BAKING AND NUTRITIONAL QUALITIES OF A SPELT WHEAT SAMPLE

Flours from a sample of hard red winter (HRW) wheat and spelt wheat we re evaluated for milling, baking and nutritional qualities. Milling fl our yield from the spelt wheat sample was consistently lower than from the corresponding HRW wheat sample, pup leaves made with spelt flour also showed lower volume and total scores. Both wheat grains tested po sitive for gluten and, thus, would be unsuitable for gluten-intolerant individuals. With one exception (higher zinc content), spelt wheat gr ain did not differ significantly from HRW wheat in the contents of nut ritionally important components-protein, fiber, minerals and vitamins. Expressed on g/100g protein basis, all amino acids, except tyrosine, aspartic acid and methionine, were lower (lysine by 28%) in spelt whea t as compared to HRW wheat. The protein efficiency ratios of spelt and HRW wheat grain measured 1.3 and 1.4 (casein, 2.5) and protein digest ibilities 80.1% and 78.9% (casein, 91.6%), respectively. Thus, the sup erior nutritional content and other claims that have been suggested fo r spelt wheat may be unfounded.