducted using a market research technique to study how flour mills prioritise wheat quality attributes. Survey questions was designed in a statistically balanced way and requires a lower number of participants to achieve statistical significance than traditional survey methods. A total of 16 participants: 12 technicians from quality control and research and development departments and four purchasers from four Indonesian mills that covers more than 80% of market share participated in the survey. A total of 29 participants: 20 technicians and 9 purchasers from 5 Japanese flour mills that covers more than 80% of market share participated in the survey.

Technical trials

Biscuit assessments were conducted with two Indonesian mills while cake assessments were conducted with two Japanese mills. Technical trials were conducted using Japanese and Indonesian mills’ in-house biscuit and cake quality control methods used for assessing wheat quality of incoming shipments, respectively. Wheat samples harvested in 2016/17 and 2017/18 were used in the study, except for one of the Indonesian mills where only samples harvested in 2016/17 were tested.

Results

Choice analysis

The purchasers and technicians of Indonesian mills ranked Solvent Retention Capacity (SRC) values as the most important quality attributes when purchasing soft wheat. Following SRC values, the technicians ranked biscuit spread ratio, while the purchasers ranked grain moisture as the most important quality attributes. The purchasers ranked extraction rate and flour colour as the least important, while the technicians ranked flour and grain colour as the least important.

The purchasers and technicians of Japanese mills ranked cake sensory texture i.e. ‘melting-in-mouth’ and crumb softness, followed by cake volume, as the most important when purchasing soft wheat. The purchasers and technicians ranked wheat origin, grain colour and SRC values while the technicians ranked SRC values and grain colour as the least important.

Technical trials

The cookie trials conducted with two Indonesian mills using samples over two harvests showed that the cookie spread ratio of ANW2 and ASFT samples were comparable or higher than that of SWW. However, similar to SWW samples, the SRC values of ASFT and ANW2 do not always meet the SRC specifications, possibly influenced by wheat variety, growing year and location. In general, the performance of ASW was inferior to that of ASFT and ANW2.

The cake trials conducted with two Japanese mills using samples over two harvests showed that the cake volume of ANW2 and ASFT were comparable or higher than that of SWW. However, the cake sensory texture of ANW2 and ASFT were acceptable for one of the Japanese mills but slightly unacceptable for the other mill. The performance of ASW was inferior to that of ASFT and ANW2.

Conclusion

The cake volume and biscuit spread ratio of ANW2 and ASFT are comparable to that of North American SWW, which offer blending options to achieve satisfactory end product quality. There is export market potential for Australian soft-grained wheat to Asia to meet the growing demand for soft wheat.

Acknowledgments

• GRDC for providing research funding.
• Indonesian and Japanese collaborators.
• InterGrain, LongReach, Stirlings to Coast Farmers, CBH, Premium Grain Handlers P/L, Tony Guiness and Allied Mills for providing samples.
• Mr Peter Elliott, AEGIC, at initial stage of project concept development.

GRDC Project Number:

GRDC Extension AEG00006