KANAYA, Norihiro (3-2-67-905, Yasunakacho Yao-sh, Osaka 85, 58100, JP)
NISHIMURA, Yasuhiro (2-16-9, Bishouen Abeno-ku, Osaka-sh, Osaka 03, 54500, JP)
SHIRAI, Hidehito (100-3, Kurokawara Okubocho, Tahara-sh, Aichi 26, 44134, JP)
MURATA, Shuichi (6-5-3, Chiyoda Takaishi-sh, Osaka 05, 59200, JP)
KANAYA, Norihiro (3-2-67-905, Yasunakacho Yao-sh, Osaka 85, 58100, JP)
NISHIMURA, Yasuhiro (2-16-9, Bishouen Abeno-ku, Osaka-sh, Osaka 03, 54500, JP)
SHIRAI, Hidehito (100-3, Kurokawara Okubocho, Tahara-sh, Aichi 26, 44134, JP)
| A method for preparing a powdery basic dough, comprising: (1) a step of preparing a mixture which contains wheat flour and water; (2) a step of decomposing the proteins contained in said mixture; (3) a step of warming up said mixture; and (4) a step of spray-drying said mixture, which has been subjected to both steps (2) and (3). |
| The method for preparing a powdery basic dough as claimed in claim 1, wherein, in step (1), 100 parts by weight to 800 parts by weight of water is added relative to 100 parts by weight of wheat flour. |
| The method for preparing a powdery basic dough as claimed in claim 1, wherein, in step (1), a mixture which further contains one or more other ingredients besides the wheat flour and water is prepared. |
| The method for preparing a powdery basic dough as claimed in claim 1, wherein step (2) consists of an alkaline or acidic decomposition stage and a neutralization stage. |
| The method for preparing a powdery basic dough as claimed in claim 1, wherein, in step (3), the mixture is warmed up to a temperature of 59 degrees Celsius to 65 degrees Celsius. |
| The method for preparing a powdery basic dough as claimed in claim 1, wherein, in step (4), the spray-drying is carried out at a hot air temperature at the inlet of the spray dryer of 180 degrees Celsius to 210 degrees Celsius, and an air temperature at the outlet of the spray dryer of 60 degrees Celsius to 100 degrees Celsius. |
| A powdery basic dough, obtainable by the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6. |
| A wheat flour-based food, obtainable by using the powdery basic dough according to claim 7. |
| The wheat-flour-based food as claimed in claim 8, wherein it is a bread, a confectionary, a noodle, "okonomiyaki", "takoyaki", or a pancake. |
| A premix, which comprises the powdery basic dough according to claim 7. |
The present invention relates to a process for preparing a powdery basic dough for use in making foods, and a powdery basic dough as well as a premix.
For making breads, which keep the flavor and taste originating from wheat flour, and have not only a soft, but also a moist and puffy texture, a method has been known, which comprises a step of kneading wheat flour and water at non-room temperature, i.e., while heating, to prepare a basic dough (see Patent Literature 1, 2). The basic dough thus prepared is in itself distributed in the market, and manufacturers such as bakers and confectioners produce breads or confectionaries by adding to the basic dough which they purchased wheat flour, yeasts, and other ingredients depending on the product, kneading the mixture to give a bakery or confectionary dough, and subsequently baking the dough thus obtained.
After the preparation, the quality of basic doughs will deteriorate and, further, during this, the development of microorganisms such as mold will also occur. Therefore, in order to store and distribute basic doughs while preventing said deterioration and development of microorganisms, it is necessary to cold-store or freeze the basic doughs immediately after the preparation. However, the cold storage cannot perfectly prevent the quality deterioration and development of microorganisms, and therefore the period of minimum durability becomes very short. On the other hand, the freezing storage allows a long-term storage, but causes a high distribution cost.
Especially when selling basic doughs for home use, it is difficult to supply cold-stored products of such a short minimum durability, considering the distribution process and the storability of the products. In the case of freeze-stored products, besides the aforementioned high distribution cost, defrosting is required before use, and it takes several hours. Due to this, these types of products are not convenient for home use.
Therefore, if basic doughs could be powderized, it would allow selling in room-temperature distribution, as with skim milk or other powdery products, and result in a considerable reduction in the distribution cost. In addition, since such a form of product would make it possible to use it as a mixture with wheat flour or grain flour, or by sprinkling over bread doughs, the usability would be considerably improved. Such a product would be easily used in wheat flour-based foods other than breads and confectionaries and, therefore, it can be expected that the range of foods, for which basic doughs can be utilized, would be greatly expanded.
An object of the present invention is to provide a powdery basic dough for use in foods, which allows room temperature storage and can be used for making breads which keep the flavor and taste originating from wheat flour, and have not only a soft, but also a moist and puffy texture or for making other wheat flour-based products.
The inventors applied extensive research in order to achieve the aforementioned object and, as a result, have found that breads, made using a powdery basic dough obtainable by subjecting a mixture of wheat flour and water to a proteolysis treatment and a warming-up treatment, followed by spray-drying, also keep the flavor and taste originating from wheat flour, and have not only a soft, but also a moist and puffy texture, like breads produced using the conventional basic doughs (Patent Literature 1, 2). Then, they continued the research based on said finding and have finally arrived at the present invention.
Accordingly, the present invention relates to:
(i) A method for preparing a powdery basic dough, comprising steps:
(1) preparing a mixture which contains wheat flour and water;
(2) decomposing the proteins contained in said mixture;
(3) warming up said mixture; and
(4) spray-drying said mixture which has been subjected to both steps (2) and (3).
(ii) The method for preparing a powdery basic dough according to said (i), wherein, in step (1), 100 parts by weight to 800 parts by weight of water is added relative to 100 parts by weight of wheat flour.
(iii) The method for preparing a powdery basic dough according to said (i), wherein, in step (1), a mixture which further contains one or more other ingredients is prepared.
(iv) The method for preparing a powdery basic dough according to said (i), wherein step (2) consists of an alkaline or acidic decomposition stage and a neutralization stage.
(v) The method for preparing a powdery basic dough according to said (i), wherein, in step (3), the mixture is warmed up to a temperature of 59 degrees Celsius to 65 degrees Celsius.
(vi) The method for preparing a powdery basic dough according to said (i), wherein, in step (4), the spray-drying is carried out at a hot air temperature at the inlet of the spray dryer of 180 degrees Celsius to 210 degrees Celsius and an air temperature at the outlet of the spray dryer of 60 degrees Celsius to 100 degrees Celsius.
(vii) A powdery basic dough, obtainable by the method according to any one of said (i) to (vi).
(viii) A wheat flour-based food, obtainable by using the powdery basic dough according to said (vii).
(ix) The wheat-flour-based food according to said (viii), which is a bread, a confectionary, a noodle, "okonomiyaki", "takoyaki", or a pancake.
(x) A premix, which comprises the powdery basic dough according to said (vii).
The method for preparing a powdery basic dough according to the present invention can provide a powdery basic dough, which allows making breads which, like breads made using conventional basic doughs, keep the flavor and taste originating from wheat flour and have not only a soft, but also a moist and puffy texture, and can be stored for a long period of time at room temperature, and is highly convenient as a material for wheat flour-based foods in home use.
The method for preparing a powdery basic dough according to the present invention comprises steps of (1) preparing a mixture which contains wheat flour and water; (2) decomposing the proteins contained in the mixture thus obtained; (3) warming up the mixture; and (4) spray-drying the mixture which has been subjected to both steps (2) and (3). Hereinafter, each of the steps will be described in detail. In the following, the basic dough obtained by kneading wheat flour and water at non-room temperature, i.e., while heating, is occasionally referred to as "Scalded flour".
Step (1): Preparation of Mixture
In step (1), a mixture containing wheat flour and water is prepared. It is required for such a mixture prepared to have sufficient flowability such that it can be spray-dried in the downstream spray-drying step (4). Accordingly, the mixing ratio between wheat flour and water is generally 100 to 800 parts by weight of water relative to 100 parts by weight of wheat flour, preferably 300 to 500 parts by weight of water relative to 100 parts by weight of wheat flour. If the amount of water is less than 100 parts by weight relative to 100 parts by weight of wheat flour, then the flowability of the mixture may decrease to such an extent that it cannot be spray-dried. On the other hand, if the amount of water exceeds 800 parts by weight relative to 100 parts by weight of wheat flour, the drying efficiency during step (4) significantly worsens, causing an increase in the cost.
Besides wheat flour and water, the mixture may comprise one or more other ingredients. Such other ingredients include, for example, yeast foods, fats and oils (shortening, lard, margarine, butter, liquid oils, powdery oils, or the like), starches (cornstarch, high-amylose cornstarch, wheat starch, potato starch, tapioca starch, green gram starch, sago starch, rice starch, pea starch, or modified starches thereof), sugars (monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, polysaccharides), dairy products (milks, dry milks, creams, cheeses, or the like), egg products, salts (common salt or the like), seasonings (amino acids, nucleic acids, or the like), leavening agents (baking soda, ammonium carbonate, baking powder, or the like), emulsifiers (lecithin, sugar esters, glycerin fatty acid esters, or the like), enzymes, preservatives, proteins, amino acids (glycine, glutamic acid), and flavors. If such other ingredients are added, the ratio between wheat flour and the other ingredients is generally 0.001 to 10 parts by weight of the other ingredients relative to 1 part by weight of wheat flour, and preferably 0.01 to 2.0 parts by weight of the other ingredients relative to 1 part by weight of wheat flour.
The preparation of the mixture is carried out by mixing wheat flour and water and, if desired, other ingredients in a suitable vessel and stirring the mixture until the wheat flour and other ingredients are dissolved or uniformly dispersed.
Step (2): Decomposition of Protein
In step (2), the proteins contained in the mixture is decomposed. Any conventional protein decomposition method used in the food industry can be used. Examples include enzymatic protein decomposition using a protease, and protein decomposition using an alkali or acid. Among these, it is preferred to carry out alkaline or acidic decomposition, followed by neutralization. Alkalis and acids used for the decomposition can be either organic or inorganic alkalis or acids, and a pH of 8 to 13 for alkaline hydrolysis, or a pH of 1 to 4 for acidic hydrolysis, is preferable. The decomposition time (stirring time) is generally 0.5 to 30 minutes and preferably 5 to 15 minutes. When the alkaline decomposition is carried out, it is followed by neutralization using an acid, and, on the other hand, the acid decomposition is followed by neutralization using an alkali. Sodium hydroxide as an alkali, or hydrochloric acid as an acid, can be suitably used. The decomposition conditions, such as temperature and time, are selected so that no gluten network forms during stirring. This step makes it possible that no gluten network forms during stirring and, therefore, an easily sprayable texture is established in the mixture.
Step (3): Warm-up of Mixture
In this step, the mixture is warmed up. This step is carried out by warming up the mixture, and it is preferable that the internal temperature of the mixture is elevated to a temperature of 59 degrees Celsius to 65 degrees Celsius. Particular preference is given to a temperature range of 60 degrees Celsius to 62 degrees Celsius. By warming up the mixture, the mixture is partially gelatinized, leading to an increase in the viscosity of the mixture and a decrease in the flowability. However, within the aforementioned temperature ranges, the decrease in the flowability is so suppressed to an adequate level that the ease of supply of the mixture to a spray dryer is not impaired.
The order of steps (2) and (3) is not fixed. It is possible to first carry out step (2) and subsequently step (3), or vice versa, i.e., first step (3), followed by step (2).
Step (4): Spray-drying of Mixture
In step (4), the mixture, which has been subjected to both steps (2) and (3), is spray-dried. Spray-drying is a drying method comprising dividing a bulk liquid into droplets using an atomizing device and bringing the droplets into contact with a high temperature dry air, thereby evaporating the water. Through this step, a powdery basic dough is obtained from the flowable mixture. Any known spray-dryer can be used, for example nozzle spray dryers and rotating-disk spray dryers. No special operation conditions are required for the spray drying. For example, the powdery basic dough can be obtained by supplying the mixture, which has been subjected to both step (2) and (3), to a pressure nozzle spray dryer, spray-drying the mixture at an inlet hot air temperature of the dryer of 180 degrees Celsius to 210 degrees Celsius and an outlet air temperature of the dryer of 60 degrees Celsius to 100 degrees Celsius, and collecting the dried product in a cyclone separator.
The powdery basic dough prepared according to the present invention can be stored at room temperature for a long period of time. However, the storage temperature is not limited to room temperature and either cold storage at such a temperature that the powdery basic dough is not frozen, or freeze storage at such a temperature that the powdery basic dough is frozen, is also possible.
Application of Powdery Basic Dough
The powdery basic dough prepared by the method produced according to the present invention (referred to as the present powdery basic dough below) can be used in various wheat flour-based foods by adding it therein. The term "wheat flour-based foods" as used herein means foods which contain wheat flour, regardless of the amount of wheat flour contained therein. Examples of wheat flour-based foods include breads, confectioneries, noodles, "okonomiyaki", "takoyaki", pancakes, "tempura", "karaage", and cutlets. Examples of breads include pan-breads, bread rolls, French bread, German bread, Danish pastries, croissants, donuts, pizzas, cooking breads, steamed buns, sweet buns (for example, "an-pan", "melonpan", sweet cream-filled buns). Examples of confectioneries include sponge cakes, butter cakes, cream puffs, pies, tarts, biscuits, cookies, crackers, "manju", "castella", "imagawayaki", "taiyaki", "dorayaki", "komugi-manju" (a "manju" having an outside made from wheat flour). Examples of noodles include "udon", Chinese noodles, "soba", "somen", pastas (including macaroni, spaghetti, and the like). The noodles can be in the form of raw noodles, boiled noodles, steamed noodles, instant noodles, semi-dried noodles, frozen noodles, and the like.
Breads can be made using the present powdery basic dough by kneading the present powdery basic dough, wheat flour, yeast, ingredients other than the yeast, and water together to prepare a bakery dough, and fermenting and baking the bakery dough. In this way, it is possible to make breads which keep the flavor and taste originating from wheat flour, and have a not only soft, but also moist and puffy texture. The proportion of the present powdery basic dough is preferably 2 to 20 parts by weight relative to 100 parts by weight of wheat flour.
Likewise, confectionaries and noodles which also keep the flavor and taste originating from wheat flour and have not only a soft, but also a moist and puffy texture can be made in known conventional methods using wheat flour with which the present powdery basic dough is mixed. The present powdery basic dough can be used as a mixture with grain flour other than wheat flour. Using such a mixture of grain flour and the present powdery basic dough, it is possible to produce foods having a soft, but moist and puffy texture.
When using the present powdery basic dough in making "okonomiyaki", "takoyaki", pancakes or the like, approximately 1% (w/w) to 5% (w/w) of the present powdery basic dough can be added to commercially available premix products, such as "okonomiyaki" premixes, "takoyaki" premixes, or pancake premixes. In this way, it is possible to cook "okonomiyaki", "takoyaki", pancakes or the like with a creamy texture.
When using the present powdery basic dough in making fried foods, approximately 1% (w/w) to 10% (w/w) of the present powdery basic dough can be added to corresponding commercially available premixes, such as tempura premixes or karaage premixes. In this case, improvement in the taste, flavor and texture of the batter can be achieved, and an increase in the water amount able to be added can be expected.
The present powdery basic dough can be mixed in premixes for wheat flour-based foods. The term "premixes for wheat flour-based foods" means mixture powder formed by premixing necessary ingredients so that wheat flour-based foods, such as breads and confectionaries, can be easily and nicely cooked.
For example, bread premixes can be prepared by uniformly mixing the present powdery basic dough, wheat flour, sugar, shortening, dry milk, common salt, emulsifiers, flavors, and others. Breads can be made from such premixes by adding water and yeast thereto to prepare a bakery dough, and fermenting and baking this bakery dough.
For example, pancake premixes can be prepared by uniformly mixing the present powdery basic dough, wheat flour, sugar, glucose, baking powder, corn flour, dry milk, whole egg powder, shortening, common salt, flavors, and others. Pancakes can be made from such premixes by adding water or milk thereto and baking the mixture thus obtained.
As described above, the present powdery basic dough can be used by mixing it with wheat flour or other grain flour, or by sprinkling over bread doughs. Therefore, the basic dough has very easy and convenient usability and, therefore, can greatly expand the range of foods in which basic doughs can be used.
Examples
The present invention is described hereinafter using examples. However, the present invention is not limited to these examples.
Preparation of Powdery Basic Dough
400 parts by weight of water were added to 100 parts by weight of wheat flour, and the wheat flour was dissolved under stirring for approximately ten minutes to give a batter (flowable dough). Then, sodium hydroxide dissolved in a suitable amount of water was added to this batter liquid. The batter liquid was alkalized and stirred for approximately ten minutes to decompose the proteins contained in the wheat flour. Subsequently, food-grade purified hydrochloric acid dissolved in a suitable amount of water was added to neutralize the batter liquid. Thereafter, the batter liquid was warmed up to 60 degrees Celsius. The warmed batter liquid was powderized by spraying the batter liquid into the tube of a spray dryer, to which hot air of 190 degrees Celsius was supplied. Finally, the powdery basic dough was sieved with a 30 mesh sieve to make its particle size uniform, giving a powdery basic dough.
Use of Powdery Basic Dough in Bakery
The powdery basic dough from Example 1 was stored at room temperature for two weeks, and, thereafter, was examined regarding the change in its quality and used in a breadmaking test. As control, a cold-stored scalded flour, which was prepared according to the method disclosed in Patent Literature 1 and cold-stored for 2 weeks, was also subjected to the same quality examination and breadmaking test. The examination and test items were the properties of dough, the number of bacteria, the absorption of water, the texture of bakery dough, and the organoleptic evaluation of bread. The results are shown in Table 1.
As shown in Table 1, the quality of the cold-stored scalded flour deteriorated after 2 weeks of cold storage, and adverse affects were found on the properties of dough, the number of bacteria, and the texture of the bakery dough using this basic dough. In contrast, the powdery basic dough from Example 1, even after two weeks of room temperature storage, maintained the immediate quality after the preparation, and no change was found in the texture of the bakery dough using the latter.
In addition, as with the bread made using the basic dough according to Patent Literature 1, the bread made according to the present invention also had the flavor and taste characteristic of wheat flour and, furthermore, possessed a soft, but moist and puffy texture.
Use of Powdery Basic Dough in "Okonomiyaki"
A comparison test was carried out using a plate of "okonomiyaki" made with a commercially available "okonomiyaki" premix to which 2% (w/w) of the powdery basic dough from Example 1 had been externally added, and another plate of "okonomiyaki" (control) made only with the commercially available "okonomiyaki" premix. Tasting and organoleptic evaluation was carried out by ten panelists. The results are shown in Table 2.
As can be seen in Table 2, in the organoleptic evaluation, many tasters presented the evaluation that the "okonomiyaki" made with the addition of the powdery basic dough was better because it had an interesting moist and creamy texture like "takoyaki", and was delicious.
Use of Powdery Basic Dough in "Takoyaki"
A comparison test was carried out using balls of "takoyaki" made with a commercially available "takoyaki" premix to which 2% (w/w) of the powdery basic dough from Example 1 had been externally added, and other balls of "takoyaki" (control) made only with the commercially available "takoyaki" premix. Tasting and organoleptic evaluation was carried out by fifteen panelists. The results are shown in Table 3.
As can be seen in Table 3, in the organoleptic evaluation, many panelists presented the evaluation that the "takoyaki" balls made with the addition of the powdery basic dough was better because the inside of these "takoyaki" balls was, on the one hand, pulpy and creamy, and the outside was, on the other hand, crispy, thus producing good texture contrast between the inside and outside.
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