A procedure for the evaluation of the wheat flour hardness, based on capillary electrophoresis of a protein extract in an isoelectric acidic buffer, was developed. The 13 flour samples were extracted twice, and two injections of each extract were made. Separations were performed in a background electrolyte (BGE) containing 40 mM aspartic acid, 6 M urea, and 0.5% hydroxyethylcellulose at 60 degrees C. Using the normalized and corrected areas of 79 peaks and peak groups, a partial least squares regression (PLS1) model was able to predict the flour strength or dough deformation work (W) and the dough tenacity/extensibility ratio (P/L) (Alveograph parameters) with an average relative standard deviation in the predictions of +/- 3% and +/-8%, respectively. These values amounted to a +/- 6-8% and +/- 11% with multiple linear regression (MLR) and PLS1 models constructed by measuring only 12 peaks and peak group areas on the electropherograms.