Cereal Chem 60:360 - 366.  |  VIEW ARTICLE
Preharvest Sprouting of Winter Wheat. II. Amino Acid Composition and Functionality of Flour and Flour Fractions.

K. Lorenz, P. Roewe-Smith, K. Kulp, and L. Bates. Copyright 1983 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Preharvest field sprouting of wheats reduces the baking potential of flours because alpha-amylase and protease in wheat increase. Baking experiments with flours milled from wheats of varied degrees of sprouting and with gluten-starch systems from the same flours demonstrated that excessive alpha-amylase causes stickiness of doughs and poor handling and machining properties, and that a high level of protease affects the gluten properties, producing an expended loaf volume of poor internal quality. Soft wheat flour applications and thickening powers of starches are also adversely affected by sprouting.