A Comparative Assessment of the Baking Quality of Hybrid and Population Wheat Cultivars

The study assessed the quality parameters of grain and flour, the rheological properties of dough and the quality of bread prepared from flour of hybrid cultivars of wheat in comparison with population cultivars of wheat. As the interest in wheat hybrids cultivars from the agricultural and milling industry is growing, their technological value of grain and flour was evaluated at two levels of nitrogen fertilisation (N1—110 kg/ha, N2—150 kg/ha). Increasing the fertilisation (N2) produced a significant influence on the crude protein and gluten content in the flour, as well as the moisture of the crumb and the yield of the dough without impacting other rheological traits and parameters of bread baking process. The performed principal component analysis (PCA) allowed for identification of the best cultivars among the studied wheat cultivars (Hybery and Hyvento). The hybrid cultivar Hyvento was characterised by favourable qualitative traits of the grain (vitreousness, crude protein content) and rheological parameters of the dough (bread volume), however, it had lower baking quality parameters. Among the hybrid cultivars, the best applicability for baking purposes was Hybery due to the favourable values of the baking process parameters and bread quality (bread yield, bread volume, Dallmann porosity index of crumb). Hybrid cultivars of wheat can therefore be used for the production of bread and be an alternative in agricultural production for population cultivars, which will contribute to filling the knowledge gap for the hybrid wheat cultivars.