There are many different qualities of gluten in different wheats. Some
may be very soft and not very tenacious; some may be like the ones
described above; and others may be so strong that they are tenacious
enough not to stretch without excess pressure. Such glutens are improved
by blending with weaker glutens. Flour from the large mills is blended to
produce a working quality of gluten that gives similar results when baked
in different batches. Strong glutens may be improved by the addition of
malt extract, which contains a larger proportion of the proteolytic enzyme
proteinase than is found in the flour. Since part of the protein is hydrolyzed
by the proteinase there is not such a compact mass left and the remaining
gluten is softer and more elastic.
Effect of Added Substances on Gluten of Dough
Egg. In thin batters, to improve the baking quality or to give structure
to the finished product, eggs are added. Without their addition only a
thickened mass with no increased volume is obtained. The egg protein
coagulates when heated and with the gluten retains the gas formed in
the batter.
Fat. The addition of fat gives a shorter dough or a more tender one.
By short, bakers refer to the gluten breaking quickly and not adhering
tenaciously. Fat causes the gluten threads to pull or break apart more
easily. In other words, it might be stated that when the gluten particles
are "greased" or lubricated they adhere less strongly.
Starch. Bailey and Le Vesconte have found that the addition of starch
to a bread flour results in a decreased extensibility. The addition of 10 per
cent of starch decreases the extensibility only a little, but the addition of
424 FLOUR AND BREAD
larger quantities decreases it to a greater extent. The gas-retaining capacity
of the dough and the quality of the bread are also impaired. However,
since the added starch is not embedded in gluten and the diastase can act on
such starch quickly, Alsberg states that carbon dioxide will be formed more
rapidly, with which statement Johnson and Bailey agreed.
Cooked mashed potatoes are sometimes added to bread doughs. Since
the starch is cooked, judging from Kuhlmann and Golossowa's results, the
water-binding capacity of the dough and bread should be increased; but
too large a quantity of mashed potatoes because of the dilution of the gluten
may impair the quality of the bread.
Sugar. Jago reports that sugar causes a diminution of the amount of
gluten that can be washed from a dough. When the sugar was added to
the dough and the gluten extracted with alcohol much more gluten was
dissolved, from which he concluded that sugar has a solvent action on gluten.
Baking powder. Baking powder is added to dough as a leavening agent,
that is, to produce carbon dioxide gas to stretch the gluten and produce
a porous texture. The ingredients of the baking powder and the residue
of the salts formed from the reaction of the baking powder may have either
an inhibiting or accelerating effect upon the hydration capacity of the gluten,
depending upon the particular cations and anions of the baking powders
or their salts.
Bread
Bread is made of flour, water, salt, fat, and sugar. To these ingredients
the yeast plant is added. The right treatment of the whole mass gives
a loaf of bread of good volume containing cells of definite structure and
size.
Page 345
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There are many different qualities of gluten in different wheats. Some
may be very soft and not very tenacious; some may be like the ones
described above; and others may be so strong that they are tenacious
enough not to stretch without excess pressure. Such glutens are improved
by blending with weaker glutens. Flour from the large mills is blended to
produce a working quality of gluten that gives similar results when baked
in different batches. Strong glutens may be improved by the addition of
malt extract, which contains a larger proportion of the proteolytic enzyme
proteinase than is found in the flour. Since part of the protein is hydrolyzed
by the proteinase there is not such a compact mass left and the remaining
gluten is softer and more elastic.
Effect of Added Substances on Gluten of Dough
Egg. In thin batters, to improve the baking quality or to give structure
to the finished product, eggs are added. Without their addition only a
thickened mass with no increased volume is obtained. The egg protein
coagulates when heated and with the gluten retains the gas formed in
the batter.
Fat. The addition of fat gives a shorter dough or a more tender one.
By short, bakers refer to the gluten breaking quickly and not adhering
tenaciously. Fat causes the gluten threads to pull or break apart more
easily. In other words, it might be stated that when the gluten particles
are "greased" or lubricated they adhere less strongly.
Starch. Bailey and Le Vesconte have found that the addition of starch
to a bread flour results in a decreased extensibility. The addition of 10 per
cent of starch decreases the extensibility only a little, but the addition of
424 FLOUR AND BREAD
larger quantities decreases it to a greater extent. The gas-retaining capacity
of the dough and the quality of the bread are also impaired. However,
since the added starch is not embedded in gluten and the diastase can act on
such starch quickly, Alsberg states that carbon dioxide will be formed more
rapidly, with which statement Johnson and Bailey agreed.
Cooked mashed potatoes are sometimes added to bread doughs. Since
the starch is cooked, judging from Kuhlmann and Golossowa's results, the
water-binding capacity of the dough and bread should be increased; but
too large a quantity of mashed potatoes because of the dilution of the gluten
may impair the quality of the bread.
Sugar. Jago reports that sugar causes a diminution of the amount of
gluten that can be washed from a dough. When the sugar was added to
the dough and the gluten extracted with alcohol much more gluten was
dissolved, from which he concluded that sugar has a solvent action on gluten.
Baking powder. Baking powder is added to dough as a leavening agent,
that is, to produce carbon dioxide gas to stretch the gluten and produce
a porous texture. The ingredients of the baking powder and the residue
of the salts formed from the reaction of the baking powder may have either
an inhibiting or accelerating effect upon the hydration capacity of the gluten,
depending upon the particular cations and anions of the baking powders
or their salts.
Bread
Bread is made of flour, water, salt, fat, and sugar. To these ingredients
the yeast plant is added. The right treatment of the whole mass gives
a loaf of bread of good volume containing cells of definite structure and
size.