Wikipedia
Farinograph
In baking, a farinograph measures specific properties of flour. It was first developed and launched in 1928. The farinograph is a tool used for measuring the shear and viscosity of a mixture of flour and water. The primary units of the farinograph are Brabender Units, an arbitrary unit of measuring the viscosity of a fluid. The farinograph is a variation of the Brabender Plastograph that has been specialized for the baking industry, and it is used around the world for the objective measurement of a variety of flours.
A baker can formulate end products by using the farinograph's results to determine the following:
- Water absorption
- Dough viscosity, including peak water to gluten ratio prior to gluten breakdown
- Peak mixing time to arrive at desired water/gluten ratio
- The stability of flour under mixing
- The tolerance of a flour's gluten