Reading an alveogram: W, P, L and G in practice

The Alveograph inflates a bubble of hydrated dough until it bursts and records a pressure / time curve. Four indicators are read from it.

P (tenacity): the height of the curve. A tenacious flour has a high P — a short dough that resists and shrinks back. L (extensibility): the length of the curve, the elongation before rupture. An extensible flour has a high L — a supple dough, easy to stretch. P/L: the ratio of the two, the most useful daily reading. G (swelling index): the volume of air injected before bursting, linked to L. W (deformation work): the area under the curve, in joules x 10^-4. It is the flour's overall “strength”: its capacity to resist mixing and hold the gas.

Reference values in Morocco: biscuits and shortcrust W 90-130, low P/L; standard bread and baguette W 160-220, P/L 0.5-0.7; traditional and specialty breads W 220-280; fermented laminated viennoiserie and frozen doughs W 280-350, P/L on the balanced side.

How to decide: if the W is below the target for the use, the flour is too weak — we strengthen (gluten, glucose oxidase, dosed ascorbic acid, xylanases). If the P/L is too high (short, pointed curve), we relax (proteases, reducing agents, review of hydration and mixing). If the P/L is too low (long, flat curve), the dough collapses — we add structure. A single indicator never suffices: we always cross-check W, P/L and the Hagberg falling number, then validate with a trial baking.

Our laboratory runs the alveogram, the falling number and a comparative trial baking, then proposes a calibrated dosage on your flour — free rheological audit.