## 3 Results
### Rheological Properties of Dough and Bread Quality  
The dough stability was negatively correlated with the crude ash content of flour (Table S6) and weather conditions during grain ripening (Figure 4a). In turn, the degree of dough softening was positively correlated with the crude ash content and weather conditions from the milk stage to the fully rip stage (Figure 4b). Figure 3: The effect of the sowing date on the total protein content of wheat flour. Means with the same letters do not differ significantly at \(p\leq 0.05\) in [PERSON]’s test. Figure 2: The effect of the sowing density on the color of wheat flour. Means with the same letters do not differ significantly at \(p\leq 0.05\) in [PERSON]’s test. Flour in the second growing season was characterized by more desirable rheological properties, including the longest dough development time (3.7 min), the highest dough stability (9.0 min), and the lowest dough mixing tolerance index (38.4 jB). In this growing season, a dry spell during grain ripening (K = 0.40-0.79) improved the rheological properties of flour (Table S4). The values of dough development time (3.5 min), dough stability (6.3-7.4 min), and degree of softening (48.2-53.5 jB) were least desirable when winter wheat was sown in August (sown early and sown with a delay of 14 days). Delayed sowing (+28 days) had a positive impact on the dough development time and stability (increase of 6% and 14-33%, respectively) and the degree of softening (the dough mixing tolerance index decreased by 12-21%), regardless of weather conditions (Table 2). Delayed sowing improved the rheological properties of flour, because grain ripening took place under less favorable weather conditions (Table S4), which increased the dough stability (negative correlation) and decreased the degree of dough softening during mixing (positive correlation) (Figure 4). The sowing density and split spring N rate exerted a significant effect only on the dough stability (Table S5). The dough stability was highest when winter wheat was sown at a density of 400 grains m\({}^{-2}\) (7.8 min) and when N fertilizer was applied at 100 and 40 kg ha\({}^{-1}\) (7.7 min). A decrease in the sowing density to 200-300 grains m\({}^{-2}\) and the application of \(40+100\) kg N ha\({}^{-1}\) decreased the dough stability by 8-10% and 8%, respectively (Table 2). An increase in the sowing density to 400 grains m\({}^{-2}\) had a particularly beneficial influence on the dough stability when sowing was delayed +28 days (Figure 5). The effect of the sowing density and split spring N rate on dough stability did not vary depending on weather conditions in the years of the study (Table S5). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Parameter** & **Development Time (min)** & **Stability (min)** & **Degree of Softening (jB)** & **Bread Load Volume (cm\({}^{3}\))** & **Crumb Density (g cm\({}^{-3}\))** \\ \hline  & & \multicolumn{4}{c}{Growing season} \\
2018/2019 & 3.5 b  & 5.2 c  & 60.5 a  & 333 b  & 0.27 a  \\
2019/2020 & 3.7 a  & 9.0 a  & 38.4 c  & 350 a  & 0.24 b  \\
2020/2021 & 3.5 b  & 7.8 b  & 45.2 b  & 347 a  & 0.23 c  \\ \hline  & & \multicolumn{4}{c}{Sowing date, mean for 2018–2021} \\ Early & 3.5 b  & 7.4 b  & 48.2 a  & 343 & 0.25 a  \\ Delayed (+14 days) & 3.5 b  & 6.3 c  & 53.5 a  & 343 & 0.24 b  \\ Delayed (+28 days) & 3.7 a  & 8.4 a  & 42.4 b  & 344 & 0.24 b  \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: Rheological properties of dough and bread quality. Figure 4: Linear regression between dough stability (**a**) and the degree of softening (**b**) vs. the Selyaninov hydrothermal index during winter wheat grain ripening. * significant at \(p\leq 0.05\). The analysis of the flour quality also involved a direct assessment of the baking quality in a laboratory baking test. It was assumed that the baking test would reveal specific quality traits that could not be determined with the use of indirect measurement methods. The bread loaf volume and crumb density were influenced by the ash content of the flour.