Application of farinograph quality number (FQN) in evaluating baking quality of wheat.

Farinograph quality number (FQN) is a conventional index introduced by Brabender™ company. This rheological index, which is a resultant of all Farinogram indices, is used in wheat research studies. In this study, the relationship between FQN and wheat quality as well as breadmaking quality of 13 Iranian wheat cultivars was investigated. A significant (α=0.01) correlation was obtained between FQN and all wheat quality characteristics, except that of protein content. Among the characteristics investigated, Dough Stability with a correlation coefficient of 0.835 showed the highest correlation coefficient. Between the wheat cultivars studied, Alamoot and Bezostaya showed the lowest and the highest FQN values, respectively. FQN gives the possibility for classification of wheat cultivars based on a single quality index.