## 1 Introduction
A long dough development time is undesirable in the baking industry, because it increases energy consumption during dough mixing. In turn, a very short dough development time is indicative of flour with low gluten quality [34; 35]. Dough stability is defined as the time during which dough retains its shape during proofing. A high dough stability is indicative of a high dough strength and tolerance to mixing [33; 34]. The degree of dough softening is also an important technological parameter in the baking industry. A high water absorption capacity and low degree of dough softening testify to the high quality of flour. In turn, a high degree of dough softening is indicative of low-quality flour [36], and it inhibits dough fermentation [37]. The baking quality of wheat flour can be comprehensively assessed based on the crumb density and bread loaf volume in a laboratory baking test [38]. These parameters determine the quality and sensory attributes of bread [38; 39]. A dense crumb and low bread loaf volume are undesirable from the consumers' point of view [40]. The technological quality of wheat grain is a complex trait that is determined by genetic factors, agroecological conditions, and agronomic practices, including the level of agricultural inputs [41; 42; 43; 44]. Nitrogen fertilization is regarded as the key determinant of the technological quality of wheat grain [13; 43; 44; 45; 46]. Grain quality is affected not only by the N rate but also by the N application method [47]. In Poland, the optimal rate of N fertilizer in winter wheat for achieving grain yields of 8 Mg ha\({}^{-1}\) is 160-180 kg ha\({}^{-1}\), and 40-50% of that rate should be applied in the full tillering stage (FT), 30-40% in the first node stage (FN), and 20-25% in the \"flag leaf just visible, but still rolled\" stage [13]. Rapid synthesis of gluten proteins begins around 12 days after wheat flowering and ends 35 days after flowering despite the fact that the substrate (amino acids) is still present. For this reason, the total N rate has to be skillfully split into several applications to promote optimal wheat growth [13]. Nitrogen affects mainly the grain yield when applied in the early stages of wheat development, but it improves the quality of grain and flour when applied in successive growth stages [48; 49; 50]. The ash content of flour is determined mainly by weather conditions and cultivar, and it is less influenced by the N rate, N splitting,and date of N application [8; 18; 51; 52]. The color of flour is negatively correlated with the ash content, and it is also weakly influenced by N fertilization [8; 18; 53; 54; 55; 56; 57; 58; 59]. An increase in the N rate increases the protein content of flour [60; 61; 62]. In turn, the water absorption capacity of flour, rheological properties of dough (development time, stability, and degree of softening), and bread quality (mainly load volume) tend to improve when N is applied in the later growth stages of wheat [18; 52; 56; 60; 62; 63; 64; 65; 66; 67; 68]. The technological quality of wheat grain is also affected by the sowing date [69] and sowing density [66; 70; 71; 72; 73]. Global climate change has prompted researchers to redefine the agronomic requirements in wheat production, including the optimal sowing dates [74; 75; 76; 77; 78]. However, most studies have examined the effects of delayed sowing mainly in the context of winter wheat yields, whereas the impact of delayed sowing on the quality of grain and flour remains insufficiently investigated [79; 80; 81; 82; 83]. According to the limited number of studies on the subject, delayed sowing increases the ash content of wheat grain [84; 85]. In late-sown stands, grain ripening occurs at higher temperatures, which promotes crude ash accumulation [84]. The ash content is negatively correlated with the color of flour [18], which suggests that delayed sowing could also affect this attribute [86].