Dried gluten in baking

A compilation of research into the use of dried gluten in baking processes.

The development of a gluten structure is critical to the formation of a cellular structure in many baked products - especially bread - and so is crucial to end product texture. Gluten is formed when the proteins in wheat flour are hydrated and subjected to the energy of mixing. In wheat flour, the level of proteins for gluten formation varies depending on many factors, whilst the amount required depends on the breadmaking process in use and the addition of other functional ingredients. Dry gluten has therefore become a common supplement to flours for breadmaking, to achieve the desired level.

This review aims to provide background information on the application of dry gluten in baking, especially breadmaking. It takes the form of a collection of articles and reports based on research carried out at the former Flour Milling & Baking Research Association (FMBRA), Chorleywood. In most cases, the contents remain as originally written, with only minor changes for consistency. However, while much of the work described was carried out between 1980 and 1990, the information remains relevant to breadmaking today and so is republished as a single document for convenience and accessibility to the reader.

Contents:

• Dried gluten in baking
• The addition of wheat gluten to bread flour
• Properties and baking performance of commercial glutens I
• Properties and baking performance of commercial glutens II
• Chorleywood bread process: loaf volume improvement from gluten addition to flour
• Studies on commercial glutens
• The baking quality of commercial gluten
• The addition of dried gluten to weak flours for use in the Chorleywood bread process
• Comparison of gluten and Canadian wheat flour in white bread made by the Chorleywood bread process
• The response of single wheat flours to gluten fortification
• Gluten recovery from home-grown wheat: is variety important?
• The interaction between single variety glutens and single variety base-flours
• Gluten fortification of brown flours used in the Chorleywood bread process
• The effects of gluten, fungal alpha-amylase and DATA ester in wholemeal bread made by CBP
• The storage stability of gluten-fortified white breadmaking flours
• Appendices