Gluten is a special complex protein found in the grain of most cereals such as rye, wheat, barley and oats. People who are intolerant to this plant protein have to switch to a gluten-free diet.
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 foods made from rye, oats, wheat, barley, and derivatives like pita bread, cookies, cakes, muffins, cereals and of course bread.
Over the past 200 years, the breeding of high-protein wheat has increased the incidence of celiac disease by 400%. Celiac disease is a disease in which the human body perceives gluten as foreign and, accordingly, attacks it with available means. Unfortunately, as a result, not only gluten suffers, but also body tissues in which it was met by immune cells. This primarily concerns the walls of the small intestine.
It should be noted that celiac disease directly affects about 1% of the world's population, 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 a gluten-free diet.
Gluten-free bread is made from rice, corn, buckwheat, potato, millet and soy flour. Unfortunately, since it is gluten that is responsible for the fluffiness, such bread is often too wet, heavy, dense, in general, not too similar to the usual wheat bread.
Many modern homemade bread makers are able to bake gluten-free bread in different modes. Homemade gluten-free bread tastes better than purchased bread, and it is cheaper, since gluten-free products usually cost much (sometimes several times) more than ordinary ones.
German scientists are actively working to develop gluten-free wheat. Gluten consists of hundreds of different proteins, of which only a small part is dangerous for celiac patients. Scientists have concluded that the synthesis of gluten (which is necessary to create normal bread and a variety of baked goods) 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 related in any way to the first. Therefore, scientists are working to block or disable a harmful group of genes. They have genetically engineered the right kind of wheat and are working on natural selection of the right kind so as not to intimidate consumers with the GMO badge on harmless gluten-free flour. The first results are already there, so it is likely that soon gluten-free bread will be baked from the usual wheat flour.
