Technological Properties of Ancient Wheat Species and Common Wheat Grown Organically Under Mouldboard Ploughing and Shallow Tillage

The need to diversify food products on the market, the interest of producer-farmers and food processors in nutritionally healthy raw materials, and especially the demand among consumers for new, high-quality product assortments have led to the introduction of ancient wheat species into cultivation. Ancient plant species are often grown using environmentally friendly agricultural technologies. The aim of the study was to compare the technological parameters, rheological properties of dough, and baking indicators of grains (and the flour milled from them) from ancient wheat species T. sphaerococcum and T. persicum with common wheat. These were cultivated using both traditional ploughing and simplified shallow tillage systems. The wheat grain was obtained from field experiments located in three certified organic farms in Poland. In the plant material samples, physical, technological and rheological parameters were determined. The grain, flour, baked bread, and the colour of grain and flour were characterised. It was found that the tested cultivation systems did not have a significant effect on the analysed traits (except for dough parameters: dough stability time, dough softening, and bread weight after removal from the oven and 24 h after baking where shallow tillage turned out to be more advantageous). In turn, the wheat species significantly influenced the tested traits. This factor was found to determine relatively high (higher than common wheat) values of protein complex and water absorption characteristics in ancient wheat flour (T. persicum: TPC/TPCF—156/150 g·kg−1, WG/WGF—39.4/34.5%, WA—62.9%; T. sphaerococcum: TPC/TPCF—145/142 g·kg−1, WG/WGF—38.5/33.3%, WA—58.2%). The obtained results for the technological and rheological properties of the grain and flour indicate that ancient wheat species, particularly T. persicum, can be a potential raw material for the production of healthy food, including bread baking.