Abstract:In the industrial production process of traditionally fermented flour products, the influence of a certain storage period of fresh flour on the production process and product features of Chinese steamed bread (CSB) as fermented food is very prominent, and often causing quality fluctuations. In this paper, the lab-milled 3 flours were taken as 3 repeat samples set under the condition of room temperature, with the tools of dough rheo-fermentation instrument and other equipment. Regular analysis on rheo-fermentation and other properties of the dough, as well as the quality sensory evaluation of Chinese steamed bread (CSB) was conducted to determine a reasonable storage period for fresh wheat flour. The results showed that during the storage processes, the dough stability time increased and the weakening degree decreased, with the dough rheological property improved. The fermentation volume of rheo-fermentometer decreased significantly, so as the volume of the CSB. But the trend of change of the sensory evaluation characteristics of the CSB was not obvious. The test results by instrument Rheo F4 can reflect the rheo-fermentation properties of the dough, wherein rheo-fermentometer, such as the time required for maximum development (T1), maximum development reached by the dough (Hm), and dough development height at final fermentation time (h), have obvious guiding for production of the CSB. We therefore suggest that the flour to be used for the industrial production of CSB should stay in storage for more than 7 days after milling.