Pulse flours are gaining traction as functional ingredients in a wide range of food applications including baked goods, pasta, noodle, snack and meat products. Studies have shown that pulse flour functionality varies as a result of its chemical composition and physical characteristics such as the degree of starch damage or particle size distribution. While the impact of milling on pulses has been demonstrated using an array of techniques (hammer mill, impact mill, roller mill, etc.), there is limited information on the extent to which the milling process can be used to alter flour performance and thus its ability to consistently achieve desired flour specifications for any one food application.
This study was intended to examine the effects of roller mill configuration on pea and lentil flour quality. The results demonstrate it is possible to produce pulse flours with targeted physical and chemical characteristics by either altering the milling process or blending flours. In addition, quality variation that occurs as a result of milling will influence the functional characteristics and thus end-use applicability of pulse flours. This would imply that specialized flours could be made with the intention of being used for a defined food application.
Key Results:
- Changes in milling configuration produces flours with a wide range of physical and functional properties
- Flour streams from the same milling configuration produced flours with a wide range of physical and chemical characteristics, for example, starch damage and protein content
- Smaller particle size resulted in flours with higher protein content and level of starch damage
- Variations in chemical and physical characteristics of streams produced from the same milling configuration were related to differences in functional properties of flour