Let’s get down to the basics, using the most common source of gluten—wheat flour—which is the main ingredient in everything from pasta and pizza to cakes and cookies.
You know the word. Now find out what it means.
Let’s get down to the basics, using the most common source of gluten—wheat flour—which is the main ingredient in everything from pasta and pizza to cakes and cookies.
Flour is milled from wheat berries, which contain starches, proteins, and fats. There are two main proteins in wheat flour—glutenin and gliadin. Glutenin is a very large, loosely coiled protein, while gliadin is a much smaller and tightly coiled sphere. Glutenin provides most of the strength and elasticity in dough, allowing it to bounce back after it has been stretched. Gliadin, on the other hand, provides the stretch.
This coffee cake feeds a crowd and is perfect for Sunday brunches or special-occasion breakfasts.
In dry flour, these proteins are basically lifeless strands wrapped around granules of starch. But they begin to change shape when they come in contact with water, a process called hydration. Once moistened, the individual protein molecules (the glutenin and gliadin) begin to link up with one another to form long, elastic chains called gluten. These strands of gluten combine to form a membranelike network. The network engulfs swollen starch granules and gas bubbles (created by yeast, chemical leaveners like baking powder, or foams like whipped egg whites), stretching as the batter or dough rises and then bakes, giving the finished cake or loaf its structure and chew.
There are several factors that can affect gluten development. Here are three common ones.
By using almost equal parts cornmeal and flour blend, we were able to create a moister crumb with a more powerful corn flavor.
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