Instructions: Aim

To separate and measure the gluten (protein) part of flour from the starch part. The starch is the milky-white substance washed away.

Materials

Several different brands of white flour
Bowls
Tap water
Spoons
Measuring equipment

Method

1.Take one flour at a time and weigh 20 grams of the flour to be tested and place it in a clean bowl.

2.Add 10 milliliters of tap water and mix into a dough with a spoon, taking care that none of the flour or water is spilled during this procedure. Make sure you mix together all the flour and water.

3.Cover the piece of dough with cold water from the tap and leave it for about 30 minutes.

4.After this time, turn the cold water tap onto a very slow flow and wash the dough. You will need to work the dough all the time (kneading with your fingers) until the water running from it is clear and no longer a "milky" white. It is a good idea to put a sieve under the stream of water to catch any lumps, so you can easily add them back to the ball of dough you are working with. (It is important to collect all the lumps).

5.Once the water is clear, squeeze the gluten ball with your fingers to get rid of as much water as possible, and then lay it aside on a smooth surface for about 10 minutes. More water will settle out.

6.Weigh
the gluten ball and round the weight to the nearest whole number. To estimate how much dry gluten you have, multiply the weight of the gluten ball by 5 and divide the result by 3. For example: from 20 grams of flour, you may have got a gluten ball that weighs 9 grams. Multiply by 5........9 x 5 = 45.........Divide by 3........45 3 = 15% gluten.

Results

Using the example above, the 15% of the flour you started with is protein. The remaining 85% is starch and other substances. Different flours will produce different amounts of gluten. Test each one to find out and record on a line graph. Remember to always:

Mix each sample for the same amount of time Soak the dough ball for exactly 30 minutes Keep the temperature of the water the same for all samples Keep the rate of flow of the washing water, and the amount of washing time the same Make sure you collect all the dough pieces in the sieve and add them back to the dough.

For fun just get gluten (its like chewing gum) out of the flour. Use 100 grams of flour and 56 milliliters of water. Make a big thoroughly mixed dough. Soak this, under water, for 30 minutes and then wash it under a constant flow of water in the same way as the experiment above.

How about finding out what happens when gluten is baked. Weigh then place some of the gluten ball on a greased oven tray. Bake it in a hot oven (220C/425F) for about 20 minutes. You will see it blow up into a big ball and then turn golden brown. Let it cool and weigh it again. Break it in half, what do you notice?

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