FoodNet

Experimental cookery

1932

Page 338

Presented as published in 1932. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Gliadin. Gliadin, either as a multiple protein, or as a component of the gluten complex, is soluble in 60 to 70 per cent alcohol. In water it swells to a sticky mass, being least soluble at its isoelectric point about pH 6.5. With increasing acidity it becomes more soluble, reaching a maximum with a pH range of 2.0 to 3.0. With hydrogen-ion concentration greater than pH 2 the solubility decreases gradually. With increasing alkalinity, the solubility of gliadin increases more rapidly than on the acid side, up to pH. 13.1, the most alkaline of the solutions used by Tague. Glutenin. It is the glutenin, classified as a glutelin, that gives the desirable baking qualities to wheat flour, qualities not possessed by any other cereal. Glutenin is insoluble in water, but is increasingly soluble in dilute acids and alkalies. Sharp and Gortner state that the maximum solubility occurs on the acid side at /»H 3.0 and on the alkaline side at />H 11. The isoelectric range, as determined by Sharp and Gortner, is from pH 6.0 to 8.0, and by Bungenberg de Jong as pH 5.6. Glutenin swells in water. If prepared with sodium salicylate it is said to resemble gluten in its coherence and tenacity. Gluten The characteristics of gluten gain in importance because it is the protein of the flour as a whole, regardless of whether it is composed of one, few, or many components, that gives the baking quality to flour. When water is 416 FLOUR AND BREAD added to flour, the proteins gradually absorb about 200 per cent of their weight in water. When flour is made into a stiff dough and kneaded for a short time, the starch can be washed out, leaving a small part of the original dough which is known as gluten. Gluten is rubbery, tenacious, and elastic. It is usually a light gray or slightly yellowish color. A large part of the gluten is composed of the proteins gliadin and glutenin. In addition to the protein, the gluten as washed from the dough contains some starch which is entangled in the gluten, some lipoids, mineral salts, and water. The amount of all these constituents of gluten varies with the manipulation in wash- ing, the kind of water used, and the character of the flour itself. The physico-chemical properties of gluten have been extensively studied and applications made to baking bread. Since gliadin and glutenin have about the same isoelectric point, rang- ing around />H 6.5 to 7.0, Bailey states, *'it might be anticipated that maximum coherence and extensibility of gluten and dough should be encountered in about the same range." Heat coagulation of gluten. Gluten seems to have no definite coagu- lation temperature. Alsberg and Griffing have reported that heating the gluten decreases its power to swell in acid solutions, the swelling power decreasing during heating from 50° to 80°C. Except at the temperatures 60° to 65°C. no information was obtained that indicated a definite coagu- lation temperature. They state that denaturation takes place over the whole range from 50° to 80°C. The swelling power was not impaired but probably increased at temperatures from 30° to 50 °C.