298 The development of gluten in doughs and batters.

M. Kelfkens, A. Bekkers, W. Lichtendonk, and J. W. van der Kamp. TNO Nutrition and Food Research, Zeist, The Netherlands.

In making baked goods or in isolating starch, the preparation of the dough or the batter is a crucial step in relation to product quality or yield. This preparation involves the input of mixing energy which results in a breakdown of the polymeric glutenin proteins. This breakdown is considered to be the crucial step in the development of the gluten. Over- and underdevelopment of the gluten will result in sub-optimal product quality or in reduction of the gluten yield. The development of the gluten polymers is studied using SDS as a extracting agent. The SDS-insoluble protein material obtained after centrifuging, is the high molecular part of the protein, called gel protein or Gluteninmacropolymer (GMP). During mixing the content of this protein is reduced. Moreover, the elastic behaviour of the gel is reduced, indicating a reduction of the degree of polymerisation. These changes have been described for dough systems, where mixing results in a rapid disappearance of the GMP-protein and a parallel reduction of its elasticity. Results will be presented of the breakdown of the GMP-protein in batter systems related to the separation of gluten and starch. Differences between the breakdown in dough and batter will be discussed.