AbstractBACKGROUNDMealworm (Tenebrio molitor) larvae are nutritious edible insects and exhibit the potential to act as protein substitutes in food products. In this study, we added mealworm powder as a substitute to medium‐gluten wheat and whole wheat flours to enhance the quality of baked products. We compared the pasting, farinograph and extensograph properties of medium‐gluten wheat and whole wheat flours replaced with different concentrations of mealworm powder to explore the interactions between flour and mealworm powder.RESULTSMealworm powder changed the pasting characteristics of medium‐gluten wheat and whole wheat flours. After adding 20% mealworm powder, the pasting temperature of the medium‐gluten wheat flour remained unchanged (approximately 89.9 °C), while the pasting temperature of whole wheat flour increased from 88.83 to 90.27 °C. Water absorption of medium‐gluten and whole wheat flours exhibited a decreasing trend with increasing mealworm powder concentrations. Mealworm powder substitution resulted in stronger medium‐gluten dough but exerted an opposite effect on the farinograph properties of whole wheat dough. Mealworm powder substitution decreased the stretching resistance of medium‐gluten dough but increased that of whole wheat dough. With an increase in the concentration of mealworm powder, the specific volume of medium‐gluten wheat steamed bread significantly increased from 1.69 mL g−1 (M0) to 3.31 mL g−1 (M10) whereas that of whole wheat steamed bread increased from 1.64 mL g−1 (M0) to 2.34 mL g−1 (M15). The addition of mealworm powder increased the protein, dietary fiber, lipid and sodium contents of steamed bread samples.CONCLUSIONSThis study provides a reference for the rheological properties of medium‐gluten wheat and whole wheat flours substituted with mealworm powder and supports the addition of insects as a protein source in food products. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.