Scientists identify ideal cookie dough

Wooster, Ohio – New research may identify tomorrow’s superstar wheat plants for producing whole-grain soft wheat flours for cookie doughs.

That’s according to the Agriculture Research Service (ARS), a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The researchers from the ARS and Ohio State University have been conducting ongoing studies. Their most recent work was published in the journal Crop Science last year.

The research may help plant breeders to focus on wheat plants that produce soft wheat flours ideal for cookie doughs.

Increase whole grain consumption

While consumers might enjoy their cookies, many don’t consume enough whole grains. The ARS says that higher consumption of whole grains has been associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.

New evidence from the scientists’ research confirms that two inexpensive, readily available and relatively simple tests are reliable tools for getting an early-in-the laboratory indication of how good a promising new wheat may prove to be as a future source of whole-grain cookie flour.

The two procedures – the sucrose SRC (solvent retention capacity) test and the milling softness equivalent test – aren’t new. But the team’s study is perhaps the most thorough examination of the tests’ reliability as an early screen for a new soft-wheat flour’s performance in whole-grain cookie doughs.

The scientists used 14 different commercial varieties of soft wheat for this research. The study showed that breeders and food processors can rely on the SRC and softness tests for early screening.

Later, when they want to narrow their focus to only those plants that are uniquely superior sources of whole-grain cookie dough flour, they can invest in the “wire-cut cookie test,” a more expensive procedure.

ARS, Ohio State University, and Kraft Foods North America funded the research.