Characterizing Low Falling Number in the Absence of Elevated Alpha‐Amylase Activity in Soft White Wheat and the Impact on Japanese Sponge Cakes

Background and Objectives Non‐alpha‐amylase induced low falling number was identified in 2024 soft white wheat. The objectives of this work were to characterize these low falling number samples and determine the impact on end‐product quality. The results were analyzed to determine differences in flour characteristics that might result in a low falling number. Findings Analysis suggests that physiochemical changes in starch properties and low protein content may be contributing to the 2024 low falling numbers. Low falling number Japanese sponge cakes were comparable to the control cakes and produced an acceptable product. Conclusions The falling number method did not correctly determine grain end‐product quality for the 2024 samples. Starch pasting properties identified by the Rapid Visco Analyzer provided significant diagnostic information and will be important for future work. Significance and Novelty To our knowledge, this is the first characterization of grain with low falling number in the absence of elevated alpha‐amylase activity and the impact on end‐product quality.