When mixed with water, flour should form a fluffy and elastic dough, characterized by a uniform consistency and elasticity. Basically, these qualities are due to the presence of a special substance - wheat gluten. It has many beneficial qualities, but a number of people stubbornly consider this substance to be harmful and try in every possible way to avoid eating foods containing it.
What is gluten
This substance is called gluten because it is a grayish sticky and sticky elastic mass when wetted with water.When dry, it is a translucent powder, tasteless and practically odorless.
Gluten may also be called gluten. Most of it is found in flour and baked goods, pasta. The presence and quantity of gluten largely ensure the quality of flour products, since the fluffiness, elasticity and firmness of bread depend on it.
Composition and chemical features
Gluten is a group of proteins that is found along with starch in the endosperm of grains. Proteins called prolamins and glutelins are found in amounts up to 85 percent of the total protein content in wheat and other cereal crops: wheat hybrids, rye, barley and oats.
The prolamins found in wheat are called gliadins, and the glutelins are called glutenins. Other grains have different protein names.
What is Gluten IDK and how does it work?
Gluten contains vegetable proteins, vitamins A, E, group B, a number of minerals and more than 15 amino acids important for human health. For a healthy person without celiac disease or allergic reactions, foods containing gluten are not only harmless, but also extremely healthy.
Gluten is widely used in cooking, baking and the food industry.Gluten is used not only for baking, but is also included in meat products, sauces, even chewing gum and fish feed.
The calorie content of the substance is 350 kilocalories per 100 grams of food, so it is recommended to add it to the food of athletes and people engaged in heavy physical work.
An important indicator of flour quality is GID, or gluten deformation measurement. The meaning of the term means how much gluten can resist stretching. It should not be too dense or too soft. The IDC level for each class is established by GOST.
The deformation coefficient is determined using a special device - IDK-1M or IDK-2.
Amount of wheat gluten by class
Based on the gluten content in different types of flour, the following classes are distinguished:
| Quality class | Characteristics of gluten | Gluten quality, in IDK units | |
| Bread and general purpose flour | Pasta flour | ||
| 1 | Average or good | 53-77 | 48-82 |
| 2 | Satisfactory weak | 78-102 | 83-107 |
| 3 | Unsatisfactory weak | 103 and above | 108 and above |
Gluten by grain class:
| Grain class and its group | Gluten content, percentage | Quality group | Purpose |
| I, A | 36 | I | |
| II, A | 28-32 | II | |
| III, A | 23-27 | III | |
| IV, B | 18-22 | IV | |
| V, B | Not fixed | V | |
| VI feed grain | For livestock feed and the formation of compound feeds |
The porosity and lightness of the bread crumb is directly related to the class of gluten in the flour.
What does its level depend on?
Gluten plays an important role in the quality of baked goods. Its level depends on the following factors:
- Wheat variety.
- Climate.
- Soil and its characteristics.
- Watering.
- Treatment against pests, diseases, weed control.
- Storage of grain and its treatment with preparations.
Symptoms of intolerance
1 percent of the entire world population suffers from a special disorder - gluten intolerance. The disease is called celiac disease and is one of the manifestations of an allergic reaction that is inherited genetically.
The patient's immune system perceives gluten in food as a foreign substance and reacts to it, causing an inflammatory process in the intestines. It is impossible to get rid of the disease using medication. The only effective method is a gluten-free diet.
This is easy enough now that there are dozens of gluten-free products available for celiac disease sufferers. In children, manifestations of celiac disease are associated with insufficient weight gain, weak immunity, digestive disorders, abdominal pain, impaired dental growth, and swelling.
Symptoms of the disease in adults:
- Weight loss.
- Pain in the navel area in the form of spasms.
- Nausea, vomiting.
- Diarrhea and constipation.
- Flatulence.
- Blood in feces.
- Low pressure.
- Anemia.
- Problems with blood clotting.
- Arthritis.
- Reduction of the spleen (one of the hematopoietic organs).
- Dental problems.
- Sexual dysfunction.
- Liver inflammation.
- Neurological disorders (observed in 10% of patients).
Such symptoms cannot be ignored, as this can lead to irreversible health consequences. It is necessary to seek medical help and undergo a comprehensive examination.
Lately, the fear of gluten has taken on fashion proportions.Many people refuse products containing gluten, not because they have health problems, but because they consider it fashionable and healthy. There are studies that reducing gluten consumption helps maintain health in the presence of cardiovascular pathologies, but for healthy people, reducing gluten consumption, much less giving it up completely, is not beneficial and even harmful.
