Recombined whole grain having visually indistinguishable particulate matter and related baked products

Abstract

A recombined whole grain flour for use in preparing whole grain products such that whole grain particulates provide minimal visual impact to the whole grain product. By selectively controlling the particle size of the milled bran and germ constituents used in the recombined whole grain flour, the visual and color impact associated with bran and germ particulates can be substantially eliminated from the whole grain product. In particular, whole grain products such as whole grain breads, dough products, mixes and biscuits can be made with recombined whole grain flour. Whole grain products made with recombined whole grain flour are advantageous in that they incorporate the health advantages associated with whole grains while eliminating the characteristic, visual color differences noticeable within a whole grain crumb due to visually identifiable bran and germ particulates found in traditional whole grain products.

Description

PRIORITY CLAIM [0001] The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60 / 800,951 filed May 17, 2006 and entitled, “RECOMBINED WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT HAVING VISUALLY INDISTINGUISHABLE PARTICULATE MATTER AND RELATED BAKED PRODUCTS”, which is herein incorporated by reference to the extent not inconsistent with the present disclosure.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The invention relates generally to baking products with whole grains. The invention relates more particularly to whole grain products made with recombined whole grain flour. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] For centuries, grains have been grown and harvested as one of the most basic food staples. Grains including corn, wheat, durum, rye, oats and others are traditionally ground into flour for use as the main building block for making a variety of baked goods, including breads, pastas, tortillas and dessert items. [0004] Regardless of the grain type, the individual grain kernels comprise a fibrous e...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008] The invention addresses the aforementioned needs of providing a whole grain product comprising recombined whole grain constituents that are recombined so as to provide minimal visual impact to the whole grain product. By selectively controlling the particle size of the milled bran and germ constituents used in the recombined whole grain, the visual impact associated with bran and germ particulates can be substantially eliminated from the recombined whole grain. In particular, presently contemplated embodiments can comprise a whole grain product, such as, whole grain breads, dough products, mixes and biscuits made with recombined whole grain flour. Representative embodiments of recombined whole grain products contemplated by the present disclosure are advantageous in that they incorporate the health advantages associated with whole grains while eliminating the characteristic, visual color differences noticeable within the crumb due to particulates, such as, bran and germ particulates found in traditional whole grain products.

[0014] In another aspect, representative methods for preparing a recombined whole grain baked product can comprise milling bran and germ particulate matter to desired particle sizes so as to reduce and / or substantially eliminate the visual impact of the particulate matter within the recombined whole grain baked product. The recombined whole grain baked products achieve commonly accepted standards for whole grain baked products including Baked Specific Volume, slice height, symmetry and cell structure.

Problems solved by technology

While the use of whole grains in baking provides numerous health benefits, the use of whole grains can lead to a significant difference in appearance compared to traditional white breads made with refined wheat.

In particular, the use of whole grains in baking products can result in visual particulate matter that is visible and distinguishable in the final baked product due to color and size differences between the bran, endosperm and germ.

However, bran generally makes up the majority of the visual particulate matter in whole grains, such that, a bran fortified whole grain can have significantly larger amounts of visible particulate matter making the bran fortified whole grain visually less preferred than a non-fortified whole grain.

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