Grain and flour characteristics of eastern U.S. soft winter wheat desirable for making soft‐bite white salted noodles

Background And Objectives The genetic backgrounds and growing conditions of eastern U.S. soft winter (ESW) wheat vary widely and thus produce grains of diverse quality characteristics, which encompass those required for making soft‐bite white salted noodles (WSN). However, these characteristics have yet to be identified and cataloged. The grain and flour characteristics and WSN making quality of 25 ESW wheat varieties and four commercial noodle flours (CNFs) were analyzed to identify grain and flour characteristics desirable for making WSN. Findings Kernel hardness, protein content, and gluten strength‐related parameters of ESW wheat were significantly associated with WSN cooking and textural properties, while damaged starch content was the major determinant of WSN adhesiveness. A total of 9 out of 25 ESW wheat flours exhibited protein characteristics, WSN color and textural properties that closely matched to those of CNFs. Conclusions ESW wheat varieties with kernel hardness of 16.0–45.4, damaged starch content of 1.9%–4.4%, flour protein content of 8.6%–10.2%, sodium dodecyl sulfate sedimentation volume of 30.4–41.6 ml and lactic acid solvent retention capacity of 115.6%–142.7% were identified to produce WSN of comparable quality to those of CNFs.