Mitch,
In the bread bakers digest, you wrote:
>It is important to remember that =
>flour itself does not contain gluten, only proteins which, when mixed =
>with water or a liquid, are capable of forming hydrates which then =
>=3Donly=3D become gluten when properly kneaded.
I'm not sure I agree with this. It has been my understanding that gluten
is a naturally occurring component of the wheat berry (and it occurs to a
lesser extent in oats, rye, and barley, as I have learned from people who
have celiac sprue and must avoid gluten in their diets). There is also a
product called seitan, which consists primarily of wheat gluten.
I don't know the process by which vital wheat gluten is extracted from the
grain, but the kind we sell in our food co-op is labeled as containing 75%
protein. But it is correct that the dough must be adequately kneaded
before the gluten can develop sufficient elasticity to support the
structure of the bread as the yeast causes it to rise.
Bonnie Briscoe
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Bonnie Goodwill Briscoe e-mail:bbriscoe@runestone.net
Morris, Minnesota, USA
Language is all that separates us from the lower animals--
and from the bureaucrats.
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