I took (actually, my husband T took, while I “windowpaned”) some photos of the stages of gluten development. I hope someone will find these useful. Most of the breads I make call for the gluten to be developed to a medium stage.
Gluten development is tested with the “windowpane test.” Pinch off about two tablespoons of dough and try to stretch it into a thin membrane (windowpane).
If you can do so without tearing, but the membrane is mostly opaque, you have barely developed gluten.
If you can stretch a paper-thin, very translucent windowpane, the gluten is fully developed.
A medium level is in between these two extremes: the windowpane is translucent with some opaque areas.
The progression from minimally to fully developed gluten:
Sapphire says
Hi,
Thanks for the windowpane picks. Being new to baking wasn’t quite clear what I was shooting for – thanks again.
Macfield says
Why medium stage instead of fully development stage?
Susan says
Macfield, full development generally gives a tight, even crumb (interior texture), which is desirable for some breads. For breads where you want a more open and irregular crumb, medium development is usually best.
Herb Nicholas says
Are the pictures of the windowpains in reverse order? It seems that the one on the lift shows ligt and image behind it.
The idea of showing the actual window pain results is a great idea.Thanks to Susan again.
Susan says
Herb, the photo on the left is the most opaque (i.e., the least developed gluten). There is a little translucency at the edges, so maybe you’re perceiving the edges of the opaque area as an image behind the dough. This is like a Rorschach test 🙂
Elana E says
Thank you so much for this demo. It has changed my sourdough making. I was never sure what I was doing and I just crossed my fingers. Now, I know what to look for.
Frieda says
Thank you so much for this explanation! When I did my cinnamon rolls, I only had medium gluten development. Does this mean that I need to knead it longer in order to reach full development?
Paul says
Hi Susan,
Thank you for sharing with us your gluten development together with the photos taken. Will show it to one of my friends who likes baking.
Paul
Rachel K says
What a brilliant tip! I have been making a sort of rustic bread for a few years now with a pate fermentee, but I suspect any success was down to luck. I shall definitely be using this in future!
Nick says
Hi Susan,
I need to be honest with you: these pictures have been driving me crazy for weeks! I knead and knead and knead and knead and…well, you get the picture. My point is that the most development I seem to get is somewhere between “minimal development” and the middle picture.
Do you have any tips for making the jump to the next level? I have a kitchen aid mixer but that didn’t seem to help too much…the window pane eludes me!
Thanks!
Katie Patel says
we use mixed nuts as bird seeds when we are feeding our pet birds`:;
Door Curtains says
we always use sunflowers as our bird seed*;’
Eczema Natural HQ says
Thanks for the post, this is very interesting.
I have only just cut out gluten from my diet and have found some amazing results in my skin.
Looking to learn more.
Thanks again for your post
Scotty Kales says
I wanted by way of thanking a person because of this intriguing My partner and i definitely adored each and every little that. I have you bookmarked your web site to look at the most recent items you post.
Bryan says
Is the windowpane test done after the first or second rise? New baker here, so sorry if it is stupid question.
Megan says
Hello,
As one commenter tried to point out earlier, it appears that your captions on the pictures contradict your descriptions. The one on the left is fine, yes, (opague and underdeveloped,) but what that person intended to say, I think, is that your 2nd and 3rd photos have incorrect captions that show up when you “mouse over” them.
The very thin, transluscent image says “moderate development” in the middle, and the last one on the far right that’s semi-opaque says “full development.” I believe you intended that last one to be the goal- moderate/medium development, as indicated by your text narrative.
Thanks in advance for clarifying.
Megan
Susan says
Megan: Hm, I wonder if you are seeing the photos in a different order from my intended one. As far as I can tell, the captions are correct. The photo on the right shows full gluten development; the bright area of the dough is the uniformly thin and translucent windowpane (although it is “flecked,” due to my use of some whole grain flour in this dough). In the middle photo, the bright (thin) areas are more “streaky.” This moderate development is what most of my recipes call for.
Lydelle says
Do you guys have any thoughts on how fully developed (gluten) dough would fair in a wood fired oven ?