My little spot

I feel really dumb

Good Morning, Everyone...

I am feeling rather dumb, this morning.  I LOVE baking bread but have come across a few recipes that call for Gluten.  What the heck is it and what is it for???   I went to the Health Food Store, here in town and I found Gluten Flour.  I don't know if that is what they meant.  I know that my bread has been turning out, pretty darned good, without the stuff but if the recipe calls for it, I would like to use it.  Would someone out there please explain it to me?  Does it make the bread rise higher?  Is it a flavor booster?  Man o man, I am definately showing the fact that I am a city girl . 

It looks like all the rain is over for us, for a while at least.  It is still rather chilly for San Diego and my hubby has been yelling for some cinnamon rolls so I think I just may have to give them a try, today.  I really need all of the calories and you know if I bake them for HIM, I am going to have to try some of them. No resistance, whatsoever.

You all have a wonderful day.

Hugs,  Sheila

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01:06, Friday, February 8, 2008 .. Posted by Citygal

I'll be interested to read what people have to say about that - 'cause I don't know what it is either! And I've just been leaving it out of the recipes that call for it too.
Rachel from New Zealand

Gluten

02:17, Friday, February 8, 2008 .. Posted by Wendy

From what I understand Gluten is the protein part of the flour. Gluten is what makes the bread rise higher - so high gluten flour is for making bread (but doesn't matter didly for cookies or muffins). It's for yeast products. You can buy plain gluten at the grocery in a box (expensive!) or at the bulk food store in a little bag - looks like a powder type stuff that you add 1 TB for each cup of flour if I remember correctly (I used it for a while and didn't really notice much difference so I quit - it's been years since I used it). It's doesn't affect the taste that I know of- just the rising quality of your flour. That is why spring soft wheat doesn't contain much gluten - so it is not good for bread, but hard winter wheat does (grown mostly out west). Side note: People that are allergic to wheat are generally allergic to the gluten portion of the wheat!Hope this helps - I didn't bother to log in to comment. :0)

did a search

02:31, Friday, March 7, 2008 .. Posted by AbiBuening

I did a search on gluten. here are some sites I came up with maybe they will help you.
<http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-gluten.htm>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluten>
Some info from this site: <http://breaddaily.tripod.com/id465.htm>
1. What is gluten?


Gluten is the name of the insoluble protein in wheat. All breads made with wheat flour will have an amount of gluten in them already. Each brand of flour has a different amount of gluten in it, varying depending on the hardness of the wheat used to make the flour.


2. Bread (wheat) has gluten in it already...why does a recipe require more to be added?


Again, each brand of flour has a different amount of gluten naturally occuring in it. If you use a flour which contains less gluten, your bread may not rise as high, as it may not be able to hold as many gas bubbles. Recipes are developed by many people using very different ingredients. If the developer used a flour containing less gluten, they may have added some to change the texture of their bread.


3. Just what does the gluten do? Is it the gluten or yeast (or both) that makes the bread rise?


Gluten is the substance that makes bread dough elastic. The elasticity determines how many of the gas bubbles formed by the yeast (or other leavening agent) are held within. The more bubbles the dough can hold, the higher it will rise. Both the gluten and the yeast work together to make the dough rise. The absence of one or the other will change the consistency of the bread.


4. If I don't add the called for gluten to the recipe, what will happen?


If you omit the gluten from a recipe, your bread may turn out very dense or flat. However, the necessity of adding it to the recipe, would depend on your flour. If you use flour made from a hard wheat, such as bread flour (read the ingredient list on your flour to determine what wheat is used), you may not need to add as much gluten or any at all. If you are skeptical of adding it directly to a recipe, try the recipe without it. You may like the results, or you may wish to try it both with and without before you decide how you wish to make your recipe.


5. How much Gluten is normally used in a basic bread recipe?


A rough guideline for adding gluten to a recipe is to add 1 teaspoon of vital gluten per cup of whole grain flour in your recipes. Some brands of gluten will recommend to use 1 tablespoon per cup of whole grain flour. This should produce a taller loaf. If you find the loaves are still shorter than you would like, increase the amount by adding an extra teaspoon until you get the results you desire (be sure to note the amounts on the recipe). Make sure you remember that each brand of flour will have a different amount of gluten naturally present, so you also may want to note which type/brand or flour you used when you experimented with adding gluten.

Untitled Comment

09:09, Thursday, April 10, 2008 .. Posted by Deblyn

It seems to make the bread softer as well!

Thanks for posting about your berries and grapes on my blog. That was very helpful! :)

Hi Sheila...

01:46, Wednesday, April 23, 2008 .. Posted by lancelotacres

I really don't know anything about gluten, but I wanted to welcome you.

I did the same thing with the colors not showing up on my blog...LOL.

I wanted to let you know that I reposted my chicken spaghetti recipe...I'm sorry it didn't show up the first time, I'm still not sure what happened. Sorry about that.

Hugs,
Lisa

A loaf of bread the walrus said, is what we chiefly need.

12:23, Thursday, May 1, 2008 .. Posted by Scarecrow

hello fellow baker.
I found this:
Bread flour is a high-gluten flour that has very small amounts of malted barley flour and vitamin C or potassium bromate added. The barley flour helps the yeast work, and the other additive increases the elasticity of the gluten and its ability to retain gas as the dough rises and bakes.

Flour sold as high-gluten or simply gluten flour has been treated to remove most of its starch, which leaves it with proportionately more of the proteins that produce gluten. It is generally used as an additive to doughs made of low-gluten flours, such as rye flour, to give them the elasticity that they can’t muster on their own.

Untitled Comment

11:17, Saturday, May 10, 2008 .. Posted by Schatzi

Just stopped by to say Hi and hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Blessings,

Connie