chains. To do this they require the availability
of oxidizing agents — oxygen in the air,
certain substances produced by yeasts, or
“dough improvers” (p. 529) added by the flour
manufacturer or baker. The long, coiled
middle stretch of the glutenin molecule
consists mainly of amino acids that form
weaker, temporary bonds (hydrogen and
hydrophobic bonds) with similar amino acids.
Glutenin chains thus link up with each other
end-to-end to form super-chains a few
hundred glutenins long, and coiled stretches
along their lengths readily form many
temporary bonds with similar stretches along
neighboring gluten proteins. The result is an
extensive interconnected network of coiled
proteins, the gluten.
Gluten Plasticity and Elasticity The gluten
of the bread wheats is both plastic and elastic;
that is, it will change its shape under pressure,
yet it resists the pressure and moves back