Method of producing bread

Abstract

To provide a technique making it possible to produce high-quality bread containing nutrient-rich wheat bran and having reduced quality deterioration caused by wheat bran.SOLUTION: A method of producing bread according to the present invention comprises steps for preparing dough using grain flour, and obtaining bread by heat cooking the dough. 20-60 mass% of the grain flour used for the production of the bread is wheat bran, and the dough contains a fermentation product of the wheat bran. The fermentation product of the wheat bran is obtained by putting a mixture containing the wheat bran, water that is 70-150 mass% for the wheat bran, and yeast under environment of ambient temperature of 4-20°C for 8-24 hours.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to breads containing a fermented product of wheat bran. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, the demand for wheat bran, which is rich in nutrients such as dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals, has increased due to the growing health consciousness. However, wheat bran has a hard structure and is difficult to grind, so the particles tend to be relatively large, and it has a unique grain odor, so foods containing it have problems such as a rough texture, a harsh taste, and a strong unpleasant odor. In particular, breads that contain a relatively large amount of wheat bran have problems caused by wheat bran, such as poor dough extensibility and poor secondary processability, poor resistance to changes over time, and easy changes in quality over time.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a bakery food ingredient that contains wheat bran or other grain bran but is less likely to cause a deterioration in quality when used in bakery foods, and is made by lactic acid fermentation of grain bran that has been roasted and adjusted to a specific particle size range. Patent Document 2 describes a method for producing sourdough for use in bread production, which includes a first step of naturally fermenting a mixture of wheat flour and other cereal flours, baker's yeast, and water to obtain a naturally fermented product, and a second step of adding wheat flour and water to the naturally fermented product, mixing, and fermenting it, and gives wheat bran as an example of the cereal flour other than wheat flour that constitutes the mixed flour. In both the first and second steps, fermentation is carried out in an environment with an atmospheric temperature of 20°C or higher. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-54649 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2011-229497 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a technology capable of producing high-quality bread that contains nutritious wheat bran while suppressing the deterioration of quality caused by wheat bran. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention relates to a method for producing bread, comprising the steps of preparing dough using cereal flour and cooking the dough to obtain bread, 20 to 60% by mass of the flour used in the production of the bread is wheat bran, and the dough contains a fermented product of the wheat bran, The fermented wheat bran is obtained by placing a mixture containing the wheat bran, water (70 to 150% by mass of the wheat bran) and yeast in an environment with an ambient temperature of 4 to 20°C for 8 to 24 hours in this method for producing bread. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to produce high-quality breads that contain nutritious wheat bran while suppressing deterioration in quality due to wheat bran. The breads produced according to the present invention contain a relatively large amount of wheat bran, and therefore can fully meet the recent health consciousness. Moreover, the breads produced according to the present invention are high quality breads that suppress deterioration in quality such as appearance, taste, and texture that is a concern due to the inclusion of wheat bran, and specifically, have good secondary processability, little bitterness, and excellent volume and durability over time. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] The method for producing bread of the present invention includes a step of preparing dough using cereal flour (dough preparation step) and a step of cooking the prepared dough to obtain bread (cooking step).

[0009] In the dough preparation step, dough is prepared using dough ingredients containing cereal flour. The dough ingredients are typically mainly composed of cereal flour. The content of cereal flour in the dough ingredients is preferably 50% by mass or more, more preferably 50 to 80% by mass, based on the total mass of the dough ingredients, and may be 100% by mass, i.e., the entire dough ingredients may be cereal flour.

[0010] The flour used in the dough preparation step is a powder derived from grains, typically flour and starch. Unless otherwise specified, "starch" refers to "pure starch" isolated from plants such as wheat, and is distinguished from starch inherently present in flour. As the flour, any flour that can be used for bread production can be used without particular limitation, and one type may be used alone, or two or more types may be used in combination. Examples of flour include flours mainly composed of endosperm, such as wheat flour, rice flour, barley flour, waxy barley flour, buckwheat flour, soy flour, corn flour, and oat flour. Wheat flour includes strong flour, semi-strong flour, medium-strength flour, weak flour, and durum flour (including durum semolina and durum wheat flour). Other specific examples of flour include flours containing at least the outer skin and / or germ, such as "bran" (grain bran) mainly composed of the outer skin, and "whole wheat flour" containing the three main components of the endosperm, outer skin, and germ. Specific examples of bran and whole wheat flour include wheat bran and whole wheat flour derived from wheat. Examples of starch include unprocessed starches such as tapioca starch, potato starch, corn starch, waxy corn starch, wheat starch, and rice starch; and processed starches obtained by subjecting the unprocessed starches to one or more types of processing treatments such as gelatinization, etherification, esterification, acetylation, crosslinking, and oxidation.

[0011] One of the main features of the present invention is that the flour used in the production of breads, typically 20 to 60% by mass, preferably 20 to 50% by mass, more preferably 20 to 40% by mass of the flour used in the dough preparation step, is wheat bran, and the dough prepared in the dough preparation step contains a fermented product of the wheat bran. This fermented product of wheat bran is a type of flour, more specifically, a type of flour. In this way, by using the fermented product of wheat bran instead of using a specific amount of wheat bran as it is as a dough raw material, it is possible to produce high-quality breads that contain nutritious wheat bran while suppressing the deterioration of quality caused by wheat bran. The fermented product of wheat bran will be described later.

[0012] The wheat bran used in the present invention, i.e., the wheat bran that is the raw material for the fermented wheat bran product, includes 1) a fraction derived from the outer skin obtained by crushing the wheat caryopsis and removing the endosperm and germ, and 2) wheat bran processed products obtained by subjecting the fraction to one or more of the following treatments: crushing, classification, heat treatment, etc.

[0013] The type of wheat used as the raw material for the wheat bran is not particularly limited, but white wheat is particularly preferred from the viewpoint of more reliably achieving the desired effects of the present invention (such as the effect of suppressing the deterioration of bread quality caused by wheat bran). That is, it is preferable that at least a part, preferably all, of the wheat bran used in the present invention is wheat bran derived from white wheat. Generally, wheat is roughly divided into two types, red wheat and white wheat, according to the color observed when the wheat kernel is visually observed. Red wheat is wheat that contains a red pigment in the outer skin, and the wheat kernel is observed as red, reddish brown, or brown when visually observed. On the other hand, white wheat is wheat that does not contain a red pigment in the outer skin, and the wheat kernel is observed as white or pale yellow when visually observed. White wheat includes, for example, Australian Standard White (ASW, produced in Australia), Prime Hard (PH, produced in Australia), Soft White (SW, produced in the United States), and Western White (WW, produced in the United States), which are common wheat. Durum wheat (produced in various countries around the world) is a type of white wheat that is not common wheat. These white wheats can be appropriately selected, for example, based on genetic characteristics. The wheat bran derived from white wheat used in the present invention may be derived from common wheat or from durum wheat. In addition, common wheat is broadly divided into three types, namely hard wheat, soft wheat, and medium wheat having a hardness intermediate between hard and soft wheat, depending on the hardness of the wheat kernel, but the wheat bran derived from white wheat used in the present invention may be derived from any of the common wheats. For example, PH is white wheat and hard wheat, ASW is white wheat and medium wheat, and WW is white wheat and soft wheat.

[0014] In the present invention, heat-treated wheat bran (hereinafter also referred to as "heat-treated wheat bran") can be used as the wheat bran. Heat-treated wheat bran has a reduced unpleasant grain odor and harsh taste that are specific to wheat bran compared to non-heat-treated wheat bran, and by using this as a raw material for fermented wheat bran, in combination with the action and effect of fermentation, it becomes possible to produce high-quality bread in which the deterioration of quality caused by wheat bran is further suppressed. In addition, whether wheat bran has been heat-treated or not can be determined, for example, by measuring the enzyme activity or gluten vitality of the wheat bran to be determined. Specifically, taking enzyme activity as an example, the enzyme activity of heat-treated wheat bran is less than that of unheated wheat bran or is below the detection limit, so that the two can be distinguished by the amount of enzyme activity.

[0015] The heat treatment applied to the heat-treated wheat bran is not particularly limited as long as it is a treatment that can raise the product temperature of untreated wheat bran to room temperature or higher. Specific examples of heat treatments applied to wheat bran include moist heat treatment and dry heat treatment. The moist heat treatment is a treatment in which the moisture in the wheat bran to be treated is maintained or moisture is supplied from the outside to heat the target. In the moist heat treatment, moisture such as water, saturated steam, and superheated steam can be supplied and used. The heating method in the moist heat treatment is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a method in which moisture is added to the target in a sealed environment, and then a heat medium such as hot air is directly brought into contact with the target, a method in which high-temperature steam is brought into contact with the target and heated by the latent heat of condensation, and a method in which the target is heated in a high-humidity atmosphere. Dry heat treatment is a process in which wheat bran to be treated is heated under conditions in which no moisture is added, and is a heat treatment carried out while actively evaporating the moisture in the treated object. Dry heat treatment can be carried out, for example, by heating in an oven, heating in a roasting kiln, heating using a thermostatic bath, heating by blowing hot air, or leaving in a high-temperature, low-humidity environment. Note that the process of blowing hot air on wheat bran to which moisture has been added to dry it is not included in dry heat treatment because the heat is not sufficiently applied to the treated object due to the latent heat of evaporation of moisture. The wheat bran used in the present invention may be wheat bran that has been subjected to either or both of a moist heat treatment and a dry heat treatment.

[0016] When dry heat treatment is performed on wheat bran as a heat treatment, the dry heat treatment is preferably performed under conditions in which the product temperature of the wheat bran is maintained at preferably 80 to 200°C, more preferably 90 to 150°C, for preferably 1 to 120 minutes, more preferably 3 to 50 minutes. The dry heat treatment can be carried out, for example, by introducing wheat bran into an apparatus having a similar configuration to the heat treatment stirring apparatus described in JP 2004-9022 A, so that the product temperature of the wheat bran and its maintenance time are within the above-mentioned preferred range. This heat treatment stirring apparatus includes a cylindrical container for accommodating the material to be treated, such as wheat bran, a hollow rotating shaft provided inside the container, a hollow pipe screw formed in communication with the shaft, and a steam supply source for supplying steam into the rotating shaft and the pipe screw, and is configured to transmit the heat generated by supplying steam into the rotating shaft and the pipe screw to the material to be treated via the rotating shaft and the pipe screw, thereby performing dry heat treatment.

[0017] A preferred example of wheat bran is moist heat treated wheat bran obtained by moist heat treatment of wheat bran derived from ASW, which is white wheat and medium quality wheat. A preferred example of the moist heat treatment conditions is a condition in which the product temperature of the wheat bran to be treated is preferably 80 to 110°C, more preferably 85 to 95°C, and is maintained for preferably 1 to 60 seconds, more preferably 3 to 30 seconds. The moist heat treatment can be carried out, for example, by using a powder / granular sterilization device described in Japanese Patent No. 2784505 specification and introducing saturated steam into a container for the treatment target (wheat bran) in the device.

[0018] The average particle size of the wheat bran is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint of more reliably achieving the desired effects of the present invention, it is preferably 10 to 200 μm, more preferably 20 to 150 μm, even more preferably 30 to 120 μm, and even more preferably 50 to 100 μm. Usually, the average particle size of the fermented wheat bran is substantially the same as the average particle size of the wheat bran that is the raw material. In the present invention, the "average particle size" refers to the volume cumulative particle size D50 at 50% cumulative volume when measured in a dry state using a laser diffraction scattering type particle size distribution measuring device (for example, "Microtrack Particle Size Distribution Measuring Device 9200FRA" manufactured by Nikkiso Co., Ltd.).

[0019] The fermented wheat bran used in the dough preparation process will be described below. As described above, the fermented wheat bran is obtained by fermenting wheat bran, which accounts for 20 to 60% by mass of the total mass of the flour used in the dough preparation process, under specified conditions. Wheat bran is as described above.

[0020] The fermented wheat bran product is obtained by placing a mixture containing wheat bran, 70 to 150% by mass of water relative to the wheat bran, and yeast (hereinafter also referred to as the "bran-containing mixture") in an environment with an ambient temperature of 4 to 20°C for 8 to 24 hours. The water content in the bran-containing mixture is preferably 75 to 140 mass %, more preferably 80 to 120 mass %, based on the total mass of wheat bran in the mixture. The content of yeast in the bran-containing mixture is preferably 0.01 to 1 mass %, more preferably 0.1 to 0.8 mass %, based on the total mass of wheat bran in the mixture. As the yeast contained in the bran-containing mixture, any yeast that can be used for producing bread can be used without any particular limitation, and examples thereof include fresh yeast, dry yeast, and instant dry yeast.

[0021] The fermentation temperature of the bran-containing mixture, i.e., the atmospheric temperature of the environment in which the bran-containing mixture is placed, is 4 to 20°C as described above, which is relatively low. If the fermentation temperature is too low, the fermentation of wheat bran does not proceed, and the dough prepared in the dough preparation step may be difficult to ferment and hydrate, and may have poor extensibility and mechanical resistance. If the fermentation temperature is too high, the fermentation of wheat bran may proceed too much, resulting in the generation of substances that may cause a deterioration in the quality of breads, and the dough prepared in the dough preparation step may be highly viscous and have poor mechanical resistance. The fermentation temperature is preferably 10 to 20°C, more preferably 15 to 18°C.

[0022] The fermentation time of the bran-containing mixture, i.e., the time during which the bran-containing mixture is placed in an environment where the atmospheric temperature is within the above-mentioned specific range, is 8 to 24 hours, preferably 8 to 18 hours, and more preferably 12 to 15 hours, as described above. If the fermentation time is too short, the fermentation of wheat bran does not proceed, and the dough prepared in the dough preparation step may be difficult to ferment and hydrate, and may have poor extensibility and mechanical resistance. If the fermentation time is too long, the fermentation of wheat bran may proceed too quickly, resulting in the generation of substances that may cause a deterioration in the quality of breads, and the dough prepared in the dough preparation step may be highly viscous and poor in mechanical resistance.

[0023] The flour used in the dough preparation step typically contains one or more types of flour selected from the above-mentioned flours and starches as flours other than the fermented wheat bran. The other flours may be appropriately adjusted depending on the type of bread to be produced, but are typically wheat flours. The content of flours other than the fermented wheat bran in the flour used in the dough preparation step is preferably 40 to 80% by mass, more preferably 60 to 80% by mass.

[0024] The dough raw material used in the dough preparation step may contain other raw materials other than cereal flours, such as fermented wheat bran. As the other raw materials, those usable for bread production can be used without particular limitation, for example, yeast food, sugar, salt, oil and fat, chicken eggs, dairy products, thickeners, leavening agents, and gluten. Depending on the type of bread to be produced, one of these can be used alone or two or more can be used in combination.

[0025] In the dough preparation step, the dough preparation method is not particularly limited, provided that the above-mentioned wheat bran fermentation product is used, and can be carried out using a conventionally known dough preparation method. The dough preparation method that can be used in the present invention includes the sponge method, the straight method, the quick dough method, and the liquid dough method. The sponge method is particularly preferred. The sponge dough method is generally a method in which a leavening agent called sponge is prepared using a part of the dough ingredients before preparing the dough, and the leavening agent is mixed with the remaining dough ingredients to prepare the dough. By preparing the dough by the sponge dough method in the dough preparation process, it is possible to stably produce breads with good appearance and texture, even though the dough contains a relatively high amount of wheat bran. In addition, the straight dough method generally requires gluten in addition to the cereal flour as a dough ingredient, but breads using gluten may have an undesirable texture that is rubbery and hard due to gluten. In contrast, the sponge dough method basically does not require the use of gluten to produce breads of good quality that melt in the mouth, so there is no risk of texture deterioration due to the use of gluten.

[0026] As an example of the dough preparation process using the sponge method, a sponge is prepared using wheat flour, which is a type of cereal flour, and the sponge is mixed with a fermented product of wheat bran that has been separately prepared to prepare the dough. The sponge can be produced according to a conventional method. When ingredients other than wheat flour and fermented wheat bran are used as dough ingredients, the other ingredients may be used in the sponge dough preparation process, or in the wheat flour bran fermentation product preparation process, or may be used in both processes in an appropriate proportion, or may be used in the process of mixing the sponge dough and the fermented wheat bran to prepare dough (hereinafter also referred to as the "main kneading process"). Typically, however, the other ingredients are not used in the wheat bran fermentation product preparation process, but are used in the sponge dough preparation process or the main kneading process.

[0027] In the cooking step, the dough prepared in the dough preparation step is cooked. This produces the desired bread. Although the method for cooking the dough is not particularly limited, a method of baking the dough using an oven is typically used. The dough to be cooked in the cooking step may be refrigerated or frozen. That is, the method for producing breads of the present invention may include a step of refrigerating or freezing the dough prepared in the dough preparation step, and a step of cooking the refrigerated or frozen dough to obtain breads (cooking step).

[0028] The present invention is applicable to various types of bread, specifically, for example, white bread, sweet bread, Danish pastry, French bread, croissant, hard roll, semi-hard roll, butter roll, brioche, bagel, etc. Examples of bread for which the present invention is particularly suitable include white bread, semi-hard roll, croissant, Danish pastry, and bagel. EXAMPLES

[0029] The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

[0030] (Production of wheat bran A) The raw wheat used was No. 1 Canada Western Red Spring (1CW, produced in Canada), a red and hard wheat. It was refined and crushed in a roll mill, and the crushed material was classified using a sieve with 200 μm openings. Wheat bran was collected as the residue on the sieve. Next, the collected wheat bran was impact-pulverized using a turbo mill (manufactured by Tokyo Flour Mills), and the pulverized material was heated for 25 minutes to a product temperature of 120°C using an apparatus having a similar configuration to the heat treatment stirring apparatus described in JP 2004-9022 A, and subjected to dry heat treatment. Next, the pulverized material after the dry heat treatment was finely pulverized using an impact type fine grinder (ACM Pulverizer, manufactured by Hosokawa Micron Corporation), and then classified using a sieve with an opening of 150 μm. The fraction with a particle size of less than 150 μm that passed through the sieve was collected to produce the desired wheat bran A (dry-heat-treated red wheat bran with an average particle size of 90 μm).

[0031] (Production of wheat bran B) The target wheat bran B (moisture-heat-treated white wheat bran with an average particle size of 90 μm) was produced in the same manner as in the above (production of wheat bran A), except that ASW, which is white wheat and medium quality wheat, was used as the raw wheat material and moist heat treatment was performed instead of dry heat treatment. The moist heat treatment was performed using the powder sterilization device described in Japanese Patent No. 2784505, under conditions where the product temperature of the wheat bran to be treated was maintained at 90° C. for 5 seconds while introducing saturated steam into the container to be treated in the device.

[0032] [Examples 1 to 11 and Comparative Examples 1 to 2: Production of breads using sponge method] Using wheat flour and the wheat bran A and B as the cereal flour, a type of bread, white bread, was produced by the sponge dough method. Specifically, the sponge dough and fermented wheat bran produced by the method described below and the main kneading ingredient A described below were added to a commercially available mixer and mixed at low speed for 15 minutes to obtain a main kneading dough with a kneading temperature of 28°C (main kneading process). When the fermented wheat bran was not used (Comparative Example 1), the main kneading ingredient B described below was used instead of the main kneading ingredient A. Next, the main kneading dough was left to stand for 30 minutes in an environment with an ambient temperature of 27°C and a relative humidity of 75% to ferment (primary fermentation), and the fermented dough was divided into 800g portions and rested for 20 minutes in an ambient temperature of 25°C, after which it was formed into a predetermined shape and molded (mold volume 1840cc, specific volume 2.3). The dough was left to stand for 40 minutes to ferment (proofing) in an environment with an atmospheric temperature of 28°C and a relative humidity of 80%, and the proofed dough was baked in an oven at 220°C for 30 minutes to produce bread. 20% by mass of the flour used to make breads was used as the main kneading material, and the remaining 80% by mass was used to make sponge and ferment wheat bran. Of the 80% by mass of flour, 20-60% by mass was used to make sponge, and the remaining 60-20% by mass was used to make wheat bran fermentation. The column "Flours (% by mass)" in Tables 1-2 below shows the breakdown of flours used to make breads in each Example and Comparative Example. The value in the "Flour" column in the "Flours (% by mass)" column is the sum of the "amount of flour for sponge" and the "amount of flour for main kneading material", and since the latter is 20% by mass as described above, the former is calculated by subtracting 20 from the value in the "Flour" column. For example, referring to the "Flours (mass%)" column in Table 1 below, in Example 1, 50 (=70-20) mass% of the flours used to make breads are used to make sponge, 30 mass% are used to make fermented wheat bran, and 20 mass% are used as the main kneading ingredient. In Comparative Example 1, which uses main kneading ingredient B without fermented wheat bran, 50 (=70-20) mass% of the flours used to make breads are used to make sponge.

[0033] (Method of manufacturing sponge) All of the ingredients for the sponge dough listed below were put into a commercially available mixer and mixed at low speed for 3 to 5 minutes to obtain a sponge dough with a kneading temperature of 24°C. The sponge dough was left to stand for 30 minutes in an environment with an ambient temperature of 27°C and a relative humidity of 75% to ferment and produce sponge dough. The sponge dough produced was stored in a refrigerator with an internal temperature of 4°C until it was used. <Raw materials for medium dough> Wheat flour (strong flour, "Million" manufactured by Nisshin Flour Milling Co., Ltd.): 100 parts by weight Dough improver (Oriental Yeast Co., Ltd.'s "C-Anty S"): 0.2 parts by weight Fresh yeast: 2 parts by weight Salt: 0.4 parts by weight ·Water: 60 parts by mass

[0034] (Method of producing fermented wheat bran) All of the fermentation raw materials listed below were mixed and stirred by hand to obtain a mixture, which was then left to stand for a predetermined time in an environment where the ambient temperature was set to a predetermined temperature, thereby fermenting the wheat bran in the mixture to produce a fermented wheat bran product. The fermentation temperature (ambient temperature of the environment in which the mixture was left to stand) and fermentation time (time the mixture was left to stand in the environment) during the production of this fermented wheat bran product are shown in Tables 1 and 2 below. The fermented wheat bran product produced was stored in a refrigerator with an internal temperature of 15°C until use. <Fermentation ingredients> Wheat bran A or B: 100 parts by weight Fresh yeast: 0.15 parts by weight ·Water: 100~120 parts by mass

[0035] <Raw material A for actual kneading> Wheat flour (strong flour, "Million" manufactured by Nisshin Flour Milling Co., Ltd.): 20 parts by weight Yeast: 2 parts by weight Salt: 1.8 parts by weight ·Cast sugar: 15 parts by mass Skim milk powder: 3 parts by weight Margarine: 10 parts by weight ·Water: 1~10 parts by mass <Material B for actual kneading> Wheat flour (strong flour, "Million" manufactured by Nisshin Flour Milling Co., Ltd.): 20 parts by weight Wheat bran A: 30 parts by weight Yeast: 2 parts by weight Salt: 1.8 parts by weight ·Cast sugar: 15 parts by mass Skim milk powder: 3 parts by weight Margarine: 10 parts by weight ·Water: 40~49 parts by mass

[0036] [Evaluation test] The secondary processability during the production of breads in each Example and Comparative Example was evaluated according to the following evaluation criteria. Specifically, 10 trained panelists each produced breads by the above-mentioned method, and scored the extensibility of the dough during the main kneading process on a 5-point scale according to the following evaluation criteria. In addition, after baking, the breads produced in each of the Examples and Comparative Examples were left in an environment with an ambient temperature of 20°C for 2 hours, and then the breads that had been left out were visually inspected and eaten by 10 trained panelists, who then rated the appearance and bitterness on a 5-point scale according to the following evaluation criteria. In addition, after baking, the breads produced in each of the Examples and Comparative Examples were left in an environment with an ambient temperature of 20°C for two days, and then the breads were touched and observed by 10 trained panelists with their fingers and their durability over time was scored out of 5 according to the following evaluation criteria. For secondary processability and appearance, the score given by the majority of the 10 panelists out of the 10 possible scores was regarded as the score for the bread. If there were multiple such scores given by multiple panelists, the highest score among the multiple scores was regarded as the score for the bread. Regarding bitterness and durability over time, the bread was scored based on the average of 10 scores given by 10 panelists. The results are shown in Tables 1 and 2 below.

[0037] <Evaluation criteria for secondary processability> 5 points: The fabric has very good stretchability. 4 points: Fabric has good stretchability. 3 points: The fabric has good elasticity and is at an acceptable level. 2 points: Fabric has slightly poor elasticity. 1 point: Fabric has poor extensibility. <Appearance evaluation criteria> 5 points: Large volume, good shape, very good. 4 points: The volume is slightly large, the shape is somewhat good, and it is good. 3 points: There is volume, and although the shape is slightly poor, it is within the acceptable range and there are no problems. 2 points: The volume is slightly small, the shape is slightly poor, and it is poor quality. 1 point: Small volume, poor shape, very poor quality. <Evaluation criteria for bitterness> 5 points: Almost no bitterness, very good. 4 points: Weak bitterness, good. 3 points: The bitterness is slightly weak, but within the tolerable range and is not a problem. 2 points: Very bitter, poor quality. 1 point: Very bitter, very poor quality. <Evaluation criteria for durability over time> 5 points: Moist, very soft, very good. 4 points: Slightly moist, soft, good. 3 points: Slightly moist and somewhat soft, but not problematic. 2 points: Lacks moisture, is a little hard, and is poor quality. 1 point: Not moist, hard, very poor.

[0038] [Table 1]

[0039] As shown in Table 1, each Example was rated higher than the Comparative Example in which unfermented wheat bran was used instead of the fermented wheat bran, due to the fact that bread was produced using fermented wheat bran, which accounts for 20 to 60% by mass of the flour used to produce bread.

[0040] [Table 2]

[0041] As shown in Table 2, each example was rated higher than the comparative examples in which the fermentation temperature exceeded 20°C due to the fact that the fermentation temperature during the production of the wheat bran fermented product used to make bread was 20°C or lower.

[0042] As mentioned above, the evaluation subject of "durability of bread over time" in Tables 1 and 2 was bread that was left in an environment with an ambient temperature of 20°C for 2 hours after baking. However, when bread that was left in the same environment for 8 hours after baking was also evaluated, the results were the same as those for the bread that was left for 2 hours.

Claims

1. A method for producing bread, comprising the steps of preparing dough using cereal flour and cooking the dough to obtain bread, 20 to 60% by mass of the flour used in the production of the bread is wheat bran, and the dough contains a fermented product of the wheat bran, The fermented wheat bran product is obtained by placing a mixture containing the wheat bran, water (70 to 150% by mass of the wheat bran) and yeast in an environment with an atmospheric temperature of 4 to 20°C for 8 to 24 hours.

2. The method for producing bread according to claim 1 , wherein the wheat bran is heat-treated wheat bran.

3. The method for producing bread according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the wheat bran has an average particle size of 10 to 200 μm.

4. 3. The method for producing bread according to claim 1 or 2, wherein in the step of preparing the dough, a sponge is prepared using wheat flour, which is a part of the cereal flour, and the sponge is mixed with the fermented wheat bran that has been separately prepared to prepare the dough.