Wheat flour is the main ingredient used in the preparation of bread. Factors such as low gluten content and the addition of nontraditional ingredients in baking affect the quality of wheat flour and may limit its use in baking. With the increasing trend of “clean label” products, it may be interesting to develop and use physical processes to improve the quality of wheat flour and avoid the use of chemical additives. High hydrostatic pressure, non-thermal plasma, ultrasound, ozonation, ultraviolet light, and pulsed light treatments are non-thermal emerging technologies (NTETs) that have been studied for this purpose. They were originally developed to inactivate microorganisms and enzymes in foods. Additionally, these technologies can be used at low temperatures to modify the most important component of wheat flour, i.e., gluten and its fractions, which are responsible for the rheological properties of wheat flour dough. Thus, this review focuses on the effects of these NTETs by considering the following factors: (1) the technological properties of gluten, (2) gluten–starch interactions, (3) possible effects of NTETs on minor components of flours, and (4) the quality of wheat flour and the resulting final products.

Despite the high global production of beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.), its peel is often discarded. Transforming beetroot into flour can reduce waste, improve food security, and decrease environmental pollution. However, large-scale feasibility depends on understanding drying kinetics and optimal storage conditions. This study aimed to investigate the effects of different temperatures in the convective drying of whole beetroot and evaluate the influence of laminated flexible and plastic packaging on flour stability over two months. Drying kinetics were analyzed using five models, with the Page and Logarithm models showing the best fit (R² > 0.99). D_ef values (1.27 × 10⁻⁹ to 2.04 × 10⁻⁹ m² s⁻¹) increased with rising temperatures while drying time was reduced (from 820 to 400 min), indicating efficient diffusion. The activation energy was 29.34 KJ mol⁻¹, comparable to other plant matrices. Drying reduced moisture and increased ash concentration in the flour. The flour showed a good water adsorption capacity and low cohesiveness, making it marketable. Laminated packaging was more effective in controlling physicochemical parameters, reducing hygroscopicity, and maintaining quality over 60 days. In summary, the Page model can predict beetroot drying kinetics effectively, and laminated packaging can control flour stability.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the changes that occurred during processing white breads enriched with 5, 7.5, and 10% of medium-polymerized inulin (MPI). Farinographic analysis revealed that enrichment caused the development time and dough stability to increase by up to 69.9% and 62.8%, respectively, when 7.5% of MPI was incorporated into wheat flour. This indicated that the added MPI strengthened the doughs. Conversely, alveographic analysis demonstrated that MPI was harmful to the gluten network. The specific volume and humidity of breads with up to 7.5% MPI were similar to those of the control (MPI-free) bread. During bread storage for 10 days, we noticed that the retrogradation rate increased only for the bread sample with 10% MPI. However, MPI enrichment, regardless of concentration, promoted an increase in the Avrami exponent and affected bread firmness. Bread staling analysis indicated that the moisture difference between crumb and crust was higher for the MPI-enriched breads than for the control. Moreover, we prepared more consistent doughs and fresh breads with MPI contents of up to 7.5%, which presented good quality and were good fiber sources; however, we determined that inulin did not present an anti-staling effect.