Chapati from germinated wheat

Suitability of germinated wheat for chapatti making was determined by comparison with chapatti made from ungerminated wheat (control). Germination of wheat made it more friable, and produced a flour with reduced falling number (reflection of alpha-amylase activity) but increased reducing sugars and diastatic activity. Germinated wheat flour gave a lower yield of chapattis due to a lower water requirement (59.4%) than the control (68.6%) for making dough of optimum consistency. There was no difference in rolling characteristics of the 2 doughs, but dough made from germinated wheat flour developed a slight stickiness and had a greater increase in reducing sugars during resting than the control (4.3 to 8.5% and 2.8 to 5.3%, resp.). Chapatti made from germinated wheat flour was less pliable and had darker charred coloured spots; eating quality was poor due to a harder texture, but it had a sweetish taste. After storage, the germinated wheat chapatti had improved eating quality and taste compared with the dry, brittle control. Acceptable chapattis can therefore be made from germinated or rain-damaged wheat.