August 13, 2020 - 8:14pm
Diluting gluten content with non-wheat flours?
In the search for a lower protein flour than I can procure locally, it occurred to me that it might be possible to get the effect by diluting a bread flour with some other gluten-free flour (e.g., rice, besan, tapioca starch, ...). And absent any usable clues from Google, TFL seemed like a logical place to inquire.
Does anybody have any experience (or even suggestions without experience, since I have none and can remain unbiased for at least one trial)?
If I don't get something either useful or at least interesting I will just do it.
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I hear a little cornstarch has been used to make high gluten flour more like cake flour. I tried it once for laughs a long time ago - don't exactly remember how much (couple teaspoons maybe) and didn't really notice much difference in anything. May have been to little to make a difference in my 17% protein flour. Google it for more details.
I wonder if there is anything different about it that would deter the naturally occuring (and added) amylase enzymes in wheat flour from breaking down cornstarch into maltose.
Couldn't tell ya, but I figured it was the cornstarch trapping water so it wasn't available for gluten formation. And just had another thought - look for flour milled from soft or summer wheat - it's usually used for cake flour as the gluten is weaker and not as much of it.
Try searching for "cake flour substitute". Lots of results come up which recommend mixing cornstarch or arrowroot flour or other gluten-free flours with all-purpose flour.