Why some flours reach full gluten development faster than others.

[prohunt3]

I've been making pizza dough for years and something I've noticed a lot more recently experimenting with different flours is how some flours with a lower advertised protein content take on a much smoother texture much quicker than other flours with a higher protein content.  I always thought the protein content would be the main reason why a dough develops faster or slower. To give an example, two flours I've been using Bob's red mill bread flour and All trumps non-bleached, non bromated. The All Trumps has an advertised percentage of 14.2% bob's red mill is listed between 12.5 and 13.5%. At a hydration of 68% I can achieve full gluten development in less than an hour using the BRMBF following a basic method of kneading for a few minutes letting the dough rest for 10-20minutes and then repeat. Following the same method with All trumps it's still sticky after an hour and barely holds it shape. I'm wondering what other factors may be at play here. Would something like starch damage, or ash content be an explanation? Even in the past using a mixer with identical mix times I see noticeable differences in gluten development with two flours that have close to the same advertised protein %.

[james]

Hi,
Ash content, as you mentioned, can play a role because bran gets in the way of gluten formation. Also, depending on the geographic area, dough conditioners may not need to be declared.