Overview
ISO 6820:1985 provides general guidance for the drafting of bread-making tests for wheat flour and rye flour. The standard follows the common layout used for methods of analysis so that every element required for a reproducible interlaboratory test is considered. It is intended as a reference for laboratories, standard writers and quality professionals preparing or harmonizing bread-making methods.
Key practical values: reproducibility, clear test reports, consistent sampling, and standardized procedure specification.
Key Topics
- Scope and field of application: identify the original cereal (wheat, rye, triticale or mixtures) and the type of flour (industrial, experimental or variety-specific).
- References: list of supporting standards and documents required to perform the test.
- Principle: concise description of the main phases of the method, including ingredients beyond flour, mixing conditions, fermentation and moulding.
- Ingredients: specification and preparation of water (type and temperature), yeast (type and reactivation), salt, malt (falling number reference), and optional additives.
- Apparatus: description of key equipment such as dough mixers, farinograph/valorigraph for water absorption, fermentation chamber and vessels, moulder, oven, and volume-measuring devices.
- Sampling: procedures aligned with ISO 2170 to ensure representative milled-product samples.
- Procedure: staged operations from preliminary calculations (moisture correction, water quantity based on farinograph readings) through mixing, bulk fermentation, shaping, proofing and baking. The document specifies measuring and recording bakery conditions (temperature, humidity, pressure) and energy used during mixing where needed.
- Expression of results: required measurements and calculations (e.g., water absorption, mass relationships, volume), evaluation scales and optional report templates.
- Test report: full method description, conditions, results and sample identification to allow reproducibility and comparison.
Applications
ISO 6820:1985 is useful for:
- Laboratories conducting interlaboratory or method-validation bread-making tests.
- Standard developers harmonizing national methods for comparability.
- Food technologists and quality control teams defining test protocols for wheat and rye flours.
Benefits include improved reproducibility of bread-making tests, clearer specification of ingredients and apparatus, and standardized reporting to support product development and quality assessment.
Related Standards
Relevant references cited in ISO 6820:1985 include:
- ISO 712 - moisture determination (routine method)
- ISO 2170 - sampling of milled products
- ISO 3093 - determination of falling number
- ISO 5530 (parts on farinograph/valorigraph) - water absorption and rheological properties
Use these referenced standards together with ISO 6820:1985 to build complete, reproducible bread-making test methods for wheat and rye flour.