The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) grading standards for wheat places hard red spring and hard red winter (Triticum aestivum L. em. Thell) wheat into separate classes. One important criterion for this designation is kernel type. Because of genotypes being released by plant breeders in recent years, distinction between these two classes is difficult for grain graders. As a consequence some people in the grain industry favor placing both of these wheat types into one class. One hazard of this action is that end use properties of these two wheats, according to some industrial firms, is class dependent. We studied quality characteristics of five hard red spring and seven hard red winter wheat cultivars grown at the same three Montana locations in 5 different years to evaluate this concept. Analysis of variance indicated quality differences between classes for all traits except flour yields, which were similar for the two classes. Flour ash content, farinograph absorption, peak time, stability time, valorimeter, grain protein content, bake absorption, mix time, and loaf volume were all significantly higher for spring than winter wheats. These values were still higher for spring than winter wheats except for test weight when wheat protein content was the co-variate. Both statistical treatments show that hard red spring wheat flour has higher water absorption percent, longer dough mixing requirements, longer dough stability times, and higher loaf volumes than hard red winter wheat flour.Key words: Bread wheat quality, loaf volume, grain protein content, protein quality
