How much gluten should i add to all purpose flour

While both focaccia recipes say you can use either all-purpose or bread flour, the dinner roll recipe specifically calls for bread flour for best results. After assessing the tools Vicky had on hand at home, we decided to halve Kenji's no-knead focaccia recipe so that we could use two 8-inch cake pans to do a side-by-side test.

After halving the quantities and omitting any extraneous extras, like the garlic and garlic oil , here was the formula she used for the all-purpose flour part of the test:. Thus, the protein content in the first formula is about After trying the breads side by side, she said the loaf with added vital wheat gluten was crispier and more moist, whereas the loaf made solely from AP flour was gummier and drier.

From a visual standpoint, you can see the bread made with vital wheat gluten has a more open crumb structure with larger air pockets, which is about what you'd expect in light of vital wheat gluten's role as a dough conditioner: The gluten network is stronger, and thus is able to trap larger carbon dioxide pockets and sustain them through the baking process.

Vicky also noted that some of the differences between the breads could have been the result of user error, and that's helpful to keep in mind for all of these tests: doughs are complicated beasts, and there are always other factors contributed to the observed differences.

That being said, my focaccia test, for which I used Sasha's recipe , had similar results. Since this recipe was tested and written for a inch cast iron pan, I didn't have to halve it or anything, and I used the two inch cast iron pans I own, which, while not identical, were close enough for the purposes of this test especially given that, as Daniel has found, they performed identically in more extensive tests of cast iron pans.

Here's the formula for the all-purpose flour dough it's the same as in the recipe, but with the type of all-purpose flour specified :. Note that the olive oil amount listed is solely what's incorporated into the dough; the recipe calls for 68 grams total, but the excess is to grease the pan and cook the focaccia. Hecker's, as I noted above, has a listed protein content of about I made both doughs as instructed in the recipe and baked them at the same time, rotating the positions of the cast iron pans halfway through baking.

In terms of handling, it was clearly evident that the dough made with the vital wheat gluten was easier to work with. The dough made from just all-purpose flour was quite a bit more delicate, and led to some unwanted tearing as I was shaping the bread prior to baking.

Another observation: The flour with the vital wheat gluten appeared to absorb the addition of water much more readily, and was easier to mix. Tasting the two breads side-by-side, the crust on the vital wheat gluten loaf was crispier, almost harder, and the bread itself was noticeably chewier. While I preferred the chewier loaf, my wife, despite also noticing the difference, was more partial to the softer focaccia.

From a visual standpoint, you can see that the vital wheat gluten focaccia has several larger air pockets, and that the size of the air pockets throughout are generally larger. You can also see evidence of another characteristic that a stronger flour mix produces when you compare the shape of the two loaves: The vital wheat gluten focaccia experienced a more pronounced oven spring.

For the final test, I asked Kristina to do a side-by-side of two batches of Stella's dinner rolls , a useful foil to the focaccia recipes for two reasons.

The first is that, unlike the focaccia recipes, which were both tested and designed to work with either all-purpose flour and bread flour, this recipe specifically calls for bread flour. The second is that these rolls, unlike the focaccia, aren't enriched doughs—basically, no fat is added to the dough, which is an added variable in the dough-making process. Kristina also opted to do half-batches for each formula, so here are the quantities for the all-purpose version:.

For the Yukone a cooked flour paste :. Posts may contain affiliate links. Please see my Privacy Policy for further details. Find the recipe card at the end of the post. Make sure to read the content as it contains chef tips, substitution options, answers to FAQs to help you succeed the first time around! I live and die by Bread Flour. I easily have lbs of it on hand at any given moment. I know it sounds like a lot but I do a TON of baking for home and commercial use so it makes sense.

I love bread. No, really. I LOVE bread. I swear there is nothing better than a warm slice of freshly baked bread with butter and homemade preserves on it.

This many-a-night has been dinner for me. Nowadays most grocery stores carry the vital wheat gluten but if not, Amazon sells it. As I mentioned this is for American All-Purpose flour as Canadian all-purpose flour is already had a high protein percentage similar to our bread flour. As you can tell on here I have a bunch of bread recipes that call for bread flour. Well, not every home cook has bread flour on hand.

Just like cake flour and self rising flour , you buy it specifically for a single recipe and then it sits. Related Articles. Add the vital wheat gluten on a per-recipe basis and not to the entire bag of flour. Mix in the vital wheat gluten before you add the other dry ingredients once you have determined how to add gluten to flour. Combine your wet ingredients per the instructions in your bread recipe.

Did you make this recipe? Leave a review. Mark Blackwell. Unless the flour you are using is specially made, all flours contain gluten. Bread flours generally contain added gluten, so when you supplement all-purpose flour with your own essential gluten protein, you are making it into bread flour.

Whole wheat, rye -- it matters not. Gluten is what holds a dough together when it is under stress during bread making. Now, whether you should add it to pasta dough or not is another matter. Pasta is basically soggy, unleavened bread. Since you're not trying to make it rise, there wouldn't be any use in trying to fortify its ability to make gluten strands. Yes No.

Not Helpful 10 Helpful Not Helpful 3 Helpful 4. Not Helpful 2 Helpful 4. You can add it directly to the flour and mix thoroughly to evenly distribute it.

Dont u mean 8 ounces. I was going to make this but then I realized something is wrong with your measurements. Thanks for this! This sounds like algebra to me.

Thank you, I appreciate it! And, oh yeah, your bread flour formula worked wonderfully for me. I so appreciate the recipe! Your email address will not be published.

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Jump to Recipe. Spare yourself a trip to the grocery store and learn to how to make bread flour at home! Course Kitchen Staples. Cuisine American, British.