Gluten is a special complex protein that is part of the grain of most cereals, such as rye, wheat, barley and oats. People with intolerance to this vegetable protein have to switch to a gluten-free diet.
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Another name for gluten is gluten. It is she who is responsible for the elasticity of the dough and directly affects the speed and degree of its rise during baking. Gluten or gluten can be found in any product made from rye, oats, wheat, barley and derivatives, that is, in pita bread, cookies, cakes, muffins, cereals and, of course, bread.
Over the past 200 years, due to the removal of high protein wheat, the incidence of celiac disease has increased by 400%. Celiac disease is a disease in which the human body perceives gluten as foreign and accordingly attacks it with available means. Unfortunately, not only gluten suffers as a result, but also the tissues of the body in which immune cells met it. This primarily concerns the walls of the small intestine.
It should be noted that celiac disease directly affects about 1% of the total population of the Earth, however, every third person has different reactions to gluten, so many people with chronic diseases and unclear diagnoses often begin to feel much better after switching to gluten-free food.
Gluten-free bread is made from rice, corn, buckwheat, potato, millet and soy flour. Unfortunately, since gluten is responsible for the splendor, such bread is most often too wet, heavy, dense, in general, not too similar to the usual wheat bread.
Many modern home bakers know how to bake gluten-free bread in different modes. Home-made gluten-free bread turns out to be tastier than purchased, and it’s cheaper, because products that do not contain gluten usually cost much (sometimes several times) more than usual.
German scientists are actively working on the development of gluten-free wheat. Gluten consists of hundreds of different proteins, of which only a small part is dangerous for patients with celiac disease. Scientists came to the conclusion that the synthesis of gluten (which is necessary to create normal bread and a variety of pastries) in plants is regulated by two different mechanisms. Proteins that are dangerous for people with celiac disease are encoded by a specific group of genes, and safe proteins are encoded by another, which is not connected in any way with the first. Therefore, scientists are working to block or disable a harmful group of genes. They got the right kind of wheat using genetic engineering and are working on natural selection of the right variety so as not to frighten consumers with the GMO icon on harmless gluten-free flour. The first results are already there, so it is likely that gluten-free bread will soon be baked from the usual wheat flour.