How to add vital wheat gluten to sourdough bread

Adding VWG to sourdough bread | Adding VWG to sourdough fruit bread

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Adding Vital Wheat Gluten to inferior bread flour and low protein specialty flours can make a lot of difference to the height and structure of your finished loaf.

I use strong bread flour (high-protein flours) for making sourdough bread. This gives the bread the ability to hold itself up. This is the difference between a crumbly cake or cookie and a piece of chewy sourdough. Flour low in protein can be one of the major reasons sourdough bread is flat.

Protein levels in flour and the labelling/wording around this varies across the world. To get around this inconsistency, look for 13% protein (13g of protein per 100g flour). Check the nutritional table or product listing for this information, before purchase. If this information isn’t available, no matter how wonderful the flour, I don’t buy it. Not for sourdough anyway.

Sometimes it’s not possible to get high-protein flour or you want to work with a specialty flour. Lower protein flours can be used successfully by adding a small amount of Vital Wheat Gluten.

You can get Vital Wheat Gluten online here: Amazon AU, or Amazon worldwide. Amazon is the cheapest I have found online. In-store? Try health food stores.

Vital wheat gluten will enhance dark ryes, boost wholemeal spelt and give better rise to sourdough tea and fruit bread.

A little goes a long way!

Note
I add the vital wheat gluten without adjusting the water or flour levels. However, my flours are high in protein already so I don’t need a lot of Vital Wheat Gluten. If you are using a LOT of Vital Wheat Gluten in the loaf due to very low protein content, remove the same amount of flour as you are using Vital Wheat Gluten or add more water to your dough. If you don’t adjust accordingly, it will change the hydration of your dough, as it is the same as adding extra flour to the recipe. The table below will let you know when it’s recommended to do make this adjustment, otherwise, a good guide is when you are using 2+% Vital Wheat Gluten in proportion to your flour.

If not removing the same amount of flour but adding more water instead to replenish the hydration, this is what I would do. Mix the dough and assess it. Add 1 tablespoon of water (yes, such a small amount will make a difference!), incorporate and assess again. Add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until you reach the right consistency.

Note – it can be quite difficult to incorporate additional water into a mixed dough.

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How to add vital wheat gluten to sourdough bread

GRAMS	Adding to sourdough bread recipes
Protein content of your flour	Vital Wheat Gluten amount		Remove the same amount of flour to maintain hydration of the recipe?
Grams per 100g (%)	Per 415g* (g)	Per kilo (g)
8	31	75	Yes
8.5	28	68	Yes
9	25	61	Yes
9.5	22	53	Yes
10	19	46	Yes
10.5	16	39	Yes
11	13	31	Yes
11.5	10	24	Yes
12	7	16	No
12.5	3	8	No
13	0	0	No

OUNCES	Adding to sourdough bread recipes
Protein content of your flour	Vital Wheat Gluten amount		Remove the same amount of flour to maintain hydration of the recipe?
(%)	Per 14.63* (oz)	Per pound (oz)
8	1.1	1.2	Yes
8.5	1	1.1	Yes
9	0.9	1	Yes
9.5	0.8	0.9	Yes
10	0.7	0.7	Yes
10.5	0.6	0.6	Yes
11	0.5	0.5	Yes
11.5	0.3	0.4	Yes
12	0.2	0.3	No
12.5	0.1	0.1	No
13	0	0	No

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How to add vital wheat gluten to sourdough fruit bread doughs

GRAMS	Adding to sourdough fruit breads
Protein content of your flour	Vital Wheat Gluten			Remove the same amount of flour to maintain hydration of the recipe?
Grams per 100g (%)	Per 415*g (g)	Per kilo (g)
8	40	97		Yes
8.5	37	90		Yes
9	35	83		Yes
9.5	32	76		Yes
10	29	69		Yes
10.5	26	62		Yes
11	23	55		Yes
11.5	20	47		Yes
12	17	40		Yes
12.5	13	32		Yes
13	10	24		Yes

OUNCES	Adding to sourdough fruit breads
Protein content of your flour	Vital Wheat Gluten		Remove the same amount of flour to maintain hydration of the recipe?
(%)	Per 14.63* (oz)	Per pound (oz)	Yes
8	1.4	1.5	Yes
8.5	1.3	1.4	Yes
9	1.2	1.3	Yes
9.5	1.1	1.2	Yes
10	1	1.1	Yes
10.5	0.9	1	Yes
11	0.8	0.9	Yes
11.5	0.7	0.8	Yes
12	0.6	0.6	Yes
12.5	0.5	0.5	Yes
13	0.4	0.4	Yes