Instructions: As discussed in other messages Ive posted, gluten is the elastic net formed by kneading the hydrated proteins present in wheat flour. This elastic net then traps the carbon dioxide released by yeast fermentation of the sugars & starch in flour, causing the dough to rise.

You can isolate the formed gluten in a dough through a relatively simple, albeit slightly tedious procedure.

First, make a very simple non-yeast dough of flour & water (no salt or anything else, either.) Take 1/2 cup water (tepid or cool is fine) and knead in approximately 1 1/2 cups of bread flour. (All purpose will work, too, but wont yield as much gluten.) You then have to knead this dough extremely well. It doesnt really matter if it is a sticky or dry dough since you will be washing the starch out of it anyway. I used my KitchenAid mixer to knead the dough for at least about 5 or 6 minutes at high speed,

Start your kitchen sink faucet running with cool or tepid water at a medium-slow flow. Take the kneaded dough out of the bowl. In your hands, hold it under the flowing water, gently pressing it flat, turning it over, and moving it from hand to hand, squeezing gently. You will see a milky white residue flowing out with the water. This is the starch being washed out of the dough. You will need to continue this process, occasionally squeezing the dough back together, for probably 10 minutes or so.

The dough ball will get smaller & smaller as the starch is washed out. The dough will get rubberier and rubberier, reducing to about 20% of its original size, and the water will begin running clearer.

You will now have a very rubbery, elastic ball composed mostly of gluten. This can now be mixed in with another whole grain dough for added gluten. You can refrigerate or freeze it, or dry and powder it like commercial vital gluten.

Personally, Ive never used vital gluten in my baking. However, I had an interesting discussion with another member of the list this weekend and thought itd be an interesting experiment to make vital gluten again. Even if you dont plan to routinely make your own, it is a fascinating way to isolate and examine one of the most important components of yeast breads. Itll give you a whole new appreciation of the role proper gluten development plays in bread baking.

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