Fundamental characterization of wheat gluten

Vital wheat gluten plays an important role in the food industry, especially in baking to help standardize dough properties and improve bread volume. However, a fundamental characterization of a wide variety of vital gluten samples is not available so far. This would be necessary to relate compositional characteristics to the production process. Therefore, we analyzed the content of crude protein, starch, lipids and ash, oil and water absorption capacity, particle size distribution, gluten protein composition and spectroscopic properties of 39 vital gluten samples from 6 different suppliers. Principle component analysis of all analytical parameters revealed that the samples from one specialized vital gluten manufacturer had a different composition and a greater variability compared to all other samples from wheat starch producers. While the composition of vital gluten samples from the same manufacturer was similar and the score plot showed a cluster formation for samples from three suppliers, the variability over all samples was comparatively low. The samples from the other suppliers were too similar altogether so that it was hardly possible to identify clear differences, also related to functionality.