Understanding your gluten

Baking is purely addictive for most people who bakes. They would understand what I'm saying. It's the little details and science that makes baking such an addictive passion.

Everyday I'm still learning of the facts and wonders of baking and as I was doing my refine search on gluten; I found this very useful website that explain in the simplest form on understanding gluten in the flour that we use.

Some of us may not understand why different flour have different names and what is the difference in it. Perhaps by reading this would add up your knowledge on flour. Happy reading + baking!

My understanding: A high percentage of protein means a harder (stronger) flour best suited to chewy, crusty breads and other yeast-risen products. Less protein means a softer flour, best for tender and chemically leavened baked goods, like pie crusts, cakes, cookies, and biscuits.

Cake flour, the lowest protein flour, has undergone a special bleaching process (distinct from the process used for other white flours) that increases the flour's ability to hold water and sugar. This means that when you're making baked goods with a high ratio of sugar to flour, the flour will be better able to hold its rise and will be less liable to collapse.

Self-rising flour is a relatively soft all-purpose flour to which baking powder and salt have been added.

Also visit this website:
http://www.oregonlive.com/foodday/index.ssf/2008/09/protein_content_in_flour_cruci.html