Have you ever bitten into a loaf of chewy, doughy bread fresh from the oven? If you look at your slice before devouring it, you will notice the baked dough has a slightly stretched appearance in which bubbles of different sizes have created gaps in the dough. You might already know that yeast is responsible for the bubbles, but did you know that gluten is responsible for the stretchy strength of the dough?
Flour Sources
Flour can be made from many types of sources. Common sources include wheat, rye, barley, rice, brown rice, potato, corn and tapioca. Less commonly recognized sources of flour include garbanzo beans, fava beans, almonds, quinoa, millet, sorghum, buckwheat, flax and soybeans, the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America says. According to the Lallemand Baking Update, kernels of grain are separated and rolled into smaller and smaller particles until flour is produced.
Wheat Flour
In the case of wheat flour, the kernel is first separated into its components: bran, germ and endosperm. The endosperm is ground into flour, and the bran and germ are removed for other uses. In the United States, the endosperm flour is refined flour that is low in niacin, thiamin, iron and riboflavin, and these nutrients are added back into the final product, the Lallemand Baking Update shows. Wheat flour contains a high fraction of gliadin and glutenin, proteins that make up a family of proteins called gluten. Because of that, it is the most commonly used flour for baking.
Gluten's Role
Gluten is the name for a group of proteins that are found in wheat, rye and barley. Some proteins in that family of proteins include gliadin and glutenin, to which some people are allergic, the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America says. Wheat, rye and barley flours contain gluten, and when flour is combined with water and then stretched and kneaded, the gluten proteins create long strands throughout the dough, the Food Reference website says. These strands create structure and provide strength for the dough to expand when the yeast produces carbon dioxide gas bubbles. When the risen dough is baked, it firms up and becomes the chewy bread you crave.
Gluten Allergy and Sensitivity
Those who are allergic to gluten experience an adverse reaction whenever they consume gluten-containing foods. For people who suffer from celiac disease, this reaction includes damage to the small intestines. Some individuals are sensitive to gluten and may experience discomfort and digestive upset, but they do not suffer intestinal damage. In order to avoid reacting to gluten, they must avoid all foods that contain it, including wheat, rye, barley and foods made from those ingredients. They must also avoid foods processed on equipment shared with those foods, because even the minutest exposure to gluten could cause a reaction, the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America reports.
Gluten-Free Flour
Because many baked goods contain wheat flour, individuals with gluten sensitivities must carefully select their foods. The Gluten Intolerance Group of North America recommends choosing baked products made from naturally gluten-free flours. These flours include rice, potato, corn, amaranth, buckwheat, millet, sorghum, brown rice and quinoa. Other gluten-free flour includes almond, garbanzo, fava, tapioca and soybean. Because they lack gluten and have different properties from wheat, these flours must be combined in order to achieve an acceptable product. Some flours, the Gluten Intolerance Group says, work as great thickeners, and others may brown better, provide better flavor or provide a grainy texture.
