To improve the quality of buckwheat noodles, superheated steam treatment at 200°C was applied to buckwheat flour before blending it with wheat flour for noodle production. The particle size distribution, color, and microstructure of the blended flour were evaluated. Additionally, the rheological properties and water distribution of the composite dough, as well as the textural properties and microstructure of the noodles, were analyzed. The results show that prolonged treatment duration resulted in enlarged flour particles, a decrease in L* value, an increase in a* and b* values, and progressive starch aggregation. The water absorption capacity of the dough increased with extended treatment time. The dough formulated with flour treated for 5 min demonstrated optimal farinographic properties, characterized by the dough stability time of 5.70 min, the degree of softening of 69.97 FU, and the farinograph quality number of 85.00. Regarding the noodles, texture parameters, including hardness, adhesiveness, and chewiness, initially increased and then decreased with longer treatment time, reaching optimal values at 5 min. Specifically, the hardness and chewiness values were 5410.40 g and 3930.10 g, respectively, under this optimal condition. Noodles made from flour treated for 5 min also displayed a denser microstructure with reduced porosity. Therefore, a 5 min superheated steam treatment was identified as optimal for enhancing the textural qualities of buckwheat noodles. The optimal outcome is attributed to moderate structural modifications in starch and proteins at this duration, which synergistically strengthened the noodle matrix.
Zhao et al. (Sun,) studied this question.