I mentioned in my most recent monthly LabNotes newsletter that we were going to start looking at the Science of Dinner.  And we are! But before I do, I feel that I need to provide at least one post on a very important menu item that is found within our dinner nearly every day.   To do this, we are going to look backwards into a previous post on pancakes.  So let’s get started!

First of all, it seems we are ALWAYS in a rush nowadays.  Run… Run… Run…

Regardless of how fast our lives have become, there is one fact that will always hold true:

Good food takes time to prepare.

More importantly, good food deserves even MORE time to savor.  I know what you are thinking, “But my time is so short.  I have to do A, then B, then C…”

Listen, I understand how hectic life can get.  But believe me, slowing down and enjoying something as simple as a meal can bring out so many good qualities in all of us.  And if you can teach someone else an invaluable life skill AND learn a little about the science behind its preparation – everyone wins!

This week, we are definitely going to SLOW DOWN and take our time looking at an amazing staple of our diet:

Wheat Flour

Wheat flour has been the primary ingredient in our ongoing discussion of pancakes.  In fact, I hinted at the important role of wheat flour while discussing all those bubbles within our pancake batter…

“There’s another trick to keeping your pancake fluffy.   I mentioned it earlier in the post when I suggested that you GENTLY mix together your batter.”

Why should you GENTLY mix together your batter?

The answer to his question lies within the chemistry of wheat flour!  As we have already examined, the majority of flour (about 70%) is made up of an amazing group of molecules known as starch.

But what about the remaining 30%?  What is hidden within all that starch?

Well, a portion of that 30% is made up of large, chain-like molecules called proteins.  One of these proteins, called glutenin, (“glew-ten-in”) can do a special little trick that is VERY important in the development of our fluffy pancakes.

While inside a dry cup of dry flour, glutenin just sits there.  (Pretty boring.)  But add a little fluid to that flour and all those protein start to come alive! (Okay… Nothing is REALLY coming to life in your flour!  It’s just a play on words.)

But seriously, each of those glutenin proteins start to attach to each other, end-to-end, until MASSIVE chains of protein exists within that floury batter.  It is these massive chains of protein (called gluten) which causes your pancakes to be light and fluffy – or have the density of a dinner plate.

You see, if you could look at a gluten protein chain, it would look like a coiled-up spring or phone cord.  And if you have ever had one of these phone cords in your home, you know how easy it is turn into a knotted mess.  Gluten is a very tough molecule, and its coiled shape makes it very stretchy.

I don’t think you want your pancakes very tough and stretchy, do you?  Probably not.

So the LAST thing you want is to get all those glutenin proteins together to form long gluten chains!

But how do you keep gluten from forming?  Easy!

• GENTLY mix your batter.  You don’t want too many of those glutenin proteins bouncing into each other and forming the tough gluten chains.  Remember…  SLOW DOWN.
• Add oil to the batter.  Oil tends to stick to the glutenin proteins and keeps them from joining together to form gluten.
  
• Add sugar and eggs.  That’s right! Sugars and eggs tend to get in the way of glutenin proteins which keep them from forming more gluten.
• Use buttermilk instead of regular milk.  Buttermilk is very thick compared to regular milk, which means you can create the same thickness of pancake batter without adding as much flour. Less flour=less glutenin.

It’s a good thing ALL of these ingredients are found within your pancake batter, huh?

You also will want the batter to sit still for a few minutes before you start cooking too.

Why?  Because you want to make certain that all of the baking powder you added to your batter has time to create a few million bubbles.  Bubbles are very good in your pancakes and they take TIME to form!

Oh yeah… have I mentioned how important it is to SLOW DOWN yet?  Hmm….

Next week, we are going to use our knowledge of these powerful proteins as we turn our attention towards the preparation of a dinnertime favorite.  Can you say PIZZA?!?!?