Glass transition of gluten. 1: Gluten and gluten-sugar mixtures.

The glass transition in hydrated wheat gluten has been studied using dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance and a three point bend test. The results for gluten alone are in good agreement with results obtained by other workers for gluten and glutenin. In contrast to their effect on the Tg of amylopectin, a gluten:sugar ratio of 10:1 (where the sugar is amorphous fructose, sucrose or glucose) has little effect on the glass transition temperature, as a function of water content. A sample containing gluten and fructose in the ratio 2:1 showed plasticization due to the sugar.