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The Anatomy of Gluten
From a simple piece of flatbread to handmade pelmeni, delicate pasta and an elaborate lasagna, exploring the science, craftsmanship and history behind the world’s favourite doughs.
There is something amusing about the way we discuss carbohydrates. We have managed to turn one of humanity’s oldest culinary achievements into a dietary argument involving insulin, waistlines, calories, inflammation and the occasional gentleman on the internet insisting that a slice of bread is responsible for the collapse of Western civilisation.
Meanwhile, somewhere in Italy, a grandmother is rolling pasta by hand. In Morocco, someone is patiently steaming couscous for the third time. In Georgia, a cook is folding meat and broth into a remarkably elaborate parcel of dough. In France, a baker is tending to a sourdough starter that has been alive longer than some marriages.
All these people are working with variations of the same fundamental idea: take a grain, transform it, and make something worth eating.
The ingredients are often inexpensive. The knowledge required to use them properly can take a lifetime to acquire.
I wanted to look beyond the familiar nutritional labels and examine these foods in a different order. Starting with the simplest preparations, we can follow the extraordinary progression from flour and water to some of the most labour-intensive dishes in the…
