Does Kernza Have Gluten?

This question if Kernza has gluten gets asked a lot! The short answer is yes. The long answer is that is Kernza flour has less gluten than flour made from its relatives like Hard Red Spring and Soft White. Kernza flour has about 10% wet gluten. Hard Red Spring wheat flours have between 30% and 45% wet gluten and Soft White wheat flour has between 19% and 22% wet gluten. This reduced gluten is one of the reasons that you do not see a many foods on the market that are made from 100% Kernza flour. The higher gluten content in flour is one of the main factors for baking the perfect loaf of bread or the tall firm crumb of specialty cakes–gluten is responsible for much of that strength.

Kernza flour contains 17–20% protein, but its protein composition also differs from that of wheat flour. It does NOT contain enough of the right types of gluten to substitute 1:1 for whole wheat flour. In terms of functionality, Kernza behaves more like rye flour, with larger bran particles, though its flavor is entirely distinct from rye. Therefore, one of the most common ways to use Kernza flour is to blend it with wheat flours.

Percentage examples for blending:

Kernza inclusion percentage with Hard Wheat: 15-25%
Kernza inclusion percentage with Soft Wheat: Up to 50%. 75% in some cases

Sturdiwheat has joined the Perennial Percent Program which promotes the inclusion of perennial Kernza flour into our mixes. We are currently converting all of our mixes to contain 2% to 4% Kernza and we have two mixes that are made with 50% Kernza flour: Kernza Cinnamon Pancake Mix and Honeyed Kernza Muffin Mix.

To learn more about the benefits of eating and growing kernza click here.