Wild Yeast

Notes from my kitchen, in which I bake bread and raise a few other matters

Gluten Development (with Windowpane Photos)

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I took (actually, my husband T took, while I “windowpaned”) some photos of the stages of gluten development. I hope someone will find these useful. Most of the breads I make call for the gluten to be developed to a medium stage.

Gluten development is tested with the “windowpane test.” Pinch off about two tablespoons of dough and try to stretch it into a thin membrane (windowpane).

If you can do so without tearing, but the membrane is mostly opaque, you have barely developed gluten.

If you can stretch a paper-thin, very translucent windowpane, the gluten is fully developed.

A medium level is in between these two extremes: the windowpane is translucent with some opaque areas.

The progression from minimally to fully developed gluten:

Low gluten development Medium gluten development High gluten development

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  3. […] vody, žloutky, med, mouku se solí, postupn? p?isypávejte cukr a míchejte, dokud nedosáhnete krásného okénka. Robotem to potrvá asi 10-15 minut, ale když se to stane, máte vyhráno a m?žete po kouscích […]

  11. […] To make the dough, mix the yeast with a little warm water. Add flour, more warm water, salt, oil, and knead the mixture until you get a very pliable dough that forms a ‘window pane’ – when the dough can be pulled into a thin membrane that allows the light to come through (see photos here or here). […]

  19. […] with my 100% whole grain bread to get the kind of crumb I wanted. Yesterday my dough passed the windowpane test perfectly and it baked up into the most beautiful loaf of 100% whole grain sourdough sandwich […]

  22. […] We started off by making some Honey Whole Wheat Multigrain loaves, totally not vegan but easy to veganize nonetheless. It was great to work with my hands and get a real feel for the consistency of the dough. All the kneading by hand gave us an idea of how long it takes for the gluten to develop properly and I finally know exactly what to look for when I do the windowpane test. […]

  26. […] with my 100% whole grain bread to get the kind of crumb I wanted. Yesterday my dough passed the windowpane test perfectly and it baked up into the most beautiful loaf of 100% whole grain sourdough sandwich […]

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