Production of pastas with Wheat Flour

LEÓN, A. E.; BUSTOS, M.C.; MARTÍNEZ, C.S.

Modernization of Traditional Food Processes and Products

Springer

Lugar: New York; Año: 2016; p. 75 - 89

Pasta from bread wheat are prepared mainly from three basic ingredients; flour, water, and salt.  The basic process of dough mixing, sheet forming, sheeting/reduction, and cutting are essentially constant for all pasta types. Pasta strands coming out of cutting rolls can be further processed to produce different types of pasta. This chapter analyzed all the major processes involved from raw material to finished products in relation to pasta processing properties and cooked pasta texture. Different ingredients and their functionality in pasta processing were discussed as well. Guidelines were provided to select the right ingredients to produce high quality pasta products. Processingproperties, appearance, and colour of pasta are the three key criteria used to judge a process and raw material quality. High quality pasta should be bright-yellow colour with very slow discoloration, have an adequate shelf life without visible microbiological deterioration or oxidative rancidity, and have appropriate flavour and textural characteristics which will vary according to the pasta type and region. Flour plays a key role in all aspects of noodle quality. Protein content is positively correlated with pasta firmness. Therefore, a correct range of protein content is important for textural characteristics. Adequate gluten strength and extensibility is required in all pasta flours. The importance of the pasting properties of starch to the texture of cooked noodles has been well-documented. A relatively fine flour particle size enables even hydration during mixing and optimum, uniform gluten development during sheeting. Increased starch damage, however, is associated with poor pasta colour and undesirable high cooking loss and excessive surface swelling.