On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 891

hard
elastic
Spelt,soft 15 Strong,moderatelyelastic
WheatGluten
Gluten in Wheat Flour Doughs Wheat has
longbeentheWest’spremiergrainprimarily
because its storage proteins have unique
chemical properties. When flour is mixed
with water, the gluten proteins bond to each
other and form an elastic mass that can
expandtoaccommodategasbubblesproduced
by yeast. Without wheat, then, we would not
have raised breads, cakes, and pasta as we
know them. Gluten quantity and quality vary
significantly among different wheats, and
determine the uses to which a given type is
put.
Gluten as a Separate Ingredient Because
they’re both cohesive and insoluble in water,
the gluten proteins are easily separated from


the rest of the flour: you simply make a
dough,thenkneaditinwater.Thestarchand
water-soluble substances wash away, and
tough, chewy gluten remains. Gluten as a
unique food ingredient was discovered by
Chinese noodle makers around the 6th
century, and by the 11th was known as mien
chin, or the “muscle of flour.” (The Japanese
call itseitan.) When cooked, concentrated

glutendoesdevelopachewy,slipperytexture
like that of meats from animal muscle.Mien
chin became a major ingredient in the
vegetariancookingthatdevelopedinBuddhist
monasteries;therearerecipesdatingfromthe
11th century for imitation venison and jerky,
and for fermented gluten. Because gluten
contains a high proportion of glutamic acid,
fermentationbreaksitdownintoacondiment
that was an early version of savory-tasting
MSG (p. 342). One of the simplest ways to
prepare gluten is to pinch off small bits and
deep-fry them; they puff up into light chewy