What is our Dena kneading in this reel? No, he’s not making pizza… he’s doing an experiment that has to do with glutenthe protein complex that gives consistency to the pasta.
As you can see, after having worked the dough thoroughly (composed of semolina, salt, water), Dena placed it in a colander and washed it under water to remove the starch (leaching process). Gradually the water became “dirty”, and this means that the starch was almost completely removed.
But what is that elastic compound that remains in his hands at the end of the process?
It’s the glutenwhich is made up of the proteins found inside wheat, barley, spelt and rye. These proteins are fundamental because it is precisely them that give the pasta its typical character consistency.
Have you ever wondered how you can produce gluten-free pasta, such as lentil pasta? If we were to prepare it with the same steps seen in the video, after leaching there would be no gluten left, because lentil flour does not contain its proteins, i.e. gliadins and gluteninsbut other types of proteins (consider that for 100 grams of lentil pasta there are 26 grams of proteins).
But then, what gives consistency to the gluten-free pasta?
The answer lies in the technology of the production process. Felicia has adopted an innovative method that exploits the properties of the starch present in flour. In fact, starch, if brought to a certain temperature, modifies its structure and manages to give the right consistency to the pasta. Specifically, the gelatinization and retrogradation of starch is exploited, and that’s it: the pasta is ready!
