May 13, 2016 - 12:33pm
Vital Wheat Gluten (VWG) vs. VWG FLOUR
Does anyone know the difference between VWG and VWG FLOUR? In Beth Hensperger's book, "The Bread Lovers Bread Machine" cook book, she states that there is a lot of difference between VWG and the VWG flour. I'm trying to find out because nearly all the low carb bread recipes call for VWG flour; most call for at least 3/4 cup of VWG flour. I contacted King Arthur Flour (KAF) but the baker at KAF didn't know the difference. I[ve also researched the Internet, and my research indicates that one has to make the VWG flour but I couldn't find a recipe with amounts/ingredients for it. Any help would be appreciated by me!
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I have never found vital wheat gluten flour, just vital wheat gluten. I did try a recipe one time for a low carb bread that included a lot of VWG, but frankly it was like trying to eat a sponge.
Thanks for your kind response to my question. It's just that Beth Hensperger, in her book, The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook says, on page 13, that VWG and VWG flour are distinctly different products. VWG is more concentrated according to Ms. Hensperger. So, as a novice, I'm confused big time! Everyone says that you only use a very small amount of VWG in a recipe. But the low carb recipes that I've seen call for at least 3/4 cup of VWG flour. And like I said, Ms. Hensperger also strongly differentiates the two terms. <sigh> It also seems that diabetics are making this flour with VWG as an ingredient but I can't find a recipe for the VWG flour. I would like to try making low carb bread... Bob's Red Mill has a mix that he sells but with shipping, it costs about $9 a loaf... way too much money to be practical.
Don't you hate it when someone talks about a product that is hard to find and then doesn't even give you the brand name and other specifics? An idea is to make your own blend of low carb flour and add the percentage of VWG you need to bake a loaf of bread. Bread flour has around 12% gluten in it.
at least in Canada. Bulk Barn has something called gluten flour and the only ingredient listed is Vital Wheat Gluten. This particular one is 70% protein. When I researched it, it seemEd to me that this was on the low side compared to other brands if I recall right. Maybe the distinction has to do with the percentage of protein.
Maybe that's what it is?! Hensperger says that the VWG flour is less concentrated than the VWG. People that I've seen online who have tried low carb bread recipes state that straight VWG in the recipe results in bread with the consistency of a sponge! Plus, using VWG straight would be quite expensive.
See pages 47 and 59 of The bread lover's Bread Machine cookbook.
Just gluten flour is what it is labeled both in the store and their website.
I was trying to indicate that "Vital wheat gluten flour" on page 13 of Hensperger's book was a typo error. She intended to say "Gluten flour"????
Here is a link to someone who has created a VWG flour mix recipe. http://characterinkblog.com/basic-low-carb-flour-mix/ What do y'all think of this? I'm pretty sure that Hensperger knew what she was talking about on page 13 of her book. But like KathyF said, it's frustrating when an author talks about a product but doesn't say how to get the product or make the product... GrrrRRR! Even more frustrating, the folks at KAF, when I contacted them, didn't have a clue about VWG flour. Anyway, some of the ingredients listed in the above link I am totally unfamiliar with and don't know where to obtain them.
Why do bread mixes cost so much? Bob's Red Mill has a low carb bread mix with VWG listed as a primary ingredient but if you order 4 bags (the only other option being ordering one bag) he charges $12.50 for shipping plus the cost of the 4 bags of mix. Each bag makes one loaf and that means that it boils down to about $9 a loaf. If anyone else makes a low carb bread mix, point me to it! In any case, that's highway robbery. I wish they could ship without such hefty shipping charges. Anyway, I did buy 4 bags and plan to make a loaf in my bread machine today... will let you all know the results. BTW, on the website and on the bag, Bob says the mix is suitable for bread machines. But, nowhere on the bag did it give bread machine directions. Finally, in an obscure corner of Bob's website (not even sure if I can find that page again) I did find the bread machine directions. So bottom line is the directions SHOULD be on the bag... but no. Now I'm going to get baking!
I have just come across this issue of vital wheat gluten vs. vital wheat gluten “flour” in The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook. I hate to doubt an experienced baker/author but I suspect a typo or some sort of misinformation here. It looks like companies selling vital wheat gluten simply call it vital wheat gluten flour sometimes because it has the texture of flour. I don’t see any difference in product between the two names. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
VWG is often referred to as "VWG Flour" because it has a powdery texture like....flour. It is dry and powdery, with a very fine texture. It will float in the air if you blow it off your hand. It has a very high concentration of protein and almost no carbohydrates.
OTOH, there are flour mixes made with flour (of any kind) and VWG that are then, very sloppily and confusingly, called "Gluten flour' or "VWG Flour". This mix has a much lower protein concentration and additional carb content. What these mixes should be called is "Flour with VWG added" or "High GLuten Flour mix",but being the lazy speakers that we humans are, it is just abbreviated to "VWG flour".
Bread flour is a flour made from a wheat that naturally has a high protein content though not nearly as high as VWG. In fact, VWG is probably processed from a high protein wheat flour.
So VWG and Flour with VWG ARE 2 different things.
VWG has such a high protein content that it is used as a meat substitute with the addition of water and some flavorings and is called seitan. It has been around for a LONG time. In recent times, VWG has been used in low carb baking to attain a more "breadlike" texture in low carb baking. Sometimes it is used as the primary ingredient in keto loaves, so 1-2 cups would be a usual measurement.
I believe editting to reduce word volume probably caused a lot of confusion.
Thanks. I was concerned because I ordered what I thought was Bob’s Red Mill VWG but the package that arrived was a different design and said VWG “flour.” It has a seitan recipe on the package. Comparing it to my old bag of Anthony’s VWG, the ingredients and protein are practically identical. The Bob’s has 20mg/1% sodium which is the only difference, which seems negligible.
I haven’t seen the other VWG flour mixes you mention that are lower in protein w/additional carb content but that must be what Hensberger was referring to when she said not to use that.
The confusing part is when the VWG that is the good stuff is also called VWG flour.