Controlling Gluten Development

Appears in

Published 2008

About

Flour is mostly starch, as you know, but it is the content of gluten-forming proteins, not the starch, that concerns the baker most. Gluten proteins are needed to give structure to baked goods. Bakers must be able to control the gluten, however. For example, we want French bread to be firm and chewy, which requires much gluten. On the other hand, we want cakes to be tender, which means we want very little gluten development.

Glutenin and gliadin are two proteins found in wheat flour and, in much smaller quantities, in a few other grains, such as rye and spelt. During mixing, these two proteins combine with water (that is, they are hydrated) and form a stretchable substance called gluten. As explained above, gluten forms when hydrated glutenin and gliadin proteins uncoil and attach to each other to form long chains. During mixing, these protein chains gradually stretch and become intertwined, forming an elastic network we call the gluten structure.