I'm confused about gluten.

[kldickinson1]

I've been working on a good 100% whole wheat bread recipe for a few months, and I'm very confused about the role of gluten in bread. You want to knead the bread to activate or form the gluten, which will give bread its structure, right? Does it follow suit that a lot of kneading will give whole wheat bread a very dense texture?

I'm trying to create a lighter sandwich loaf, but the crumb of my breads keeps coming out dense. It's tasty, but it's way too much bread for a mouthful of sandwich.

Can anyone clarify what the role of gluten is, how long I should knead for, and what I can do to lighten the crumb of my bread?

[Anon001]

From Wikipedia:

"The glutenin in wheat flour gives kneaded dough its elasticity, allows leavening and contributes chewiness to baked products like bagels."

The glutein is protein basically. * Without working the gluten, your bread won't rise properly.

As far as kneading, I don't use JUST whole wheat. *I use white flour or white and whole wheat mixed. *I knead until the dough gets a nice and shiny sheen to it which takes at least 20 minutes.

Also keep in mind that whole wheat requires more liquid than white flour. *So you maybe getting your dough too dry and possibly overcooking it.

[kldickinson1]

I just baked a 100% whole wheat loaf, and while there are plenty of small holes in the bread (i.e. it's not the dreaded brown brick), the overall texture is very firm and bordering on rubbery.

Is this texture the result of not enough activated gluten (i.e. more kneading will yield a lighter, less dense crumb) or too much activated gluten (i.e. too much kneading is making the bread too firm)?

The ultimate goal is to lighten up the loaf, and I have a feeling it lies in the kneading and the ensuing gluten formation.

[Anon001]

Not knowing how you make your bread,..... you knead until the dough has a nice and shiny sheen to it. It usually takes me AT LEAST 20 to 30 minutes to knead bread dough.

[kldickinson1]

Okay, I'm going to try this for my next loaf. Shiny finish to it. Thanks!

[annabella1]

100% whole wheat wont get that shiny sheen, you will have to use some white flour. 100% wheat bread takes longer to bake, and will be dense if it is not done enough. It should sound hollow when you tap it on the bottom.

[Bootz]

Whole wheat flour has MUCH less gluten than white flour. MUCH less! I used to have a decent whole grain recipe but have lost it. It used just a bit of soaked quick oats and honey for the sweetner. I speculated that the gumminess of these 2 ingredients acted like gluten, maybe? I didn't add any eggs or milk to weight things down.

I used oil, not a solid shortening for fat and used a moderate amount. Too much will weigh the dough down. Too little will make the dough go stale almost instantly.

I kept the dough as moist as possible. Dry doughs don't rise as well as moist ones. I made sure the dough was FULLY risen before putting it in the oven.

We didn't usually make sandwiches with it, unless they were open faced. Cold cuts were too expensive at the time.

If you add white flour make sure it is bread flour or some other high gluten flour so you are getting maximum benefit from what you add. You can also purchase gluten.

My whole wheat recipe was lighter than most recipes including white flour or gluten. I really think it had something to do with small amount of soaked oats and the honey and lack of eggs and milk. People used to accuse me of lying about the ingredients and were mad at me :-0

[CarolG]

The other thing you can do is to add vital wheat gluten to the mix. It will help form more of the gluten you need for the rise.

[zbery1]

I have been working at making soft, light, 100% whole grain bread for years. My best advice is to try adding some other whole grain flours. A couple of my favorites are oat and rice. There are many to chose from. The most helpful thing I have found is liquid lecithin, what I use comes from soy. You will find it listed in the ingredients of many store bought breads. It works as a dough conditioner and helps the bread rise higher and stay softer. I use about a tablespoon per large loaf, add it to the liqiuds before adding the remainder of the flour. Hope that helps.