Baking secrets
In wheat kernels, there are more than hundred different types of storage proteins, which are of great importance to the baking quality of the dough. There are mainly two groups of proteins in wheat, namely glutenins and gliadins. P Johannson at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden, has done an extensive analysis of 181 wheat cultivars and also studied the variations in the structure and composition of these two classes of proteins. The glutenins confer elasticity to the dough while the gliadins are viscous and give extensibility. These two protein patterns determine the quality of wheat for baking bread ( Plant Breeding , Vol 115, No 1).