FAQ's
Some FAQs about Gluten
All wheat flour contains 2 classes of proteins – 1) Glutenin – responsible for elasticity and 2) Gliadin – responsible for raising of the dough. In the presence of water, these two proteins bond together. This creates an elastic network of protein called gluten. Therefore, Gluten occurs naturally in atta
Gluten naturally occurs in many cereals. Along with wheat, other cereal grains that contain gluten are barley, rye and semolina. They are also commonly found in all flour and baking products
Gluten is present naturally in many food grains like wheat, barley and rye which is consumed by millions of people. In fact, FSSAI mandates that Atta must contain minimum 6% gluten.
No. Gluten does not cause indigestion.
Gluten is a protein and when burnt, proteins form a black residue - a phenomena which is called charring. Charring is a chemical process of incomplete combustion of certain solids when subjected to heat. The resulting residue matter is called char. By the action of heat, charring removes hydrogen and oxygen from the solid, so that the remaining char is composed primarily of carbon.
Samples from every batch of grain are taken and sample flour is made which undergoes stringent tests. Test for gluten is one of the many tests. If any sample is found which does not meet the standard, the batch is discarded.
Gluten is prepared from flour by kneading the flour under water, agglomerating the gluten into an elastic network, a dough, and then washing out the starch. Starch granules disperse in cold/low-temperature water, and the dispersed starch is sedimented and dried. As per the FSSAI Manual of Methods on Analysis of Foods, the procedure for detection of Gluten in Atta is as follows:
When the atta dough is washed, the starch dissolves and what remains is an elastic network of protein which is insoluble in water. Therefore, no atta dough will completely dissolve in water. In your experiments with other samples, if an atta dough dissolves completely, it means that the sample is not a Whole Wheat Atta dough.