Millers, bakers and consumers may prefer hard white wheat when given a choice. This preference is particularly strong in some international markets that purchase wheat from the United States. Although markets, both foreign and domestic, are limited and price premiums are not presently established and may never be offered, this is a market with potential. When milling wheat to a flour color standard, hard white wheat has a flour yield advantage over hard red wheats. Products baked from whole white wheat flour seem to have a more pleasing appearance when they are made from white wheat instead of red wheat.
White bran is much less obvious than red bran in flour and food products.
In addition, white bran does not impart the bitter taste associated with red bran. This may account for the consumer preference. New hard white wheat varieties must be well adapted, high yielding, resistant to pests and adverse weather conditions, and produce quality grain. Researchers are working to combine all of these desirable characteristics into new varieties and that takes time. Established breeding programs for hard red winter wheat usually take 10 years or longer to develop a new variety.