Emmer and einkorn are hulled wheat species adapted for cultivation in marginal, low fertility situations. Largely abandoned in central Europe, their cultivation receives increasing interest, especially for organic farming, in the last years. Both, recently released varieties and accessions from gene banks are available for cultivation. Yet, but information is needed about cropping techniques, variety performances and in particular about their aptitude for baking. The present project studies rheological properties and the taste of 11 emmer and 5 einkorn varieties and accessions from the gene bank of Agroscope. Grains from variety trials at Agroscope Changins between 2014 and 2016 were used in these experiments. In a first step, standard criteria such as the falling number, the Zeleny Index, protein content (NIRS), water absorption capacity, extensibility wheat gluten and yellowness were measured. The second step included then the milling of the samples to standard white flour (450 mg/kg ashes) as regularly used in Swiss bakeries and the production of typical breads in a professional bakery. According to the bakers’ habits, bread was produced with his proper sourdough. Addition of water to the dough was adjusted to the water absorption capacity of each variety. The doughs were kneaded by hand and fermentation lasted up to 14 hours at 5 to 6.5°C with a 2 hours rest before baking The hedonic and sensory tests included 11 criteria (volume, form, crackling, colour and texture of the crust, but also odour, colour, texture and taste of the crump etc.), evaluated by an ad-hoc panel formed by personnel of Agroscope. Overall, all emmers showed an elevated protein content (avg. 15.3%) and high water absorption capacity (avg. 64.4%), outperforming the einkorns. The Zeleny indices were in average rather low (avg. 14.4 ml) and varying between 4.5 and 18.5 ml. Compared with wheat, this indicates a low protein quality. In both species, the dough shows low kneading resistance and low kneading stability. In consequence, dough preparation must be adapted by opting for a long fermentation, low kneading intensity. The bread tasting revealed significant differences between the species and the single accessions. The emmer variety JAKUB and the genebank accessions AMIDONNIER and PR52 produced high volume bread loafs. Furthermore, they showed an attractive outer appearance and an excellent taste type “hazelnut/ sour”. Some einkorn varieties were appreciated for their taste and the yellow crumb. Even though, einkorn generally showed significantly lower loaf volumes compared to emmer, the variety MONLIS combined a good loaf volume with a nice odour and an attractive taste.
