Factors Affecting the Stress Relaxation of the Gluten-Water System

The stress relaxation behaviour of a gluten-water mixture, which was prepared by mixing the dried gluten protein with water in the weight ratio gluten: water=1: 0.5, was studied to simulate the properties of wheat flour dough. The rheological properties of wheat flour dough are complex ones, but it is believed that the gluten-water system is a good model for the continuous phase of the dough.The results obtained can be summarized as follows:(1) The gluten-water system shows linear viscoelastic response.(2) The addition of a small amount of the reducing agent glutathione is effective in softening the system above a temperature of 20°C; this suggests that an interchange reaction between -SH and -SS- in the gluten is induced at relatively high temperatures.(3) Since the presence of an electrolyte also has an effect on the rheological properties of the system, one needs to use various salt concentrations to fully understand the phenomena involved. Future work will be directed toward studying the interaction mechanism between gluten protein and various electrolytes.