Gluten in wheat

Gluten is a storage protein found in several grains such as wheat, barley and rye.

Wheat gluten is the water insoluble complex protein fraction separated from wheat flours.

It is primarily a mixture of two types of protein from the wheat kernel glutenin and gliadin.

Gluten helps hold things together. It gives elasticity to dough and will help it rise and maintain its shape. It gives bread its structure and chewiness.

Wheat gluten is a protein-lipid-carbohydrate complex, formed when flour is hydrated: when the starch is washed away with more water, the gluten coheres as an elastic, insoluble, rubber like mass, which can be dried to give a cream colored powder.

Gliadin is the fragment of the gluten-chain that can’t be digested by those with celiac disease or non-celiac gluten-intolerance.

As a natural source of protein, gluten is commonly used as an additive on foodstuffs with a low protein value and it’s also used in a variety of hair and skin care product.
Gluten in wheat