When adding vital wheat gluten to a bread recipe, should one reduce the amount of flour equal to it?

I've always thought that the rule of thumb for adding vital wheat gluten to a bread recipe was to add one tablespoon of it per cup of flour called for. A friend is telling me that rather than do that, I should count the vital wheat gluten as flour, and for every tablespoon of it that I add to the recipe, I should subtract a tablespoon of flour from the recipe. Which of us is correct and why?

The bread recipe that I'm following calls for 3 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour and 1/4 cup of dried, nonfat milk powder. I don't have the milk powder, so I thought that the vital wheat gluten would make a decent replacement for it. I also thought that I should increase the flour to 3 3/4 cups and add the vital wheat gluten on top of that, rather than directly substituting it for the dried, nonfat milk (because I've always treated it as an addition/improver).

ETA: I know that both dried, nonfat milk and vital wheat gluten are added to bread recipes to improve the texture of the crumb. What I don't know is how bakers traditionally treat vital wheat gluten: is it counted as part of the flour, or is it considered an addition/improver?

baking bread

Best Answer

I wouldn't replace milk powder with vital wheat gluten. Vital wheat gluten changes the gluten content of your recipe. It's good for, say, turning whole wheat flour with a lower gluten content or AP flour into flour suitable for bread.

When I add vital wheat gluten, I subtract flour as your friend does. I only use it when I am not using a high protein flour.

The dried nonfat milk powder is likely in the recipe for flavor. I would instead use milk in place of water and either up the flour as needed or replace with flour as needed (you can tell this during kneading). I've done this just fine in bread recipes before.

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How much vital wheat gluten should I add to my bread recipe?

The recommended ratio is one tablespoon of vital wheat gluten per two cups of flour. This is especially helpful for bread recipes using low-protein flour varieties, such as whole wheat, rye bread, or bread recipes with lots of mix-ins, like nuts or fruits, to provide more structure and stability.

What happens if you add too much vital wheat gluten to bread?

When bread dough contains too much gluten it loses its extensibility and springs back too much, making it difficult to work with and resulting in a bread that is tough and has lower volume and a compact crumb.

How much vital wheat gluten do I add to all-purpose flour to make bread flour?

How to make bread flour substitute

Measure out 1 cup all-purpose flour (4 1/2 ounces or 129 grams).

Remove 1 1/2 teaspoons (1/8 ounce or 4 grams).

Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of vital wheat gluten (1/8 ounce or 5 grams).

Whisk or sift to combine.

Can you add vital wheat gluten to bread flour?

You can add vital wheat gluten to any bread recipe, but it's especially effective when baking with low-protein flours like whole wheat and rye (which have trouble developing enough gluten) or in recipes with a lot of extra ingredients added in like nuts, dried fruit, or seeds.

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Klaus Nielsen, Flora Westbrook, Katerina Holmes, Klaus Nielsen