## 1 Introduction  
Wheat (_Tritcium aestivum_ L.) production for food purposes in Europe and around the world dictates the consumption model and determines the safety of food and human nutrition [1; 2].  
With its high content of complex carbohydrates, wheat grain is a significant source of the energy provided in food, particularly due to the high contribution of cereal products (flour, goats, flakes, pasta, bread) in the daily diet of people. What is more, it constitutes a basic and valuable source of protein, minerals (P, K, Ca, Mg and micronutrients), B group vitamins, dietary fibre, and antioxidants, being at the same time one of the major allergens [3; 4].  
In combination with water, wheat flour creates dough with unique viscoelastic properties (distinguishing it among the flours of other cereals), enabling processing the dough for bread, pasta and other food products, which stems from the presence of gluten proteins in its composition [5; 6].  
Baking quality of wheat flour depends largely on the amount of seed storage proteins, in particular glutenins, the content of which is dictated by, among other things, the climate and soil conditions and fertilisation, in particular with nitrogen, which is also a cultivar-related trait [7; 8]. Thus, the increasedglutenin content contributes to increased dough resistance to stretching and prolonged dough development time, whereas a higher HMW glutenin content increases dough resistance and bread volume [9].  
What is more, every new cultivar possesses its own set of genes controlling the synthesis of gluten proteins and affecting the formation of a different quality of gluten, determining the specified value of quality traits of the wheat grain and flour. Nowadays, as a result of accelerated biological advances, attempts are being made to obtain wheat cultivars with more favourable grain quality properties enriched in terms of nutrition with the greatest possible amount of bioactive substances, while being tolerant of stress and variable climatic and soil conditions [10].  
One strategy in wheat breeding is the improvement of yield stability and size under stress conditions created by biotic and abiotic conditions of the environment by means of hybrid vigour [11]. Interest of the public and private sector in hybrid cultivars of wheat has been increasing, not only in the countries with growing concerns about food safety (China, India, Pakistan), but also in Europe and the USA [2].  
The surface area occupied by hybrid wheat is less than 1% of the global wheat cultivation area [1; 12]. In Europe, hybrid wheat is cultivated on an area of over 560.000 ha, and 80% of hybrid cultivars are grown in France, while the remaining 20% are grown in Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Portugal [2]. In hybrid wheat, the vigour obtained via cross-fertilisation differs genetically from the distinct parent lines, resulting in an improved phenotype and traits desired for plant production, such as: higher rate of growth and plant differentiation, higher and stable grain yield, better resistance to environmental stress conditions and greater competitiveness with regards to diseases and weeds [11; 12].  
Thus far, the literature data concerning the assessment of the technological value of grain and flour from hybrid winter wheat cultivars is scarce. The objective of the conducted study was assessment of the quality of grain and flour, baking quality and applicability for the production of bread of flour obtained from the grain of hybrid wheat cultivars as compared with population wheat cultivars. The wheat grain originated from an experiment utilising two levels of nitrogen fertilisation.