Wheat protein

Noodles are long thin piece of food made from a mixture of flour, water and eggs usually cooked in soup or boiling water. Noodles are rich in nutrition, easy to cook, and delicious traditional foods in Asian countries besides their increasing demand in many Western countries. Tra ditionally, wheat flour has been mainly used for noodles preparation.

Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) produces one-seeded fruits, which are called grains or kernels. The pleasant flavor, long shelf-life and unique gluten forming characteristics of wheat products like pasta, noodles, bread, chapatti etc. make them very attractive among other cereals.

Quantity, composition (quality), type and viscoelastic properties of wheat gluten proteins are important for bread-making. Gluten comprises some 75% protein on a dry weight basis, with most of the remainder being starch and lipids. Their biological function is to provide carbon, nitrogen and energy sources for seed germination and seedling growth.

The two distinct groups of the gluten polymer that were classified reflected their solubility in 70% ethanol, namely glutenins and gliadins. The gliadins are single polypeptide chains and the glutenins are comprising polymers with subunits linked by disulphide bonds, is particularly important.

The wheat gluten proteins correspond to the major storage proteins that are deposited in the starchy endosperm cells of the developing grain. These form a continuous proteinaceous matrix in the cells of the mature dry grain and are brought together to form a continuous viscoelastic network when flour is mixed with water to form dough. Dough mixing requirement, rheological properties of optimally mixed dough and gas retention property of fermenting dough are determined by gluten proteins.

Wheat prolamins are the major storage proteins present in the starchy endosperm cells of the grain, where they are synthesized and deposited via the secretory system. Prolamins are high content of the amino acids, proline and glutamine.

The non-prolamin proteins; albumins and globulins of wheat, comprises 15-20% of total wheat flour proteins. Albumins are soluble in water and globulins are soluble in salts.
Wheat protein

Gluten in wheat flour

All the pastas are held together by the gluten proteins of wheat flour.  Starch and rice noodles contain no gluten.

Protein content was unchanged from wheat flour to cooked noodles, but gluten protein components changed significantly after mixing and cooking.

Wheat four contains as many as thirty proteins, and two of those – glutenin and gliadin – form gluten when stirred with moisture. These two proteins grab water and connect to form elastic strands of gluten. If flour has a lot of these proteins, it grabs up water faster, making the strong and springy gluten.

Gluten is a tough, elastic grayish substance resembling chewing gum. In is the gluten in flour that, when a dough is kneaded, helps hold in the gas bubbles formed by leavening agent.

About 80 percent of wheat gluten consumed in the United States serves as an input to the baking industry, with some slight year to year variations depending upon the quality of the wheat crop.
Gluten in wheat flour