Creates eye structure and produces gluten.
(1) Strong flour forms a lot of strong gluten, while soft flour produces less gluten.
Difference between soft flour and strong flour
(2) Long-term storage (6 months to 1 year) in hot and humid conditions like summer in Japan reduces the ability to form gluten.
(3) When adding a certain amount of water, the formation of gluten differs depending on whether you add it all at once and mix it or add it little by little. The gluten is better formed when mixed little by little.
(4) Immediately after kneading, the viscoelasticity is strong and extensibility is weak, but extensibility increases as it is kneaded. By letting it stand for a while, extensibility increases.
(5) Adding salt increases the viscoelasticity. (It slows down the action of enzymes and the progress of fermentation.)
(6) Addition of a small amount of sugar reduces the viscoelasticity, but improves extensibility and stability. Adding large amounts of sugar (at least 30% of the flour) helps reduce gluten formation. This is because it is strongly hydrophilic with sugar, so water and sugar bind together and inhibit the formation of gluten. Also, mixing sugar and water before adding flour suppresses gluten formation, whereas adding water to flour before adding sugar has less effect.
(7) Fats and emulsifiers coat proteins and inhibit hydration and gluten formation, but increase extensibility and make the dough smoother. It should be noted that less gluten is formed when water is added after mixing flour and oil than when adding oil after mixing wheat flour and water.
(8) When alkaline water is added to wheat flour and kneaded, it acts on glutenin and increases extensibility. This is why water is added when making Chinese noodles (water mixed with sodium carbonate, calcium carbonate, etc.).
A pH of 5 to 6 is ideal for forming highly elastic gluten.
(9) The higher the temperature of the water to be mixed, the faster the water absorption and the easier the viscoelasticity. If the temperature is low, the water absorption is poor and it becomes hard. Also, if the temperature is higher than 70°C, it affects starch gelatinization and protein denaturation, resulting in poor gluten formation.