I'm trying to make a low-glycemic bread. I've tried several keto recipes and also experimented -- I'm basically not happy with anything (too rubbery, too tall, too flat, weird taste, etc.). I've decided I need to understand the science (since bread-making is a science, after all!), but I can't find anything online that explains how to work with "vital wheat gluten" as one's dominent flour (i.e., e.g., mixed w/ oat fiber & flax). In regular wheat flour, kneading combines the two proteins gliadin and glutenin, forming strands of "gluten." Kneading warms the dough so the proteins expand during fermentation and bond. But is "vital wheat gluten" called "gluten" because the gliadin & glutenin are already bonded?? Does it need to be "developed"? Do I knead MORE or LESS or the SAME with this "gluten"? Thanks!
2 Answers
There is nothing special to vital wheat gluten. When you mix it with a low-gluten or no-gluten flour, it acts pretty much as a flour which has had the gluten inside from the beginning. So, adjust your gluten percentage to what you want it to be - around 9% would be a good match for AP flour - and use it as normal, kneading the same as a normal wheat flour.
A side note: starch is a major contributor to the fluffiness of bread, while gluten on its own gives you a rubbery texture. So don't expect to mix gluten with a random keto powder and get a bread that's exactly like wheat bread. By tweaking the recipe - experimenting with different "filler" fibers, different gluten-to-fiber ratio, adding more or less fat - you'll likely get something interesting. Just don't be discouraged when your first attempt is far from perfect.
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Vital wheat gluten is made by washing out the gluten of flour which has already been kneaded and hydrated. As such, the gluten in it should already be fully developed.
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