Many housewives are engaged in the independent baking of rye bread. This is a rather time-consuming process. Even experienced chefs often encounter a situation where the dough prepared according to all the rules does not rise. This is usually observed when using coarse flour. Such a product is practically gluten free. Improve the quality of the test will help a special additive - panifarin. What it is? Is this ingredient harmful to health? Let's try to figure it out.
Additive Description
Not all housewives are aware of such a useful baking ingredient as panifarin. What it is? The additive is a dough quality improver. Panifarin makes baking mass more elastic and viscous.
The basis of panifarin is vegetable protein - gluten (gluten). This substance is obtained by slow fermentation of wheat grains. No chemical or synthetic substances are used in the manufacturing process of the additive. This is a completely natural product.
Gluten helps the test hold carbon dioxide bubbles that form during yeast fermentation. As a result, the mass rises easily and becomes magnificent.
High gluten flours are very rare on sale. Most often, coarse products are produced. Therefore, it is much easier to get panifarin. This additive improves the properties of even low-quality flour.
In addition, it is sometimes difficult for novice housewives to calculate the exact amount of necessary ingredients for the test. If an excessive amount of water and yeast is added to the baking mass, panifarin will help save the situation. Gluten will prevent the dough from falling, and the bread will be lush and tasty.
Panifarin and gluten: differences
What else is called panifarin? This supplement is often referred to as “gluten” or “gluten” in everyday life. But this is not exactly the same thing.
Panifarin consists of several ingredients. Gluten is its main component. However, the dough improver contains other substances:
These ingredients act as oxidizing agents. They prevent the breakdown of proteins and strengthen the consistency of the dough. Also, ascorbic acid and enzymes give baking a pleasant sourish flavor.
Recently, there have been many rumors about the dangers of gluten. Gluten-free diets with a lack of flour products in the diet have become very popular. Is this vegetable protein really so dangerous to health? Next, we will consider in detail the benefits and harms of gluten for the body.
Beneficial features
A moderate amount of gluten is necessary for a person. This protein has the following effects on the body:
- normalizes hemoglobin level;
- increases resistance to infections;
- promotes healing of damaged tissues;
- strengthens the musculoskeletal system;
- enriches the body with vitamins;
- improves the functioning of the digestive tract.
Doctors have now proven the harm of gluten-free diets. This type of diet leads to vitamin deficiency, constipation, iron deficiency and anemia. The complete exclusion of gluten-free foods from the diet is permissible only for strict medical reasons.
Possible harm
A moderate amount of gluten in food is not harmful to the body. Excess of this protein irritates the mucosa of the small intestine. In addition, the abuse of gluten-free foods and supplements can cause obesity.
There are also diseases in which it is necessary to completely exclude gluten products and additives from the diet. These include:
- Diseases of the digestive tract. If a person suffers from gastric pathologies, then an excess of gluten can provoke diarrhea or constipation, pain in the intestines, increased gas formation.
- Celiac disease. This is an inborn gluten intolerance. The immune system of a sick person perceives gluten as a foreign protein. Gluten rejection reaction is accompanied by severe diarrhea, sharp weight loss and bloating. This is a rather rare pathology, which is observed in 2% of people in the world.
If a person is healthy, then only the abuse of gluten products can harm the body. Panifarin for baking is used in very small quantities, so the additive can not be harmful to health. However, if a person suffers from gastrointestinal diseases or celiac disease, then the use of gluten should be abandoned.
Application
How to use panifarin? This additive can be used with any baking. The quality improver is especially useful in the manufacture of rye flour, oats and bran products. Gluten content is very low in these products.
Panifarin is put in flour before kneading dough. For 1 cup of product, you need 1 teaspoon of the supplement. This dosage should not be exceeded. As already mentioned, excess gluten is harmful to the body. In addition, the product may turn out to be tasteless and overly loose.
How to make a supplement at home
Not everyone has the opportunity to purchase panifarin. This supplement is sold only in specialized stores selling bread baking ingredients. A similar dough improver can be made at home with the following recipe:
- You need to knead the dough with 450 g of flour and 260 g of water.
- The resulting mass should be maintained for 40-60 minutes. This is necessary for gluten swelling.
- Rinse the dough thoroughly to remove starch. In this case, water must be changed at least 2-3 times. The mass must be periodically kneaded. The volume of the test after washing should slightly decrease.
The resulting mass is pure crude gluten. It can be frozen in the refrigerator and used as needed.
Other test improvers
What can replace panifarin for baking? Experienced housewives recommend adding ascorbic acid to the dough. This substance significantly reduces the fermentation time, prevents the subsidence of the mass. For 500 g of flour, 0.5 mg of ascorbic acid will be needed.
On sale, you can also find various starter cultures, which act like panifarin. What it is? These are sour dough supplements. They help the baking mass rise and allow you to do without the use of yeast.
The addition of sugar also reduces the fermentation time, keeps the bubbles of carbon dioxide in the test. But this method can not be used when baking products from rye flour, since a sweet taste is inappropriate in brown bread.
Improver "Dunapan" is a good substitute for panifarin. What it is? The supplement consists of high quality wheat flour, ascorbic acid and enzymes. It does not contain gluten in its pure form. But the flour in the dough improver is rich in gluten.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that panifarin is a useful and practically safe supplement. If a person does not have gluten intolerance, then a gluten-based improver does no harm. Panifarin will significantly improve the quality of homemade baking, even when using coarse flour and some errors in the proportion of ingredients.