A mixture of many proteins in which gliadin, glutenin, globulin, and albumin predominate; it occurs in highest percentage in wheat (Manitoba wheat contains approximately 12%) and also to some extent in other cereal grains, usually associated with starch. It comprises 18 amino acids. Gluten is insoluble in water and hydrophilic. Its specific adaptability to bread making is due to its elastic, cohesive nature that enables it to retain the bubbles of carbon dioxide evolved by leavening agents; this also imparts to doughs their characteristic dilatant properties. This behavior is due to disulfide cross-links and hydrogen bonding between the proteins or their constituent amino acids.
Use:
Special breakfast foods and other cereals and foods, cattle food, adhesives, production of certain amino acids.