Gluten
is created by the interaction of two proteins – glutenin, which makes the dough elastic, and gliadin, which makes the dough stretchy. When they absorb water and are kneaded and handled, these proteins ‘come to life’ and create a very elastic web structure – gluten, that is. Gluten can absorb one and a half times its own weight in water, and the web it forms traps the air developed by the yeast. Therefore, the more glutinous a flour is, the more water-absorbent it will be.