So, there is a device called a farinograph that is used to test certain qualities of flour, specifically its gluten/toughness qualities. This device mixes flour and water and measures how hard it is to mix the dough–i.e. how much resistance the dough gives to the mechanical mixer blade. The results are given in Brabender units. The reason? Probably simplest to let Brabender explain:

The determination of the flour quality and its processing characteristics are a basic demand in the milling and baking industries for ensuring optimum and uniform flour qualities for the manifold baking and noodle products.

Surely there is a place for scientific testing of flour, but there is something that seems absurd in the over-technicalization of basic food production. The scheme makes more sense when placed in the context of mass production of breads with industrial scale bakers acting more as executive technocrats looking at charts to ensure the end result is always the same. Uniformity and alienation of the product from its source is essential to create commodified foods.

Regardless, knowing more about the science part of my flour is still worthwhile so I thought I would try my hand at some makeshift testing. I decided on a simple gluten ball wash test. I first mixed up a small amount of superfine Red Fife flour with 50% water hydration and kneaded the dough thoroughly to a smooth round dough ball, which I then let rest for a bit (I didn’t keep track of the time–bad science).

After rinsing out the starch (mostly) from the dough ball. I then dried the stretchy protein ball to get its approximate weight. At these weights, the scale is not precise enough to give any meaningful numbers, but the protein content was over 10%. The gluten was surprising tough and a little like an over-chewed piece of gum. It baked into a hard puff ball. I could definitely see anti-gluten folks using this as a demonstration of how horrible gluten is, it surely doesn’t look appealing separated out from the starch. The taste of the baked gluten was bland, but with a little sweetness, like a bad pastry. Weird stuff.

My wife, who hates chewing gum with an unreasonable passion, almost refused to even take this picture.