Application of Polymer Science to Properties of Gluten

Much of the knowledge from polymer science studies can be usefully applied to increase understanding of the properties of gluten and how they are related to composition. Low solubility of gluten proteins compared to many other proteins that have been studied evidently arises from the low entropy of mixing of the largest-sized glutenins and a relatively high value for the Flory-Huggins interaction parameter mainly due to a low concentration of ionisable groups. Grain hardness is a property that appears to depend on the proteins that are concentrated at the starch/matrix interface and how they control adhesion. Dough mixing properties, dough strength and extensibility can be understood in terms of the extension of large glutenin molecules giving rise to rubber elasticity and to the presence of molecular entanglements which contribute strength and extensibility to dough systems.