Sauce mix containing physically-modified wheat flour

Abstract

A sauce mix sauce containing physically-modified wheat flour, wherein the physically-modified wheat flour has a damaged starch content of at least 8 mass% and a wet gluten content of not more than 15 mass%.

Description

Mix for sauce containing physically modified wheat flour

[0007] ,

[0001] The present invention relates to a mix for sauce containing physically modified wheat flour.

[0002] Sauces are used for ingredients before or during cooking, or for cooked foods, and impart taste, aroma, or color to the ingredients or foods. Wheat flour is a commonly used ingredient as a sauce raw material. It is used for the purpose of giving viscosity to a liquid sauce and is also a major raw material for roux. The flavor of wheat flour, especially the flavor of roasted wheat flour, can impart a characteristic flavor and richness to foods. Also, the starch and protein in wheat flour can impart a smooth texture to foods. On the other hand, wheat flour has the property of being difficult to disperse in water and easily forms a granular structure called lumps of about several millimeters when mixed with a liquid. The lumps of wheat flour reduce the workability of sauce production.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes that a smooth and high-quality roux can be produced using wheat flour obtained from heat-treated wheat grains and heat-extruded using an extruder. Patent Document 2 describes that by using wheat flour obtained from wheat having a specific enzyme activity, a sauce with good aftertaste persistence and drawability can be provided.

[0004] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-268888 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2024-051295

[0005] The demand for wheat flour with higher utility value as a food raw material remains high. The present invention provides a modified wheat flour useful as a food raw material.

[0006] The present inventors have found that by using a modified wheat flour produced by physical modification and having a specific amount of damaged starch and wet gluten, a sauce with good workability and texture can be produced.

[0007] The present invention provides the following as representative embodiments: [1] A sauce mix containing physically modified wheat flour, wherein the physically modified wheat flour has a damaged starch content of 8% by mass or more and a wet gluten content of 15% by mass or less. [2] The mix according to [1], wherein the physically modified wheat flour has a damaged starch content of 10 to 23% by mass and a wet gluten content of 10% by mass or less. [3] The mix according to [1] or [2], which contains 5% by mass or more of the physically modified wheat flour. [4] A method for producing a sauce using the sauce mix containing physically modified wheat flour according to any one of [1] to [3]. [5] The method according to [4], wherein the physically modified wheat flour is prepared by moist heat treatment of raw wheat flour and then fluid bed drying treatment. [6] The method according to [5], wherein the moist heat treatment includes heating in a sealed container while stirring under steam introduction. [7] The method according to [5] or [6], wherein the moist heat treatment is performed at a product temperature of 90°C or higher and less than 140°C for 10 seconds to 20 minutes. [8] The method according to any one of [5] to [7], wherein the fluidized bed drying treatment includes drying the wheat flour while it is suspended or fluidized in an environment into which hot air at a temperature of 90 to 120°C is introduced. [9] Use of physically modified wheat flour in the production of a sauce mix, wherein the damaged starch content is 8% by mass or more and the wet gluten content is 15% by mass or less.

[10] The use according to [9], wherein the physically modified wheat flour has a damaged starch content of 10 to 23% by mass and a wet gluten content of 10% by mass or less.

[11] The use according to [9] or

[10] , wherein the sauce mix contains 5% by mass or more of the physically modified wheat flour.

[0008] The sauce mix of the present invention is less prone to clumping, thus improving the workability of sauce production. Furthermore, by using the sauce mix of the present invention, it is possible to produce sauces with a good texture, superior in mouthfeel and mouthfeel.

[0009] The present invention relates to physically modified wheat flour having a specific amount of damaged starch and wet gluten, and its use in sauce mixes.

[0010] In this specification, physically modified wheat flour refers to wheat flour whose properties have been modified by physical treatment of the raw wheat flour. The raw wheat flour for the physically modified wheat flour of the present invention can be any wheat flour milled in the usual way from edible wheat grains without particular limitation. Examples of the raw wheat flour include strong flour, semi-strong flour, medium flour, weak flour, durum wheat flour, semolina flour, whole wheat flour, etc., and any one of these or a combination of two or more can be used. Of these, weak flour is preferred. Furthermore, when the raw wheat flour is treated to modify the raw wheat flour, if other grain flours or starches are present, it becomes difficult to obtain the desired properties. For this reason, the flour to be treated to modify the raw wheat flour preferably contains 5% by mass or less of components other than the raw wheat flour, and more preferably 3% by mass or less.

[0011] The physically modified wheat flour of the present invention has the following properties (A) and (B): (A) Damaged starch content of 8% by mass or more, preferably 8 to 25% by mass, more preferably 10 to 25% by mass, even more preferably 10 to 23% by mass, and even more preferably 12 to 21% by mass; (B) Wet gluten content of 15% by mass or less, preferably 11.5% by mass or less, more preferably 10% by mass or less, even more preferably 6% by mass or less, and even more preferably 4% by mass or less.

[0012] Regarding the above property (A), the amount of damaged starch in wheat flour represents the proportion of starch granules in the wheat flour that are damaged. The amount of damaged starch affects the water absorption and syneresis of starch, and therefore, it is generally considered preferable for wheat flour to have a low amount of damaged starch. On the other hand, the physically modified wheat flour of the present invention has a relatively higher amount of damaged starch than ordinary unmodified wheat flour (0-4% by mass) or heat-treated wheat flour (2-7.5% by mass). The amount of damaged starch in this specification can be determined by a measurement method in accordance with AACC method 76-31. A commercially available kit (for example, Megazyme's "Starch Damage Assay Kit") can be used to measure the amount of damaged starch according to AACC method 76-31.

[0013] Regarding the aforementioned property (B), the wet gluten content of wheat flour represents the amount of gluten produced from gliadin and glutenin contained in the wheat flour. In unmodified wheat flour, the wet gluten content is approximately 40% by mass for strong flour and approximately 25% by mass for weak flour. The wet gluten content of the physically modified wheat flour of the present invention is lower than that of ordinary unmodified wheat flour. The wet gluten content of wheat flour can be determined by a measurement method in accordance with AACC method 38-12. The gluten content based on AACC method 38-12 can be measured using commercially available measuring equipment (for example, Glutomatic 2000 System; manufactured by PerkinElmer).

[0014] A specific example of the procedure for measuring the wet gluten content of wheat flour in this specification is as follows: (1) Weigh 10 g ± 0.1 g of sample wheat flour and place it in a wash chamber containing an 88 μm mesh sheet; (2) Add 4.3 mL of 2% (W / V) saline solution to (1); (3) Mix (2) for 20 seconds to form a dough; (4) Place the formed dough in the wash chamber, add 100 mL of water and wash for 5 minutes, then gently discard the water. Repeat this process three times; (5) After the operation in (4), the remaining dough mass is centrifuged in a gluten index centrifuge (e.g., Pelten Gluten Index Centrifuge 2015; manufactured by Northern Crops Institute) using a dedicated sieve cassette at 6000 ± 5 rpm for 1 minute; (6) The wet gluten remaining in the sieve is collected and its mass is measured; (7) The wet gluten content is calculated using the following formula: Wet gluten content (%) = Wet gluten mass / Sample flour mass × 100

[0015] The amount of damaged starch in wheat flour can be increased by applying physical forces such as pressure, shear force, and heat to the starch granules. On the other hand, the wet gluten content of wheat flour can be decreased by applying acid or heat to the flour. However, generally speaking, chemical treatments such as acid treatment can adjust the wet gluten content through hydrolysis of gluten, but they cannot adjust the amount of damaged starch.

[0016] In this invention, the amount of damaged starch and the wet gluten content of raw wheat flour are adjusted by physical treatment to produce the physically modified wheat flour of the present invention which has both of the properties of (A) and (B) described above. The physical treatment used to produce the modified wheat flour of the present invention includes heat treatment and mechanical treatment, and these can be used individually or in combination. Preferably, the physically modified wheat flour of the present invention is produced by moist heat treatment of the raw wheat flour followed by fluidized bed drying treatment.

[0017] The moist heat treatment used in this invention refers to a heat treatment in which moisture is added as needed to heat the raw wheat flour under conditions that maintain or increase its moisture content. For example, moist heat treatment can be carried out using hot water, saturated steam, or superheated steam as the heating medium. Among these, moist heat treatment using saturated steam or superheated steam as the heating medium is preferred from the viewpoint of being able to reduce the wet gluten from the raw wheat flour evenly and comprehensively while easily adjusting the amount of wet gluten to a desired range. Furthermore, from the viewpoint of being able to easily control the temperature and time conditions when heating, it is even more preferable to put the raw wheat flour into an apparatus that has been preheated to the heating temperature and then introduce saturated steam or superheated steam as the heating medium to perform the moist heat treatment.

[0018] Examples of the aforementioned moist heat treatment methods include heating raw wheat flour in a sealed container while stirring, with the addition of water or steam as needed, and under pressure as needed. For example, the following methods can be used: (1) Adding water to the raw wheat flour as needed in advance, and then heating it in a sealed container while stirring and under pressure as needed; (2) Heating the raw wheat flour in a sealed container while stirring and under pressure as needed, and adding water as needed; (3) Adding water to the raw wheat flour as needed in advance, and then heating it in a sealed container while stirring and introducing saturated steam or superheated steam; or (4) Heating the raw wheat flour in a sealed container while stirring and introducing saturated steam or superheated steam. Moist heat treatment by the above methods can be carried out, for example, using the apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-034038.

[0019] The temperature and time conditions for the aforementioned moist heat treatment are preferably 90°C to less than 140°C for 10 seconds to 20 minutes, more preferably 95°C to 135°C for 10 seconds to 15 minutes, and even more preferably 105°C to 130°C for 10 seconds to 10 minutes, with the temperature conditions expressed in terms of the flour's temperature. To prevent the flour from burning or becoming discolored, it is preferable to shorten the treatment time as the temperature increases within the above temperature and time range.

[0020] The fluidized bed drying process used in this invention refers to a process in which the object is dried while being suspended or flowed by hot air. Starch damage generally occurs when pressure or shear force is applied to wheat flour. By performing fluidized bed drying on wheat flour after moist heat treatment, the wheat flours collide with each other, making it possible to increase the amount of damaged starch. On the other hand, in methods of drying wheat flour by blowing hot air on it while it is standing, such as shelf drying, the progression of starch damage is slow and uneven, and if the temperature is increased, scorching occurs, making it difficult to adjust to the degree of starch damage desired in this invention.

[0021] Preferably, in the fluidized bed drying process used in the present invention, the flour is dried while suspended or flowing in an environment into which hot air at a temperature of 90 to 120°C, preferably 95 to 110°C, is introduced. Preferably, the moisture content of the flour after drying is 5 to 14% by mass. The fluidized bed drying process can be carried out using a commercially available fluidized bed dryer.

[0022] The physically modified wheat flour of the present invention has an average particle size of preferably 30 to 220 μm, more preferably 45 to 190 μm, and even more preferably 60 to 160 μm. The modified wheat flour after the aforementioned physical treatment can be crushed and graded as needed to obtain wheat flour with the above average particle size. In this specification, the average particle size is the volume average diameter (MV) of the particles calculated by the laser diffraction-scattering method, and can be measured using a commercially available laser diffraction-scattering particle size distribution analyzer (for example, Microtrac MT3000II; Microtrac Bell Co., Ltd.).

[0023] The fluidized bed drying process and sizing of the modified wheat flour described above can be carried out, for example, using the "Dry Meister (registered trademark) DMR-H" manufactured by Hosokawa Micron Corporation. This apparatus has a classification section at the top and a grinding section and a hot air introduction section at the bottom, and is configured to circulate hot air from the bottom to the top. Large, heavy particles in the wheat flour introduced into the apparatus are ground in the grinding section at the bottom, dried with hot air, and transported to the top, where small particles are collected in the classification section at the top. Large particles that are not collected fall to the bottom, are ground again in the grinding section, and are then dried with hot air and classified. The hot air temperature in this process is preferably 90 to 120°C, more preferably 95 to 110°C, and the processing time is preferably 5 to 60 minutes, more preferably 8 to 40 minutes.

[0024] If necessary, the flour may be further dried after the aforementioned physical treatment, or after grinding or sizing. The further drying treatment should preferably be performed using a method that does not affect the amount of damaged starch or gluten, such as low-temperature drying. The physically modified flour of the present invention has a moisture content of preferably 2 to 15% by mass, more preferably 5 to 14% by mass. In this specification, the moisture content of the flour refers to the value measured according to the oven-drying method.

[0025] In the production of physically modified wheat flour according to the present invention, in addition to the physical treatment described above, chemical treatment of the wheat flour may also be performed. Examples of such chemical treatments include oxidation treatment, esterification treatment, etherification treatment, crosslinking treatment, etc., and one or more of these can be performed in combination. Such chemical treatment may be performed before, after, or in between the physical treatments.

[0026] The physically modified wheat flour of the present invention is suitable for use as an ingredient in sauces. By using raw material flour containing the physically modified wheat flour of the present invention, clump formation is suppressed, improving the workability of sauce production. Furthermore, by using raw material flour containing the physically modified wheat flour, it is possible to produce a sauce with a good texture that is excellent in terms of mouthfeel and texture. Therefore, the present invention also provides a sauce mix containing the physically modified wheat flour of the present invention (hereinafter also referred to as "the mix of the present invention").

[0027] The content of the physically modified wheat flour in the mix of the present invention is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, 5% by mass or more, 10% by mass or more, 20% by mass or more, or 40% by mass or more, or 100% by mass, of the total mass of the mix. For example, the content may be in the range of 5 to 100% by mass, 5 to 80% by mass, 5 to 70% by mass, 5 to 60% by mass, or 10 to 40% by mass.

[0028] The mix of the present invention may contain other components besides the physically modified wheat flour of the present invention. These other components include, but are not limited to, components conventionally used in sauces, such as other flours other than the physically modified wheat flour of the present invention, starch, sugars (glucose, sucrose, oligosaccharides, sugar alcohols, etc.), protein, egg powder (whole egg powder, egg yolk powder, egg white powder, etc.), oils and fats, yeast, enzymes, seasonings such as salt, powdered extracts and soups, thickeners, emulsifiers, pH adjusters, colorants, and flavorings. Examples of these other flours include other wheat flours other than the physically modified wheat flour of the present invention, barley flour, rye flour, rice flour, corn flour, sorghum flour, and bean flour. Examples of these other wheat flours include unmodified wheat flour that has not undergone any processing other than the usual milling process. Examples of the starch include unprocessed starches such as potato starch, tapioca starch, corn starch, waxy corn starch, and wheat starch, as well as processed starches therefrom (such as pregelatinized starch, etherified starch, esterified starch, acetylated starch, and cross-linked starch). The mix of the present invention may contain one or more of the other components listed above. The content of the other components in the mix of the present invention may be the residue of the physically modified wheat flour of the present invention contained in the mix, for example, 95% by mass or less, 90% by mass or less, 80% by mass or less, or 60% by mass or less. The coating material of the present invention may not contain the other components. For example, the content of the other components may be in the range of 0 to 95% by mass, 20 to 95% by mass, 30 to 95% by mass, 40 to 95% by mass, or 60 to 90% by mass.

[0029] The mix of the present invention can be prepared from the physically modified wheat flour of the present invention, or by mixing it with other components as described above, if necessary. The mix of the present invention is preferably in powder form.

[0030] In the production of a sauce using the mix of the present invention, the sauce may be produced by directly mixing the mix of the present invention with other ingredients, or a roux may be prepared using the mix of the present invention, and the sauce may be produced using the roux.

[0031] The content of the mix of the present invention in the manufactured sauce can be adjusted according to the desired flavor, viscosity, etc. of the sauce, but is preferably 2 to 25% by mass, more preferably 3 to 22% by mass, of the total mass of the sauce.

[0032] When producing a sauce by directly mixing the mix of the present invention with other ingredients, an intermediate sauce having a desired flavor may be prepared using ingredients other than the mix of the present invention, and the mix of the present invention may be gradually added to the intermediate sauce while stirring to produce the sauce. Alternatively, the mix of the present invention may be gradually or intermittently added at the beginning or during the sauce production process to produce the sauce.

[0033] When preparing a roux using the mix of the present invention, the roux can be prepared by heating and stirring the mix together with oil and fat. The oil and fat used in the production of the roux is not particularly limited, but common edible oils such as lard, butter, and salad oil can be used. The amount of the mix of the present invention in the roux is not particularly limited, but is preferably 10 to 50% by mass, more preferably 15 to 40% by mass, of the total mass of the roux. The amount of oil and fat in the roux is not particularly limited, but is preferably 20 to 60% by mass, more preferably 30 to 50% by mass, of the total mass of the roux. Preferably, the mass ratio of wheat flour to oil and fat in the roux is about 2:1 to 1:2. The heating conditions in the preparation of the roux should be adjusted so that the mixture of the mix and oil and fat does not burn excessively, and are generally about 90 to 130°C. The obtained roux becomes solid to paste-like when cooled to room temperature, and can be stored because it contains almost no moisture.

[0034] In addition to the mix and oils of the present invention, other components may be added to the roux. Examples of these other components include the other components that can be used in the mix of the present invention as described above. By adding these other components, it is possible to provide pre-seasoned roux, such as white sauce roux or curry roux. The amount of these other components in the roux is not particularly limited, but is usually preferably 50% by mass or less, more preferably 40% by mass or less, of the total mass of the roux.

[0035] The method for producing a sauce using the aforementioned roux can follow the usual procedures for producing sauces using roux. For example, an intermediate sauce with a desired flavor may be prepared using ingredients other than the roux, and the roux may be added to this to produce the sauce. Alternatively, the roux may be added gradually or intermittently at the beginning or during the sauce production process to produce the sauce.

[0036] The mix of the present invention can be used to produce various sauces. The type of sauce is not particularly limited, but examples include white sauce, carbonara sauce, béchamel sauce, demi-glace sauce, meat sauce, brown sauce, curry sauce, cream sauce, and custard sauce. The form of the sauce is also not particularly limited, but examples include relatively low-viscosity liquid sauces and relatively high-viscosity paste-like sauces. Preferably, the viscosity of the sauce obtained using the mix of the present invention is about 0.1 to 800 Pa·s under the conditions of a rotational viscometer at a temperature of 25°C and a rotational speed of 10 rpm.

[0037] 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.

[0038] (Measurement Method) The average particle size (MV) of wheat flour was measured using a Microtrac MT3000II (manufactured by Microtrac Bell Co., Ltd.) according to the manual. The amount of damaged starch in wheat flour was measured using a "Damaged Starch Analysis Kit" (manufactured by Megazyme) according to the manual. The wet gluten content of wheat flour was measured according to the specific example described above, based on AACC method 38-12. The amount of damaged starch and wet gluten content were measured twice for the same sample, and the average value was calculated.

[0039] (Manufacturing Example) Production of Physically Modified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour No. 0-9) Soft flour (moisture content 12% by mass) was used as the raw material wheat flour. 10 parts by mass of water per 100 parts by mass of raw material wheat flour was sprayed onto the raw material wheat flour using a spray bottle and mixed until homogeneous. The apparatus described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2009-034038 was prepared, and saturated steam was introduced while the apparatus was running to bring the temperature inside the apparatus to Table 1. The raw material wheat flour was then added and heated (moist heat treatment) while stirring for a heating time of 30 seconds. The heated wheat flour was immediately put into Dry Meister (registered trademark) DMR-H (Hosokawa Micron Corporation), and operated for 20 minutes while blowing in 100°C hot air to pulverize, hot air dry and classify the wheat flour while it was flowing, producing physically modified wheat flour (moisture content 12% by mass) with an average particle size (MV) of 90-110 μm.

[0040] (Wheat flour No. 10-12) Soft flour (moisture content 12% by mass) was used as the raw material wheat flour. 10 parts by mass of water per 100 parts by mass of raw material wheat flour was sprayed onto the raw material wheat flour using a spray bottle and mixed until homogeneous. The apparatus described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2009-034038 was prepared, and saturated steam was introduced while the apparatus was running to bring the temperature inside the apparatus to Table 2. The raw material wheat flour was then added and heated (moist heat treatment) while stirring for a heating time of 30 seconds. The heat-treated wheat flour was then placed in a constant temperature dryer (NDO-420; manufactured by Tokyo Rikakikai Co., Ltd.) and dried at 100°C for 40 minutes. After that, it was crushed with a pin mill and classified to have an average particle size (MV) of 90-110 μm to produce physically modified wheat flour (moisture content 12% by mass).

[0041] The amount of damaged starch and wet gluten content were measured for the physically modified wheat flour produced. The results are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

[0042] (Test Example 1) Production of White Sauce The physically modified wheat flour (Wheat Flour Nos. 0 to 12) produced above and the raw material wheat flour (cake flour) were mixed to prepare sauce mixes with the compositions shown in Tables 1 and 2. 50 g of butter was put into a pan, heated and melted, and 50 g of the above mix was added thereto, and it was stirred well while taking care not to burn over low heat. 500 mL of milk was added little by little to spread it, and a small amount of salt and pepper was added to season the taste, and white sauce was produced. As a reference example, white sauce was produced in the same procedure as above using raw material wheat flour (cake flour) instead of the physically modified wheat flour.

[0043] The workability when adding milk in the sauce production process and the texture of the obtained white sauce were evaluated. Based on the evaluation of the sauce in the reference example as 2 points by 10 professional panelists, the sauce was evaluated according to the following evaluation criteria, and the average score of the 10 evaluations was obtained. The results are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

[0044] <Evaluation Criteria> (Workability)5: When adding milk, the milk is quickly mixed and uniformly mixed, extremely good. 4: When adding milk, the milk is easily mixed and uniformly mixed, good. 3: When adding milk, it takes a little time for the milk to mix, but it is uniformly mixed, somewhat good. 2: When adding milk, it takes time for the milk to mix, but if lumps form, they collapse immediately, within the acceptable range (equivalent to the reference example). 1: When adding milk, it takes time for the milk to mix, and many lumps form, poor. (Texture) 5: The texture is very smooth to the touch, and the mouthfeel is also very good, extremely good. 4: The texture is smooth to the touch, and the mouthfeel is good, good. 3: The texture is smooth, and there is a slight feeling of remaining on the lips, but the mouthfeel is good, somewhat good. 2: There is a slightly rough feeling in the texture, and there is a slightly sticky feeling on the lips, but within the acceptable range (equivalent to the reference example). 1: A rough texture is strong, and there is a persistent sticky feeling on the lips, poor texture.

[0045]

[0046]

[0047] (Test Example 2) Production of White Sauce Using the same conditions as for wheat flour No. 6, except that the temperature and operating time conditions of the drying process (with hot air flow) were varied, physically modified wheat flours (No. 13 to No. 21) were produced. Using these physically modified wheat flours, white sauce was produced and evaluated in the same procedure as in Test Example 1. The results are shown in Table 3.

[0048]

[0049] (Test Example 3) Production of White Sauce Using the physically modified wheat flour (No. 17), except that the formulation amounts were changed as shown in Table 4 to prepare a mix, and using this mix, white sauce was produced and evaluated in the same procedure as in Test Example 1. The results are shown in Table 4.

[0050]

[0051] (Test Example 4) Production of Custard Sauce Using the physically modified wheat flours (wheat flours No. 0 to No. 9), a sauce mix with the composition shown in Table 5 was prepared. 5 g of the above mix and 10 mL of milk were added to a pan and stirred well. After thorough mixing, an additional 240 mL of milk was added and stirred. Separately, 3 egg yolks and 50 g of sugar were placed in a bowl and stirred well to obtain an egg yolk-sugar mixture. The pan was heated, and when the contents had warmed to about body temperature, the egg yolk-sugar mixture was added. While stirring well, it was gradually heated over medium heat, and when it had thickened, the pan was removed from the heat and strained to produce custard sauce. As a reference example, using raw material wheat flour (cake flour) instead of the physically modified wheat flour, custard sauce was produced in the same procedure as above.

[0052] The workability when adding milk in the sauce production process and the texture of the obtained white sauce were evaluated. Using the evaluation of the reference example sauce as 2 points, the sauce was evaluated in the same procedure as in Test Example 1. The results are shown in Table 5.

[0053]

Claims

1. A sauce mix containing physically modified wheat flour, wherein the physically modified wheat flour has a damaged starch content of 8% by mass or more and a wet gluten content of 15% by mass or less.

2. The mix according to claim 1, wherein the physically modified wheat flour has a damaged starch content of 10 to 23% by mass and a wet gluten content of 10% by mass or less.

3. The mix according to claim 1, which contains 5% by mass or more of the physically modified wheat flour.

4. A method for producing a sauce, using the sauce mix containing physically modified wheat flour as described in claim 1.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the physically modified wheat flour is prepared by subjecting raw wheat flour to moist heat treatment and then to fluidized bed drying treatment.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the moist heat treatment includes heating in a sealed container while stirring under the introduction of steam.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the moist heat treatment is performed at a product temperature of 90°C or higher and less than 140°C for 10 seconds to 20 minutes.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein the fluidized bed drying treatment includes drying the flour while it is suspended or flowing in an environment into which hot air at a temperature of 90 to 120°C is introduced.

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