The gluten has flexible and elastic properties but has a solid structure that helps wheat flour hatch, fluffy, tough, stretch in products such as bread, cakes or instant noodles ... So What is gluten and applications Of Gluten In Cake Productionand applications?
Gluten is a protein-based ingredient that exists in barley, wheat ... with its characteristic elasticity and flexible that makes wheat flour hatch, fluffy, tough and suitable for making foods like bread, cakes, instant noodles, pizza, cookies, baked snacks.
Not only that, with the elasticity of gluten is also used as a thickener in the production of soups, confectionery or in the processing of meats and seafood, gravy, soy sauce, sweet soup, medicine, functional foods, marinades ... So what is gluten and the application of gluten in cake production means what we learn in the article below.
What is Gluten?
Gliadin and glutenin are the two main components and make up most of the protein of wheat flour. These two proteins are insoluble, and when kneaded with water, they swell up and form an elastic, flexible mass called the gluten.
Gluten makes up a large of all protein in wheat flour
When in the wet state, Gliadin has high adhesion and elasticity that gives gluten adhesion, while glutenin is a complex protein that will make the dough elastic and firm.
Gluten is found in any food?
Normally gluten is found in wheat, with different types of wheat the amount of gluten varies. Can be found in common wheat with about 20-25% of the grain weight gluten. The chemical composition of gluten also depends on the varieties and on the quality of wheat.
Gluten is found in many foods, especially wheat (Image: Internet)
Gluten can be found in wheat flour made from wheat, rye, barley, bran, wheat germ, etc. In oats, a similar substance to gluten, protein avenin, can also be found in double cultivation. when gluten is found in certain types of oats.
On average, dried gluten will contain about 85% protein, 2.3% fat, 2% minerals, the remaining is about 10.12% of carbohydrates.
How to determine the amount of gluten in food?
To determine the wet gluten content, it is usually determined by washing powder samples with salt solution to perform the removal of starch or water-soluble substances. The residue after washing is called wet gluten and is calculated as a percentage by a percentage.
Gluten is the most abundant in wheat and flour made from wheat (Image: Internet)
For example, in high-protein wheat flour, the wet gluten content accounts for about 35%, in low-protein wheat contains about 22%. During centrifugation, the gluten is pressed through a sieve to filter the gluten content, the rest of the sieve is considered gluten and is calculated as a percentage. The higher the percentage, the stronger gluten and vice versa.
How Assess the quality of gluten?
In order to assess the protein content of wheat, it is not only about the gluten content and quality, but also nutritionally, we need to pay attention to the amino acid content of the protein content. We can judge gluten quality through the following evaluation indicators:
Gluten colors: About colors that can be used to assess gluten quality, it can be seen that if the gluten is good, the color will be light, sometimes gray or yellowish. Bad gluten is gray.
Water absorption: In terms of the water absorption of gluten, their quality can also be assessed. In gluten, the ability to absorb water is quite high, so to determine the fresh gluten, the amount of dry gluten must be determined. Usually fresh gluten has less than 65% water content.
Elasticity: In gluten with elasticity, plasticity is considered to be the most important characteristic. This property demonstrates the ability to retain gases in powders.
Tensile strength of gluten: Tensile strength is similar to the elastic property of gluten, demonstrating the ability of flour to retain gas.
Volumetric change: In gluten, there are indicators of gluten expansion, so based on this indicator, gluten quality is assessed.
The benefits of gluten for cake production:
Through the properties that gluten, it will bring of benefits in the processing of foods such as:
- Gluten helps to increase the flexible, elasticity, make the dough solid and keep the product shaped with better structure and shape.
- Gluten has good water retention and absorption capacity, so it can make cakes or foods softer, increasing the storage time for breads. Also can add flavor to the cakes.
- Gluten is not only available in nuts but also used individually in the production of foodstuffs of other industries. Industries such as pasta production, processed foods such as sausage, pork, chicken or used to sprinkle on pizza surface ...
Gluten helps to increase the flexible, elasticity, creating certainty for the dough
How Gluten application in cake production?
Thanks to the flexible and elastic properties of gluten, together with the solid properties in shaping, wheat flour has properties such as creating explosive, spongy, tough, stretchy bread, cakes or real foods. instant food .... Gluten plays an important component in flour to produce products that affect the structure and the surface of the product. Mixing flour containing gluten with yeast sugar and incubating the dough will keep the amount of CO2 trapped in the dough, giving the cake the necessary swelling. Going through the baking process will cause the gluten to agglomerate and fix the final shape for the cakes.
Gluten application in bread:
Gluten is often used in bread production
f gluten does not contain bread, it will not be blooming, light as the bread we often use. Therefore, in the production process of flour and confectionery are often very focused on gluten ingredients.
Gluten will help the dough process when baking, the dough will expand and shape higher in the cake mold. As such, gluten powders can create the elastic structures necessary for bakery products and cakes.
What role does gluten play in making cakes and biscuits?
Gluten is often not welcome in biscuits
Usually in the process of making cakes and biscuits, people often choose flour that contains less protein (only in the range of 7.5 - 9%). Unlike bread, gluten is not always preferred because products with a hard structure do not want to appear if used in making biscuits and cakes.
When performing baking techniques in the mixing stage, focusing on combining the materials and air in the homogeneous flour mixture will create the cake with the desired lightweight structures. However, gluten-free biscuit production is not welcome because it can cause the dough to shrink, deform or deform the cake after baking.
These foods contain gluten
The most common and high-gluten foods mentioned in this list are:
- Wheat
- Spent the wheat
- Buckwheat
- Barley
- Bread
- Pasta
- Cereal cakes
- Beer
- Types of cakes
- Baked products.
So these foods are on the list of popular diets. This method is extremely effective to maintain your physique and help you become slim.
Notes to know when using gluten
While gluten plays a very important role in making cakes and some foods, you should also pay attention when using gluten. For some people, gluten can cause health problems with Celiac disease. This is a condition that is considered gluten sensitive or gluten intolerant.
Patients with celiac symptoms should not use gluten-containing foods (Image: Internet)
Symptoms of this disease can affect the immune system when they are exposed to gluten and prevent the body from absorbing the important nutrients that cause malnutrition or the threat of live. Or you may experience some symptoms such as diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, flatulence, dizziness, cramps, skin irritation, fatigue or worsening that can lead to depression.
Therefore, if you detect symptoms of celiac disease, do not tolerate high-gluten foods, carefully read the product labels to avoid products containing gluten.
With the information on what gluten is and the application of gluten in baking is provided above, hopefully you will understand more about the gluten ingredients in flour and good application in the baking process. Good luck!
