stretching, but when the stretching is stopped,
the molecules spring back to their compact
coiled form. The visible result of these
submicroscopic events: the stretched dough
creeps back toward its original shape.
Gluten formation. When flour is mixed with
water and made into a dough, glutenin protein
molecules link up end-to-end to form long,
composite gluten molecules. Dough is elastic
because the gluten molecules are coiled and
have many kinks in them. When a mass of
dough is stretched, the kinks are straightened
out, the coils extended, and the proteins get
longer(bottom). When the stretching tension
is released, many of the kinks and coils re-
form, the protein mass shortens, and the
dough shrinks back toward its original shape.