Gluten Flour

            Gluten flour is wheat flour with the starch removed. It is used for break making by those who wish to restrict their carbohydrate intake. It can also be used to make gluten dishes, which are high in protein and therefore useful in vegetarian diets.

            Gluten is an elastic protein substance that is present in all wheat flours to a greater or lesser degree. Spring or hard wheat is high in gluten, and this is what makes it a good flour for making bread; the gluten surrounds the bubbles of fermenting yeast and yields light airy loaves. Winter wheat or all-purpose flour is rather low in gluten and therefore does not lend itself to break making, for the loaves would be crumbling and heavy. Gluten flour comes in handy when using flours that are low in gluten, such as corn, soy, rye, oat, and barley; for each cup of low-gluten flour, add ½ cup gluten flour in exchange for an equal amount of wheat flour, and your loaves will avoid the heaviness that these low-gluten flours tend to produce.

            To make gluten for vegetarian dishes, mix gluten flour or wheat flour with water to create a stiff dough; soak and knead in cold running water until the water is clear of starch and all that is left is a glutinous ball of dough. Of course, this is a quicker process with gluten flour than with wheat flour. The dough is sliced and steamed or parboiled, then treated like a slice of meat to be sautéed or ground and shaped into patties or loaves.

            Although gluten has the advantages of being high in protein and low in carbohydrates, it is also low in minerals – they are lost during the soaking process of extracting the gluten from the wheat flour.

            ***

GLUTEN-SOY BREAD

1 tablespoon dried yeast (or 1 compressed yeast cake)

1 ½ cups lukewarm water

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon pressed vegetable oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups gluten flour

¾ cup soy flour

¾ cup whole wheat flour

1.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.      Dissolve yeast in warm water and let it rest until it begins to foam. Stir in honey and oil. Sift in salt, gluten flour, and soy flour and stir very thoroughly.

3.      Spread the whole wheat flour on a kneading board. Put batter on board, flour your hands, and knead for about 8 minutes, adding more whole wheat flour if necessary. The more you knead, the lighter the bread will be.

4.      Place it to rise in a covered oiled bowl, in a warm spot, until double in bulk. This will take an hour to an hour and a half. Then punch down the dough, form it into a loaf, and place it in an oiled bread pan. Let it rise again until the dough is just a little higher than the top of the pan. Bake for about 50 minutes.

5.      This high-protein, low-starch load is so light and tasty – no one would ever suspect it of being a “health” bread! 

6.      Makes one loaf.