My kid's science fair volcano taught me a thing about gluten

Last month, my daughter needed a baking soda volcano for her project, so we used a basic bread dough as the 'mountain' to hold it all together. I just grabbed whatever flour was in the pantry, which turned out to be cake flour. The structure totally slumped after the first eruption, lol. It made me realize how much the protein content in your flour actually matters for structural integrity, not just taste. Anyone else have a weird moment that taught you a basic baking principle?

4 comments

4 Comments

matthew_patel682mo ago

Honestly, your cake flour story reminds me of when I used bread flour for cookies and they turned out like rocks.

laura_wilson2mo ago

Oh man @matthew_patel68, bread flour for cookies is a total death sentence lol. That high protein content just makes them so tough. I did the same thing once and we literally could not eat them, they were like hockey pucks.

faithpatel2mo ago

Actually, I kinda like the chewiness it gives them.

kai8391mo ago

Chewy cookies can be pretty great though. A little extra texture never hurt anybody.