VWG - Works Wonderfully, Most of the Time
Hello fellow bakers!
For the past year, I have had really good luck with the addition of vital wheat gluten (VWG) to my whole spelt flour bread dough. Today, I found the batch came out with a hard crust which I guess means there was too much VWG added. Whcih is odd because I do not recall using that much more than usual but the loaves are rather like rocks. I use about one tablespoon for every two cups of spelt flour. I don’t think I measured incorrectly this time but it is possible I guess. Proper proportions are important to get it just right. Another factor beyond my control is the finicky spelt flour which can have wildly different levels of gluten content depending on the batch. Have any of you had experience with VWG and what would you reccommend. Any comment would be most appreciated. Thank you!
OP here. I had another thought. As I was kneading the dough this time it felt different. Quite fibrous at first then rubbery. I usually knead for about 10 minutes. I wonder if I over did it with too much kneading. Is it even necessary to knead the dough if you are already adding addition gluten in the form of VWG?
I use a Pearsons Square formula to calculate the % increase required. I've made a spreadsheet in my Dropbox.
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/w1avuqz2mqtdpk7bba5tm/Pearsons-square-to-calc-VWG-percent.xlsx?rlkey=xxw5bjvx05gut6a8jwb0xt4g7&dl=0
Mid-last year I read a description of a "dough improver" that a baker was using with his whole-grain breads. For a typical 1.5-lb loaf he used 1/4 tsp VWG and 500mg ground Vit C tablet (ascorbic acid). I got some VWG and tried it and liked the results, so I've been doing it ever since.
I've never done an experiment to prove/disprove that it makes a difference, but it certainly doesn't hurt.
I also use 1-2 tbsp of it with things like barley, cracked rye, and breads which have a high % of add-ins, to help hold them together ("cohesion").
I don't know that I can be super helpful since I don't add vwg to my bakes I use fresh-milled spelt, and it is relatively consistent since I have to buy the grain 25lbs at a time.
But, I did used to have that rubbery/stringy thing happen to me when I was adding hard red wheat to the mix and then kneading it right away as soon as it was mixed. The solution for me was to stop adding the other flour and also stop kneading before the dough had a chance to hydrate.
Recently I have added a bit of hard red in to a few loaves just to use it up. It worked fine, so I really think the problem was starting kneading too soon.
What is your timing? Do you typically wait a half hour or more to let the flour hydrate before you start kneading? If not, give that a try. I might also try scaling back the vwg to a teaspoon per loaf. With less gliadin the dough will be more extensible and won't need a much kneading to become tender. I read a recipe that called for 20 minutes of machine kneading because they were adding a lot of vwg!
For spelt flour with no vwg, 10 minutes will get your dough fully kneaded. But you have to rest it first.
Good luck and happy baking!
I cut back on the amount of VWG and that has made a big difference. I think the last 10 kg bag of spelt flour may have had higher protein content than usual. This one is responding more normally. There is a spring wheat crop that is sown in the spring and harvested in the fall that has a different gluten content than the winter wheat which is sown in the winter and also harvested in the fall. The producer does not indicate protein percentages on the bag nor do they state whether it is winter or spring wheat crop.
PS - How long do you let the dough rest before you knead it?