Reshaping of relaxed wheat doughs leads to an increase in firmness that sig
nificantly changes the results of rheological measurements involving large
uniaxial deformations of the dough, whereas the gluten properties remain un
affected. Microscopic investigations reveal that directly after kneading, s
tarch and gluten are thoroughly mixed. However, the shaping procedure of a
relaxed dough or shear-flow during rheological measurements cause a separat
ion of gluten and starch. The dilatant behavior of the starch granules and
the capacity of gluten to aggregate account for the observed dough-hardenin
g.