AbstractEight wheat samples of four cultivars, grown in different regions of New Zealand, were heated at 75‐110°C in order to heat‐damage them. Untreated wheat samples were used as controls. The wheats were then milled to give white flours. Starches were isolated from the treated and untreated flour samples. The baking potentials of the starches were estimated from remix baking tests using a starch gluten system. Heat‐damage to wheats had a significant adverse effect on the baking performance of starches isolated from these wheats. This effect was not as large as the effect on gluten quality. Heat‐damage caused no apparent alterations in starch physicochemical parameters as measured by scanning electron microscopy, Amylograph pasting, gelatinization ranges, X‐ray diffraction, swelling power and solubility, and water hydratio