Milling and Baking Tests
Great Plains Analytical Laboratory provides multiple milling and baking tests that have played a major role in making GPAL the leading Cereal Chemistry Lab in the U.S. Our test bakery can assist your quality assurance program with a full line of milling and bake tests including breads, cakes, tortillas and cookies.
Our bread baking laboratory can utilize either a straight dough formula or a sponge and dough method based on customer preference. GPAL can perform both a one-pound loaf or pup loaf bakes as well. We utilize a laser volume measurement which is more accurate than traditional volume measurements, and we also perform Digital Image Analysis which provides objective data including cell size, slice area, slice height, cell diameter, number of cells and many more parameters. A traditional bread score and respective observations are also included with the report.
As part of our milling and baking test capabilities, we utilize four Buhler experimental milling units with one unit devoted to durum milling for semolina. These mills can closely match the production of a commercial mill in a laboratory setting, thus, allowing our milling and baking results to more closely match those of a commercial flour mill.
Another piece of our milling and baking test program is dough rheology that includes Farinographs, Mixographs, Alveographs and Extensographs. All of these are specialized instruments for milling and baking tests that monitor dough strength, absorption and extensibility.
If our customers require information on entire classes of wheat (SRW, HRW, HRS), we also provide a Wheat Crop Quality Survey available bysubscription. This survey covers over 20 states, with our Field Representatives collecting samples as the wheat is being harvested. Samples are then shipped to our Lab for milling and baking tests as well as many other analyses, and those results are posted online, literally days after the wheat has been cut and often before the milling and baking companies receive new crop wheat. These milling and baking tests enable our customers to predict the wheat and flour performance for the new crop year and to know what, if any, adjustments might need to be made by the mill or bakery.
Whatever your milling and bake testing needs, Great Plains Analytical Laboratory stands ready to meet those needs.
