CUTTABLE LIVE LEAVEN BLOCK

Abstract

A cuttable leaven in solid form and to the use of this leaven in a bakery for preparing leaven bread and as a bread-making starter for the preparation of a liquid leaven. The leaven is based on flour of barley, buckwheat, lupine, millet, quinoa, einkorn, Kharagan wheat or mixtures thereof.

Claims

1.-12. (canceled)

13. A live leaven, wherein said live leaven is in cuttable solid form and said live leaven is based on flour of barley, buckwheat, lupine, millet, quinoa, einkorn, Kharagan wheat or mixtures thereof.

14. The live leaven as claimed in claim 13, wherein said live leaven is based on flour of barley, buckwheat, lupine, millet, quinoa or mixtures thereof.

15. The live leaven as claimed in claim 13, wherein the flour is barley flour and/or buckwheat flour.

16. The live leaven as claimed in claim 13, wherein the flour has an ash content from 0.35 to 2.50 wt % of flour.

17. The live leaven as claimed in claim 13, wherein the flour has a protein content from 5 to 45 g/100 g of flour.

18. The live leaven as claimed in claim 13, wherein said live leaven has a hydration level from 45 to 95%, preferably from 50% to 70%.

19. The live leaven as claimed in claim 13, comprising: Flour: 100% Starter: 0.2-5%, preferably 0.3-2% Salt: 0-2% Water: 45-75%, preferably about 50-65%, the percentages being per 100 parts of flour.

20. The live leaven as claimed in claim 13, said live leaven has a bacteriological stability over a period of 2 months such that the decrease in the content of lactic acid bacteria is at most 2 log in the 2 months following its preparation.

21. A ready-to-use leaven for preparing a sourdough bread, comprising the live leaven as claimed in claim 13.

22. The ready-to-use leaven as claimed in claim 21, according to which a rate of incorporation of the live leaven is from 10 to 35%, preferably from 15 to 20% in 100 parts of flour.

23. A breadmaking starter for preparing liquid leaven comprising the live leaven as claimed in claim 13.

24. The breadmaking starter, according to which the rate of incorporation of the live leaven is from 5 to 25%, preferably from 10 to 15% per 100 parts of flour.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] FIG. 1 is a photograph of leavens L1 to L6 prepared in example 1.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a photograph of leaven L5 prepared in example 3.

[0017] FIG. 3 is a photograph of leaven L7 prepared in example 3.

[0018] FIG. 4 is a photograph of leaven L9 prepared in example 3.

[0019] FIG. 5 is a photograph of leaven L10 prepared in example 3.

[0020] FIG. 6 is a photograph of leaven L11 prepared in example 3.

[0021] FIG. 7 is a photograph of leaven L12 prepared in example 3.

[0022] FIG. 8 is a photograph of leaven L13 prepared in example 3.

[0023] FIG. 9 is a photograph of leaven L14 prepared in example 3.

[0024] FIG. 10 is a sensory diagram constructed for bread prepared according to example 2 and a control sourdough bread.

[0025] FIGS. 11 and 12 are photographs of a nonfriable, cuttable compressed block of leaven L2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] “Leaven” means, in the present invention, a product obtained by putting a starter in water and adding flour, and leaving it to ripen.

[0027] Thus, the leaven according to the invention may be a ready-to-use breadmaking leaven or may be a breadmaking starter leaven.

[0028] “In cuttable solid form” means a solid block that remains in the form that it has been given and that is divisible into pieces, for example under the pressure of a cheese wire, a knife blade or a dough cutter. Such a block does not crumble, is not friable and does not sag under its own weight. It may be in the form of a block obtained by compaction, wrapped in a suitable film allowing optimal storage of the product. Alternatively, it may be contained in a rigid vessel of the bucket type.

[0029] Owing to this cuttable solid form, the leaven according to the invention can be dosed accurately without any difficulty. It is therefore very easy for the baker to use.

[0030] The base flour of the leaven according to the invention is selected from the group comprising flour of barley, buckwheat, lupine, millet, quinoa, kamut (or Kharagan wheat), einkorn and spelt.

A mixture of flours may be used.

[0031] According to a particular embodiment, the base flour of the leaven is selected from flour of barley, buckwheat, lupine, millet, quinoa or mixtures thereof.

[0032] According to the invention, flours are preferred that have an ash content from 0.35 to 2.50%, preferably from 1 to 2.2%, more preferably from 1.5 to 2 wt % per 100% of flour dry matter.

[0033] According to the invention, flours are preferred that have a protein content from 5 to 45 g/100 g of flour, preferably from 8 to 30 g/100 g of flour, even more preferably from 10 to 15 g/100 g of flour.

[0034] According to a particular embodiment, the base flour of the leaven according to the invention is selected from barley flour, buckwheat flour, or mixtures thereof.

[0035] The leaven flavors will be different depending on the flour used. In particular, different flavors are developed by adjusting the ratio of barley flour to buckwheat flour.

[0036] The leaven according to the invention is microbiologically stable for at least 10 days, preferably at least 20 days and preferably for up to 8 weeks, preferably at a positive cold temperature (2-8° C., preferably +4° C.). Thus, it can be stored while retaining its activity.

[0037] The microbiological stability is such that the decrease in the content of lactic acid bacteria is at most 2 log in the 2 months following its preparation.

[0038] The leaven according to the invention has very interesting gustatory qualities, which remain stable for at least 10 days, preferably at least 20 days and preferably for up to 8 weeks.

[0039] Owing to its good stability, the leaven according to the invention can be stored for several weeks, up to 8 weeks. For further improvement of its shelf life, it can be stored in suitable packaging of the polyethylene film type or a polypropylene plastic bucket.

[0040] The leaven according to the invention has a hydration level from 45 to 95%, preferably from 50 to 70%. “Hydration level” means the amount of water added per 100 units of flour mixed with the starter.

[0041] According to one embodiment, the leaven according to the invention comprises:

Barley flour and/or buckwheat flour: 100%
Starter: 0.2-5%, preferably 0.3-2%

Salt: 0-2%

[0042] Water: 45-75%, preferably between 60 and 70%,
the percentages being as baker's percentage, i.e. per 100 parts of flour.

[0043] The invention also relates to the use of the cuttable leaven for making sourdough bread.

[0044] For making sourdough bread, the level of incorporation of the leaven is greater than 10%, preferably from 11 to 35%, even more preferably from 15 to 20% in 100 parts of flour.

[0045] For use in the production of sourdough bread, the leaven according to the invention has a hydration level from 45 to 95%, preferably from 50 to 70%. “Hydration level” means the amount of water added per 100 units of flour mixed with the starter.

[0046] The invention also relates to the use of the cuttable leaven as breadmaking starter for preparing liquid leavens.

[0047] In this use, the level of incorporation of the leaven is from 5 to 25%, preferably from 10 to 15% in 100 parts of flour.

[0048] In this use, the leaven according to the invention has a level of hydration from 100 to 200%, preferably 150%. “Hydration level” means the amount of water added per 100 units of flour.

[0049] The acidification power of the breadmaking starter leaven according to the invention is entirely satisfactory and can be maintained for up to 11 weeks.

[0050] The invention will be described in more detail with the examples, which are given purely for purposes of illustration.

EXAMPLES

Example 1: Preparation of Leavens

[0051] Six different leavens are prepared starting from a commercial starter Livendo® LV1 marketed by the Lesaffre company, using different flours with fermentation of 20 h at 30° C.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Composition quantity Flour 100%  Water As required Salt 1.5% Livendo ® LV4 0.5% Kneading 5 min

[0052] The type of flour and the hydration level are indicated in Table 2 below for each of the leavens prepared, L1 to L6.

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Ash content Protein (% ash to content % flour (g/100 g Hydration, Leaven Flour dry matter) of flour) % L1 Maize 0.64 5.84 75 L2 Barley 1.93 9.7 70 L3 Buckwheat 1.92 12.89 55 L4 Rye T170 1.70 8.52 75 L5 Wheat T55 0.54 11.22 55 L6 Millstone 0.64 5.84 55

[0053] The appearance and the durability of the leavens was assessed with the naked eye before compacting. The photographs of the different leavens are given in the appended FIG. 2.

It is clear from naked-eye observation that:
leavens L5 and L6 do not form a compact mass, but disintegrate;
leaven L1 forms a noncoherent mass that breaks into smaller blocks;
leavens L2, L3 and L4 form a solid block.
The solid blocks formed from the leavens were cut with a cheese wire.
Cutting was easy for leavens L2 and L3 but was not possible for leaven L4.

[0054] The pH was measured at time 0. The total titratable acidity TTA and the SG (Sauergrad) value were also measured.

[0055] For these analyses, 10 g of leaven was put in a graduated beaker and distilled water was added at a rate of 90 mL (10:90 w/w). The pH was measured using a pH meter and the TTA was measured by acid/base volumetric determination with N/10 sodium hydroxide solution until pH=6.6 was reached, and the SG value was measured in the same way as the TTA but reaching a pH of 8.5.

[0056] The results are presented in the following table for the value at TO:

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Leaven pH TTA SG L1 4.5 2.8 ND L2 4.2 8.2 ND L3 5.2 5.2 ND L4 5.2 4.2 ND L5 3.8 7.8 ND L6 3.9 7.1 ND

[0057] For leaven L2, the measurements were also carried out weekly for 8 weeks. The results are presented in Table 4 below:

TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 Block of leaven pH TTA Sg From 4.1 15 21 2 weeks 4.1 16.7 22 3 weeks 4.0 18.4 — 4 weeks 4.1 18.8 24.5 5 weeks 4.0 19.5 24.3 6 weeks 3.9 20.7 25.5 7 weeks 4.0 19.7 24.6 8 weeks 4.0 21 25.0

[0058] Leaven L2 showed stability at the level of the acidity (no appearance of off-notes) for 8 weeks at 4° C.

[0059] The bacteriological stability was evaluated for leaven L2 for 8 weeks with different inocula, by measuring the mesophilic aerobic flora (30° C.) according to standard NF EN ISO 4833-1 and the heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria in 3M 01/19-11/17 medium. The results obtained are presented in Table 5 below.

TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 Mesophilic Hetero- aerobic fermentative flora lactic (30° C.) acid bacteria Sample Lifetime (CFU/g) (CFU/g) Leaven on 1 week ND 9.30E+08 barley - 4 weeks 7.60E+05 2.40E+08 inoculum 0.5% 8 weeks 1.50E+05 9.80E+06 Livendo ® LV4

[0060] Leaven L2 has satisfactory bacteriological stability. It remains active even after 8 weeks of storage.

[0061] Stability was also observed according to the following parameters: liquefaction/loss of moisture, change in color and odor of the blocks. These parameters were found to be stable for 8 weeks.

[0062] A 0.5 kg block and a 1 kg block of leaven L2 were compacted in brick shape and were photographed (see FIGS. 11 and 12).

Example 2

[0063] The different leavens prepared in example 1 above were used for preparing sourdough breads, with the following composition:

TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 6 Ingredients kg % Wheat flour 1000 100 Water 700 70 Salt 21 2.1 Compressed yeast 5 0.5 Croustilis ® 0.5% 3 0.3 Leaven of the invention 100 10 Total 2962.5

[0064] The breadmaking flowsheet is given below in Table 7:

TABLE-US-00007 TABLE 7 STEPS Kneading 8 minutes at speed 1 + 2 minutes at speed 2 Initial fermentation 2 h at room temperature (20- 24° C., about 22° C.) Division 400 g Rounding Yes Expansion 15 minutes Shaping By hand Final proving 2 h at 26° C. Scarification Cooking 25 min at 250° C. vacuum cooking

[0065] For bread prepared starting from leaven 2, very good stability of pH and TTA was observed over a period of 8 weeks. The values were as follows:

TABLE-US-00008 TABLE 8 On the crumb Bread (4.5 h) pH TTA Sg Leaven 4.99 4.2 7.7 T0 15% Leaven 4.79 7.3 11.2 T0 30% Leaven 4.98 4.5 7.78 T8 15% Leaven 4.71 6.5 10.4 T8 30%

[0066] An organoleptic analysis was carried out on these two loaves, with on the one hand a traditional control baguette made with wheat flour, and on the other hand a baguette with block leaven with barley at 10% seeded with the Livendo LV4 starter. This analysis is based on a QDA test; the results were processed with Fizz software. Ten panellists, Odor & Taste experts, specially trained for the analysis, compared the products, and scored the differences on a scale from 0 to 10.

TABLE-US-00009 TABLE 9 Baguette with barley block leaven 10% Control baguette Appearance Darker crumb color Crumb color cream odor More leaven white flour flavor Overall taste more fermented intense More leaven More fruity (than the control)

[0067] The results obtained are summarized in the above table, and are detailed in the diagram in FIG. 11. For both breads, a typical flavor is found, specific to fermented cereals. The crumb of the bread of the invention is more colored and the taste of the bread according to the invention is more intense than that of the control bread with more intense “leaven and fruity” notes.

Example 3

[0068] Eight different leavens are prepared starting from a commercial starter SAF Levain and using different flours with fermentation of 24 h at 35° C.

[0069] The type of flour and the hydration level are indicated in Table 8 below for each of the leavens prepared, L7 to L14:

TABLE-US-00010 TABLE 10 Ash content Protein (% ash to % content of flour dry (g/100 g of Hydration, Leaven Flour matter) flour) % L5′ Wheat 0.54 11.22 55 L7 Triticale 1.7  10.37 63 L8 Rice 0.35 7.51 83 L9 Millet 0.75-2.40* 11 61 L10 Quinoa 2.46-3.36* 13 65 L11 Lupine 2-4* 38-42* 85 L12 Einkorn 1.43 15.64 61 L13 Spelt 0.75 13.46 61 L14 Kharagan wheat 1.76 14.96 50 (known by the designation Kamut) *Theoretical values

[0070] The appearance and the durability of the leavens were assessed with the naked eye. Photographs of the different leavens are given in FIGS. 2 to 10.

It is clear from naked-eye observation that: [0071] leavens L7, L8, and L13 do not form a compact mass, but disintegrate; [0072] leavens L9, L10, L11, L12 and L14 form a solid block. [0073] The solid blocks formed from the leavens were cut with a cheese wire.

TABLE-US-00011 TABLE 11 STEPS Kneading 5 minutes at speed 1 + 2 minutes at speed 2 Initial fermentation 2 h at room temperature (20- 24° C., about 22° C.) Division 450 g Rounding Yes Expansion 30 minutes Shaping By hand- Short French stick Final proving 2 h at 28° C. Berlin proving 80 g: 200 ml Scarification 1 scarification Cooking 25 min at 250° C. vacuum cooking

[0074] For each bread obtained, the values of pH, TTA and SG were measured on the crumb.

TABLE-US-00012 TABLE 12 Crumb pH TTA SG 5 Bread with L5 4.5 2.8 nd Bread with L7 4.23 16.42 23.28 Bread with L8 5.12 2.34 4.02 Bread with L9 4.40 14.65 21.82 Bread with L10 4.30 22.08 34.28 Bread with L11 4.99 15.01 23.27 Bread with L12 4.35 13.42 19.75 Bread with L13 4.25 13.38 19.05 Bread with L14 4.41 13.24 19.24

[0075] The values obtained were entirely satisfactory.

[0076] An organoleptic analysis was carried out on these breads. This analysis is based on a QDA test; the results were processed with Fizz software. Ten panellists, Odor & Taste experts, specially trained for the analysis, compared the products, and noted the flavors and odors.

TABLE-US-00013 TABLE 13 Odor Taste Bread with L5 Ripe wheat Ripe wheat, Round Bread with L7 Acetic, Leaven, Very salty, not Olive acetic Bread with L9 Fatty, malted Fatty, Cake Bread with L10 Rice/Maize Quinoa, Rice Bread with L11 Ripe wheat, fatty Fatty, Floral Bread with L12 Soap, paint Bread with L13 +green Bread with L14 Lightly smoked Fatty

[0077] The breads made with leavens L9, L10 and L11 had entirely satisfactory organoleptic qualities.

Example 4

[0078] Breadmaking starter leavens were prepared as follows:

TABLE-US-00014 Composition of starter leaven Recipe (wt % of flour) Barley flour 100 Water at 30° C. 62.8 Starter (leaven cream) 10 Enzymatic improver (Pro 404) 0

[0079] Using this composition, breadmaking starter leavens were prepared by the following different methods (with or without refreshing)

TABLE-US-00015 Method Method 1 Method 2 Ripening time 24 h 24 h Ripening temperature 32° C. 32° C. Subculturing No Once

[0080] Refreshing was carried out with the following formula:

TABLE-US-00016 Barley flour 92.9% Water 63.9 Starter leaven .sup. 15%

[0081] After 8 weeks of storage, the bacteria present in the breadmaking starter leavens still have viability above 10.sup.7 CFU/g.

Example 5

[0082] The breadmaking starter leavens prepared in example 4 are used for preparing liquid breadmaking leavens based on wheat flour.

[0083] Different batches were prepared with the freshly prepared leavens (TO), the leavens stored for 7 weeks (T7) and stored for 11 weeks (T11) at +4° C. The composition of the liquid leavens is as follows:

TABLE-US-00017 Ingredients Quantity T55 wheat flour 100% Water 30° C. 150% Starter leaven from example 4  10% Ripening time 24 h Ripening temperature 30° C.

[0084] All the batches of liquid leavens obtained had satisfactory pH and total contents of acids, even the batches obtained with the starter leaven stored for 11 weeks.

[0085] The results of measurement of acid in the liquid leaven obtained from the starter leaven with refreshing (starter leaven from example 4 with method 2) are given in the following table in comparison with different liquid leavens obtained in the same way but with commercial frozen starters.

TABLE-US-00018 Starter pH TTA According to the invention 3.8 7.9 Livendo LV1 4.1 4.3 Livendo LV2 4.2 3.9 Livendo LV3 3.6 5.7 [0086] (the values given for the leavens with Livendo starter are estimates obtained with “My sourdough App”).

[0087] The liquid leaven obtained from the starter leaven of the invention has a very interesting acidification power, slightly more powerful than the commercial frozen starter leavens.