To investigate the effects of starch characteristics on the quality of noodle making, white salted noodles (WSN) made from reconstituted flours, in which the wheat starch was substituted by different cereal starches, including waxy and non-waxy rice starches. waxy wheat starch and waxy corn starch, were prepared. The theological properties of raw WSN were mainly influenced by the size of starch granules, where the small starch granules, such as for rice starches, exhibited high amounts of water absorption during dough preparation and a dense packing of starch granules inside a thin gluten-strand network. The theological properties of cooked WSN were mainly dominated by the amylose content and fine structure of the amylopectin, which resulted in the differences in water absorption and cooking time required for cooked WSN. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.