Flour

By: Jessica Bahan

Lab Partner: Marianne Jacobs
TA: Amanda Culley
Date: March 20, 2014

Part II:
The purpose of the flour lab was to have participants work with
different kinds of flours to compare and contrast them. The lab used
different flours such as: cake, bread, all-purpose and whole wheat. This
lab gave an understanding about gluten in flours and how much gluten a
flour has and how that affects foods. This also gave an understanding
about toughening agents (gluten, water and manipulation) and
tenderizing agents (fat and sugar.) The gluten balls exemplified how
much gluten is in some flour compared to others and how depending on
preparation of the flour, that gluten can be shown. The cake gave light
to how the agents affect the height, texture and flavor of foods.

Part III:
Effect of flour type on cake, with cake flour, procedure first began
by sifting 1 cups of cake flour, teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon
double-acting baking powder twice. In a separate bowl, teaspoon of
vanilla was added to cup of milk. In another bowl, cup shortening
was added and then cup sugar was added 4 tablespoons at a time
while creaming 100 strokes after each addition. After creaming one egg
was added to the shortening and sugar mixture and beat for a minute
with an electric mixture. Next, 1/3 of the flour mixture and 1/3 of the
milk mixture were added to the to the sugar, shortening and egg
mixture. Then the new mixture was mixed for a minute with an electric
mixer on medium speed. This was repeated two more times until all the
flour and milk mixtures were incorporated. Once all incorporated, the
mixture was mixed for two minutes with an electric mixture on high
speed. Once mixed, the batter was transferred to a greased and floured
8-inch square-baking pan. The cake was baked at 375 degrees
Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. The cake was finished when it pulled away
from the pan slightly. Testing for doneness was preformed by pressing
on the center on the cake with a fingertip, and the cake sprung back up
so it was ready to remove. The cake was then taken out of the oven,
cooled and cut into pieces for evaluation. All of the other cakes were
made the same except instead of using 1 cups cake flour other
kitchens used 1 cups of: bread flour, all-purpose flour and whole
wheat flour. Participants evaluated: height, texture and flavor of each

cake and wrote different evaluations based on the different kinds of

flour used. This experiment took place in the test kitchen.
Preparation of gluten began by measuring 120 grams of cake flour
and 60 milliliters of water. The water was then gradually added to the
flour while mixing it with a fork. Once the dough was stiff and not sticky,
it was kneaded. Kneading took about 12 minutes on the kitchen
countertop until the dough was smooth and elastic. Then, the dough
was wrapped in a cheesecloth and manipulated under a cold, running
water. This happened for about 25 minutes until the water coming from
the dough appeared clear. Then the gluten was taken out of the
cheesecloth and gathered into a small, smooth ball. The gluten ball was
then placed on a baking sheet and baked for 15 minutes at 425 degrees
Fahrenheit. The temperature was then reduced to 300 degrees
Fahrenheit and cooked for another 30 minutes. The gluten ball was then
removed from the oven and cooked. Participants took the weight and
volume of the gluten ball and also recorded the appearance of the gluten
balls. To find volume each participant used the rice technique. Each
kitchen did the same procedure, but some used different flours.
Different flours that were used, besides cake flour was: bread flour, allpurpose flour and whole-wheat flour. This experiment took place in the
test kitchen.

Part IV:
Gluten Balls:
Flours:
Average
Weight (g)
Average
Volume (mL)

All-Purpose

Cake

Whole Wheat

Bread

77.3g

53g

74g

52.3g

123mL

91.6mL

237.5mL

181.2mL

This chart shows all the averages, from each lab, which used
different flours to make gluten balls. Each gluten ball was weighed, after

baking, and weight was recorded in grams. The average volumes were
found by using the rice volume test.
Cake:

Flours:
Average
Height (cm)
Average
Volume
(cm^3)

All-Purpose

Cake

Whole Wheat

Bread

4.1cm

3.8cm

4.05cm

3.8cm

1,720cm^3

1,568cm^3

1,671cm^3

1,568cm^3

This chart shows the average cake heights, from different labs,
based on what flour was used.

Part V:
The gluten balls that were made of all-purpose flour, appearance
wise, were not very shiny and had a dull appearance. They were also
about medium sized. Except for one all-purpose gluten ball: it was big
and shiny, it almost had a transparent top, which shows its truly just
gluten. All-purpose flour contains about 10.3% of gluten so it is a high
amount of gluten. The gluten balls that were dull and had a white/ tan
appearance are from the starch that was not thoroughly washed out.
Those gluten balls looked very similar to bread, which is not just pure
gluten. The all-purpose gluten ball that was shiny had been washed so
that all the starch had come out of the dough. The average weight for allpurpose gluten balls was the highest. This was probably because not
everything was washed out and it was not just gluten. The volume was
the third highest out of four, which aligns with the gluten percentage of
each flour.
Appearance wise, cake flour gluten balls were half and half. Two
of the cake gluten balls had a white, dull, ashy appearance to them. That
was because starch was not washed out all the way. Cake flour contains
the least amount of gluten, 7.5%, so it has a higher amount of starch.

The other two cake gluten balls were shiny, but smaller compared to the
other two. This is because the starch was washed out all the way, but it
took a longer time so the water eroded the dough into a smaller gluten
ball. The two weights of the glutens that were properly washed were:
1.58g and 4g. The gluten balls that were not properly washed were: 22g
and 133g, which make a significant difference in weight. The weight of
the ones that had everything washed out, but gluten was small so that
affected their weight. The ones that were not washed properly still had
other things, such as starch, in them so it made them heavier.
Whole-wheat gluten balls appeared to all are shiny. One was
somewhat darker compared to the other, but both shiny and big. Wholewheat contains 13.3% gluten, which is the highest out of all the flours.
The whole wheat had the highest volume average. This is likely due to
the gluten puffing up when it was being baked.
The bread flour gluten balls were split in half with appearance.
Two of them were dull and looked like bread. The other two were shiny
and puffy looking, representing just gluten. Bread has the most gluten so
that is most likely like the weights: 17g and 8.3g are for the shiny gluten
balls because they are simply just gluten. Where as, the ones that were
dull were most likely the 34g and 150g gluten balls.
Cake made with cake flour had the sweetest flavor. This is because
cake flour is lighter because it has the least amount of gluten so flavor is
sweeter from the sugar and shortening. The texture was soft and fluffy,
this is due to cake flour having baking soda in it to keep it springy and
soft. The average height of the cake with cake flour was the same as the
bread flour. Since cake flour has low gluten, the height makes sense
because cake flour brings tenderness to a cake, not height.
(recipes.howstuffworks)
Whole-wheat flour cake was denser and kind of gritty. The flavor
was sweet, but kind of earthy because of the whole grains in it. This cake
had the highest average height out of all the other cakes. This is because
it has a higher gluten percentage so it increased the height of the cake.
(recipes.howstuffworks)

Part VI:
This lab exemplified how different flours affect food, like cake, and
how gluten can be extracted from these flours. Gluten balls allowed

participants to see how starch comes out of flour and that it takes a lot
of time to get just the gluten from the flour. Manipulation, water and
kneading were also key aspects in this experiment by teaching
participants how important these are to the formation of gluten.

Citation:

1. The Editors of Easy HomeCooking Magazine. "Baking Flour

Facts." How Stuff Works. HowStuffWorksInc, 1998. Web.
<http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/tools-and-techniques/bakingflour-facts.htm>.

2. Brannan, Robert Flour. Laboratory Manual: Nutrition 2220.

Athens: Copy Catz, 2014. 58-61.