It is known that the changes that take place in flours during hydrothermal treatment depend on the initial water content of the product, the temperature reached and the time and type of treatment: heated rolls, atomization or extrusion (Chiu and Solarek, 2009).
Extrusion produces gelatinization of starch and increased damaged starch content, together with a reduction in lipid oxidation due to enzyme inactivation, an increase in soluble fibre and a reduction in thermolabile vitamins, antinutritional factors and microbial load (Camire et al.,1990). Extrusion also causes higher levels of mechanical damage in starch than traditional cooking methods (Wolf, 2010). Extruded wheat flours may therefore be an interesting
alternative to pregelatinized starch and hydrocolloids to increase bread output in the bakery manufacturing process. Furthermore, it is not necessary to label these kinds of flour as additives but as wheat flours, which will facilitate clear labelling, a tendency currently favoured in the food industry (Sloan, 2011).