Breads, including white, whole wheat and rye, rely on a protein called gluten for stability and texture. While all types of wheat flour contain some amount of gluten, you may find recipes that call for gluten flour or vital wheat gluten along with all-purpose or bread flour. Understanding how gluten works can improve the crumb and quality of your homemade bread.
Gluten
Gluten is a stretchy, elastic protein that develops when wheat flour is exposed to moisture. The amount of gluten present depends on the type of flour. Cake flour has very little gluten, while bread flour has a substantially higher percentage. Gluten flour or vital wheat gluten is pure gluten protein with the starch and bran removed. If your bread dough has a higher percentage of gluten, the loaf will be higher and chewier. A tender loaf of bread requires less gluten.
Nutrition
Nutritionally, gluten flour adds protein to your homemade bread. A quarter cup of vital wheat gluten contains 120 calories and 23 g of protein. Gluten adds only a minimal amount of fat to each loaf of bread. Vital wheat gluten contains a small amount of calcium and iron.
Types of Bread
Adding gluten benefits some breads more than others. Breads baked with flours that are naturally low in gluten, like whole wheat or rye, rises higher with the addition of vital wheat gluten. You also may find that gluten flour improves the texture of heavy breads with seeds, nuts and fruit. Bread recipes that typically rely on bread flour, such as bagels and chewy pretzels, may benefit from gluten if you're using all-purpose flour in place of bread flour.
Adding Gluten Flour
If you would like to add gluten to your favorite bread recipe, allow 1 tbsp. per 2 to 3 cups of all-purpose, whole wheat or rye flour. As an alternative to adding gluten flour, you may replace all-purpose flour with higher-gluten bread flour or use a mixture of whole grain flour and bread flour for better height and texture.
Considerations
While gluten flour can help to create a high and stable loaf of bread, it can also make your bread tough and chewy. Avoid overworking high-gluten dough, especially if you are kneading with a stand mixer rather than by hand. You should not use higher gluten flours, like bread flour or flour enriched with gluten flour, for tender baked goods, like cakes, biscuits or pie crust.
