Analysis of Solvent Retention Capacity and Noodle-making Quality of Commercial Semolina Flour

This study selected commercially available eight semolina flour samples and one common wheat flour as raw materials. The particle characteristics, physicochemical indexes and solvent retention capacity were tested with the aim of clarifying the difference between the two and the reasons for it. Meanwhile, this paper evaluated the processing quality properties of semolina flour in terms of making traditional dried noodles. Significant differences (P<0.05) were found between the particle size distributions of semolina and common wheat flours. Semolina flour had a larger grain size. The average particle size (D50) of common wheat flour was 60.32 μm while the semolina flour samples were bigger than 77.43 μm. Compared to the common wheat flour, semolina flour had lower ash and damaged starch content, higher gluten index and better gluten quality. Except for the lactic acid retention ability, the remaining three solvent retention abilities of the semolina flour were significantly lower than those of common wheat flour (P<0.05). Semolina flour dried noodles had the advantage of flexibility and excellent cooking resistance. The percentage of dry matter water absorption was significantly higher than that of common wheat flour noodles (P<0.05). Although semolina flour noodles had a high rate of cooking loss, its hardness and adhesiveness were low, the extensibility of the noodles was better. These showed better texture as well as elasticity.