PART ONE: TITLE

COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT FLOUR TYPES

FOR: DR. ROB BRANNAN
BY: MARIANNE JACOBS
LAB PARTNER: JESS BAHAN
GRADUATE ASSISTANT: AMANDA CULLEY
LAB SECTION: THURSDAY 2-5
LAB DATE: 3/20/14
DUE DATE: 3/27/14

PART TWO: PURPOSE

The purpose of this experiment was to demonstrate the preparation of gluten, to compare
the yield of gluten from different flour types, to show the effects of sugar and fat on gluten
formation, and to compare the characteristics of cakes made with the different flour types.
PART THREE: METHODOLOGY
Preparation of Gluten
This experiment was performed in the test kitchen. Each lab performed this procedure with their
assigned flour. Sixty milliliters of water were gradually added to 120 grams of the assigned flour
while mixing with a fork, to form a stiff dough that can be easily kneaded. *Some flours may
have required more than 60 milliliters of water to form the stiff dough. After the dough was
formed, it was then kneaded until smooth and elastic; about ten minutes. The dough was then
manipulated with gentle pulling and squeezing in a large bowl of cool water or under a cool
running faucet. The dough was washed until the water no longer ran cloudy. At this point, the
dough could be considered gluten. The gluten was gathered into a smooth ball and placed on a
baking sheet. It was baked for fifteen minutes at 425F, and then for thirty minutes at 300F.
The gluten ball was then cooled and weighed. The volume of the gluten ball was measured using
seed displacement. The gluten ball was placed on a small plate, labelled, and saved for
observation.
Effect of Flour Type on Cake
This experiment was performed in the test kitchen. One-half teaspoon of salt, 1-1/2 cups of the
assigned flour, and 1-1/4 teaspoons of double-acting baking powder were all sifted together
twice and set aside. One-half teaspoon of vanilla was added to 1/2 cup of milk in another
container. One-fourth cup of shortening was measured and put into a mixing bowl. Threefourths of a cup was then added to the shortening, 4 tablespoons at a time, and creamed 100
strokes after each addition. An egg was then stirred into the creamed mixture and then mixed for
one minute with an electric mixer at medium speed. One-third of the flour mixture and 1/3 of
the milk mixture were added and mixed in for one minute at medium speed. This was repeated
two more times until all of the flour and milk were incorporated. The batter was then mixed for
two minutes at high speed. The batter was then transferred into a greased and floured 8-inch
square baking pan and baked at 375F for about thirty minutes. The cake was cooled in the pan
and then cut and served for class evaluation. The height, texture, and flavor of each cake were
evaluated.

PART FOUR: RESULTS

Table 1. Analysis of Gluten Balls
Type of Flour

Weight

Volume

Density

W- All purpose

181 g

200 ml

0.905 g/mL

W- Cake

22 g

50 ml

0.44 g/mL

W- Whole wheat

130 g

175 ml

0.743 g/mL

W- Bread

150 g

150 ml

1.00 g/mL

W- All purpose

28 g

125 ml

0.224 g/mL

W - Bread

34 g

25 ml

1.36 g/mL

W- Cake

133 g

150 ml

0.887 g/mL

TH- All purpose

23 g

50 ml

0.46 g/mL

TH- Cake

1.58 g

50 ml

0.032 g/mL

TH- Whole wheat

18 g

300 ml

0.06 g/mL

TH- Bread

17 g

350 ml

0.049 g/mL

TH- Cake

4g

75 ml

0.053 g/mL

TH- Bread

8.3 g

200 ml

0.0415 g/mL

Table 2. Calculations of Averages

Type of Flour

Average Weight

Average Volume

Average Density

All Purpose

77.33 g

125 ml

0.530 g/ml

Bread

52.33

181.25 ml

0.613 g/ml

Whole Wheat

74

237.5 ml

0.402 g/ml

Cake

41.22

81.25 ml

0.353 g/ml

0.7
0.6

0.613
0.53

Density (g/mL)

0.5
0.4

0.402
0.353

0.3
0.2
0.1
0

All Purpose

Bread

Whole Wheat

Type of Flour

Figure 1. Average Sizes of Gluten Balls

Table 3. Appearance of Gluten Balls
Type of Flour

Appearance of Gluten Ball

W- All purpose

Fairly large, golden, shiny

W- Cake

Lumpy, pale golden and shiny in spots, white and

dull in other spots

W- Whole wheat

Dark golden, large size, shiny

W- Bread

Dull tan color with shiny splotches, medium size

W- All purpose

Dull tan color, medium size, smooth

W - Bread

Dull tan color, medium size, smooth

W- Cake

Dull cream color, smooth, cracked

TH- All purpose

Medium-sized, shiny in places, with dull splotches,

lumpy

TH- Cake

Extremely small, golden color, shiny, smooth

TH- Whole wheat

Comparatively large, light golden, shiny, smooth

TH- Bread

Medium-sized, shiny, golden, smooth

TH- Cake

Smallish, very light tan color, shiny, smooth

TH- Bread

Fairly large, deep golden, shiny, smooth

Cake

Table 4. Effect of Flour on Type of Cake - Height

Type of flour

Height

Volume (calculated)

W- All purpose

4.2 cm

268.8 cm3

W- Cake

3.8 cm

243.2 cm3

W- Whole wheat

3.7 cm

236.8 cm3

W- Bread

4.1 cm

262.4 cm3

W- All purpose

3.8 cm

243.2 cm3

W Bread

4.0 cm

256 cm3

W- Cake

3.3 cm

211.2 cm3

TH- All purpose

4.5 cm

288 cm3

TH- Cake

4.5 cm

288 cm3

TH- Whole wheat

4.4 cm

281.6 cm3

TH- Bread

2.5 cm

160 cm3

TH- Cake

3.6 cm

230.4 cm3

TH- Bread

4.6 cm

294.4 cm3

Table 5. Average Volume of Cakes

Type of Flour

Average Volume

All purpose

266.6 cm3

Bread

243.2 cm3

Whole Wheat

259.2 cm3

Cake

243.2 cm3

300

250

266.6

259.2

Average Volume (cm^3)

243.2

243.2

200

150

100

50

All Purpose

Bread

Whole Wheat

Cake

Type of Flour

Figure 2. Effect of Type of Flour on Cake Volume

Table 6. Effect of Flour on Type of Cake - Sensory Analysis

Type of Flour

Texture

Flavor

Cake (Kitchen 2)

dry, crumbly

sweet, delicious, vanilla, slight egg

taste

Cake (Kitchen 8)

soft, moist, fluffy

sweet, delicious, vanilla

Bread (Kitchen 5)

dense, crunchy in places, kind of hard

to chew

sweet, vanilla

Bread (Kitchen 6)

moist, smooth (compared to Kitchen 5)

sweet, light, kind of floury taste

All Purpose

chewy, kind of dry

less sweet than others, flour taste

Whole Wheat

fluffy, moist, soft, slightly dense

sweet, earthy, wheat taste, tasty

PART FIVE: DISCUSSION

In the preparation of gluten balls, several factors could have affected the sizes and
qualities of the gluten balls. Rinsing the flour ball with too much water pressure would wash
away starch, but would also likely wash away valuable gluten. This would likely produce a
small gluten ball. Another factor that may have affected the quality of the gluten ball would be
not washing enough; the washing took quite a long time and it would be very easy to get
impatient and stop washing prematurely. This would likely produce a very dense and starchy
gluten ball, with a dull appearance rather than shiny. The gluten balls that appeared dull in the
results also had some of the highest densities. This is because the starch makes the gluten ball
much heavier. The lighter gluten balls with large volumes are the ones that were likely to have
been made correctly. The lighter gluten balls with small volumes were likely to have been
washed too much. The heavier gluten balls are the ones that were probably not washed long
enough and have remaining starch in them. In my own lab, we used cake flour. I believe we
may have used too much water pressure at first and washed away some extra gluten. We used a
bowl of water at first, but then switched to using the sink and may have had it on too high of a
pressure. Some of the particles were washed away with the water, which contributed to the
extremely small size of our gluten ball. Our gluten ball was shiny, but it was definitely too small
to be done correctly.
Preparing cakes with different flours showed a few differences. The cake flour produced
very tasty cakes. One cake was moist and fluffy, and one was dry and crumbly. Since both
cakes were made with cake flour, the flour could not have been the difference. The differences
could have been due to different mixing methods and times, or to baking time, or possibly to
measuring differences. The bread flour produced much more dense cakes. This makes sense,
because there is more gluten in bread flour. One of the bread flour cakes was very moist and
smooth, while the other was hard to chew and crunchy in places. This was most likely due to
differences in combination ratios and mixing techniques, or to baking times. The all purpose
flour produced a chewy, dry cake. It cannot be determined if this was due to the flour or to other
factors, because only one cake was made with all purpose flour. The whole wheat flour
produced a very fluffy, moist, dense cake. This also cannot be determined if the flour was the
factor because only one whole wheat flour cake was made. The average volumes of the different
cakes were very similar, so it is difficult to determine if flour type affects volume.

PART SIX: CONCLUSION

This lab helped students to understand the process of gluten formation with hands on
experience. The students actually formed gluten, and then isolated and baked it to see what
gluten really looks like. The students also added to their knowledge of different types of flour by
using them to create the gluten balls to evaluate the gluten differences in the flours, and by
making cakes with the flours and evaluating the cakes for volume, texture, and flavor. This lab
helped students to realize that gluten is an important factor in baking and in food production, and
that it can be used to manipulate characteristics of food. Changing flours and/or gluten levels
can help the food industry to create more favorable sensory characteristics in a cheaper and/or
more efficient way.

References:
Brannan, Robert. Laboratory Manual NUTR 2220 Spring 2014. Lab Handbook. School of
Applied Health Sciences and Wellness. Ohio University. 2014. Print.