Soft biscuit with slowly available glucose

Abstract

Methods and products related to a cereal product having a water activity of about 0.4 or more and an SAG content of greater than about 15 g per 100 g of cereal product.

Claims

1. A soft-textured baked cereal product comprising: a SAG content of greater than about 15 g per 100 g of soft-textured baked cereal product; a water activity of about 0.6 to about 0.9; a flour component comprising refined wheat flour; and seeds in the form of flakes, grits, groats, or combinations thereof comprising buckwheat, rye, spelt, millet, triticale, or combinations thereof, wherein: the seeds in the form of flakes, grits, groats, or combinations thereof are present in a total amount of about 10 wt % to about 16 wt % of the soft-textured baked cereal product, and the seeds in the form of flakes, grits, groats, or combinations thereof contribute to the SAG content of greater than about 15 g per 100 g of soft-textured baked cereal product.

2. The soft-textured baked cereal product of claim 1, comprising a moisture content of about 5 wt % or more.

3. The soft-textured baked cereal product of claim 1, comprising inclusions having a texture discernable from a texture of a matrix of the baked cereal product.

4. The soft-textured baked cereal product of claim 3, wherein the inclusions maintain their texture for at least six months.

5. The soft-textured baked cereal product of claim 1, wherein the seeds in the form of flakes, grits, groats, or combinations thereof comprise buckwheat.

6. The soft-textured baked cereal product of claim 1, comprising buckwheat grits, groats and/or cuts.

7. The soft-textured baked cereal product of claim 1, wherein the baked cereal product consists of ingredients that are characterized by a combined unbaked SAG content and the SAG content of the soft-textured baked cereal product, wherein the SAG content of the soft-textured baked cereal product is less than about 40% below the combined unbaked SAG content of the ingredients.

8. The soft-textured baked cereal product of claim 1, wherein the cereal product comprises a crust portion and a crumb portion, the crust portion enclosing the crumb portion, wherein the SAG content of the crust portion is greater than 15 g per 100 g of crust portion, or wherein the SAG content of the crumb portion is greater than about 15 g per 100 g of crumb portion.

9. The soft-textured baked cereal product of claim 1, wherein the cereal product comprises a crust portion and a crumb portion, the crust portion enclosing the crumb portion, wherein the SAG content of the crumb portion per 100 g of crumb portion is at least 70% of the SAG content of the crust portion per 100 g of crust portion.

10. A baked food bar comprising: (a) a water activity of about 0.6 to about 0.9; (b) a SAG content of greater than about 15 g per 100 g of food bar; (c) a heat processable binder; and (d) seeds in the form of flakes, grits, groats, or combinations thereof comprising whole grain buckwheat in an amount of about 10 wt % to about 16 wt % of the food bar such that the seeds in the form of flakes, grits, groats, or combinations thereof contribute to the SAG content of greater than about 15 g per 100 g of food bar.

11. The soft-textured baked cereal product of claim 1, wherein the flour component further comprises buckwheat, rye, spelt, millet, triticale, or combinations thereof.

12. The soft-textured baked cereal product of claim 1, wherein the seeds comprising buckwheat, rye, spelt, millet, triticale, or combinations thereof are in the form of flakes.

13. The soft-textured baked cereal product of claim 1, wherein the seeds comprising buckwheat, rye, spelt, millet, triticale, or combinations thereof are in the form of groats, grits, cuts, or combinations thereof.

14. The soft-textured baked cereal product of claim 1 further comprising wheat flour and about 5% up to about 7% inulin.

15. The soft-textured baked cereal product of claim 1 further comprising from about 0.1 wt % up to about 14 wt % total sweetener consisting essentially of sugar and inulin.

16. The soft-textured baked cereal product of claim 1 further comprising a up to about 10% fructose.

Description

EXAMPLES

Example 1

(1) Cereal products were prepared according to the following formulations:

(2) Soft Formula:

(3) TABLE-US-00001 PERCENT INGREDIENTS OF DOUGH Raisin Paste 6 Canola Oil with Lecithin 12 Glycerin 5 Invert syrup 9 Flavor <1.0 Salt <1.0 Starch and/or insoluble fiber and/or flour <5.0 Sugar and/or inulin powder 12 Water 8 Multigrain Blend 23 Leavening Agent <1.0 Wheat flour 23 TOTAL .sup.100.00% Baked Product SAG 13%

(4) Soft Formula with Buckwheat Grits:

(5) TABLE-US-00002 PERCENT INGREDIENTS OF DOUGH Raisin Paste 6 Canola Oil with Lecithin 12 Glycerin 5 Invert syrup 9 Flavor <1 Salt <1 Starch and/or insoluble fiber and/or flour <5 Sugar and/or inulin powder 12 Water 8 Multigrain Blend 13 Buckwheat Grits 10 Leavening Agent <1 Wheat flour 22 TOTAL 100.00% Baked Product SAG 17.3%

(6) The formulations above demonstrate that the replacement of a portion of the flake blend with buckwheat grits in the formulation significantly enhanced the SAG content in the baked product, as the SAG content increased from 13% to 17.3%.

Example 2

(7) Cereal products were prepared according to the following formulations:

(8) Cake Control Formula:

(9) TABLE-US-00003 Percent of Ingredient Dough Wheat flour 36 Whole eggs 13 Canola Oil 8 Sugar 12 Glucose Syrup 12 Glycerin 6 Texturizing Starch <2 Salt <1 Leavening Agents <2 Water 8 Total 100.00%

(10) Cake Formula with Buckwheat Grits:

(11) TABLE-US-00004 Percent of Ingredient Dough Buckwheat Grits 13 Wheat flour 24 Whole eggs 13 Canola Oil 8 Sugar 12 Glucose Syrup 12 Glycerin 6 Texturizing Starch <2 Salt <1 Leavening Agents <2 Water 8 Total 100.00%

(12) The formulations above demonstrate that the replacement of a portion of the wheat flour with buckwheat grits in the formulation significantly enhanced the SAG content in the baked product, as the SAG content increased from 3.1% to 8.4%. The products have a moisture content of 13-15 wt % and a water activity of 0.6-0.7.

Example 3

(13) Three types of soft biscuits were prepared, their formulations differing only in the type of inclusion. The inclusions were present in an amount of about 15 wt % of the soft biscuit. One formulation was prepared with buckwheat grits, one with rye cuts (whole cut rye with the same particle size as the buckwheat grits), and spelt cuts (whole cut spelt with the same particle size as the buckwheat grits).

(14) Soft Formula with Buckwheat Grits:

(15) TABLE-US-00005 PERCENT INGREDIENTS OF DOUGH Raisin Paste 6 Canola Oil with Lecithin 12 Glycerin 5 Invert syrup 9 Flavor <1 Salt <1 Starch and/or insoluble fiber and/or flour 5 Sugar and/or inulin powder 12 Water 8 Buckwheat Grits or Rye Cuts or Spelt Cuts 15 Leavening Agent <1 Wheat flour 22 TOTAL 100.00%

(16) TABLE-US-00006 Inclusion Baked Product Inclusions in the above formula Level (%) SAG (%) Buckwheat Grits 15 22.3 Rye Cuts 15 16.7 Spelt Cuts 15 15.7

(17) An additional type of soft biscuit was prepared, including buckwheat grits and rice crisps, according to the following formulation:

(18) TABLE-US-00007 PERCENT INGREDIENTS OF DOUGH Canola Oil with Lecithin 10 Glycerin 7 Invert and/or Glucose Syrups 6 Flavor <1 Water 7 Buckwheat Grits 15 Granulated Sugar 7 Inulin 7 Starch <1 Leavening Agent <2 Salt <1 Wheat flour 34 Inclusions such as rice or whey crisps 5 TOTALS: 100.00%

(19) When the biscuits were seven months old, they were analyzed for texture using a compressive force method. The biscuits were each compressed to 99% compression, using a TAXT Plus texture analyzer (Stable Micro Systems, UK). Test conditions were as follows: 5 mm diameter cylinder probe, test speed 0.1 mm/sec, compress 99% of original sample height. The biscuits were each probed at nine sites. The force needed to achieve 99% compression and the gradient of the force (grams) versus time (seconds) plot from 97% to 99% compression at each site was recorded.

(20) The average measurements for two biscuits for each type of inclusion, with nine probes on each biscuit, are as follows:

(21) TABLE-US-00008 Gradient (slope) Inclusions in Formulation Grams/second Buckwheat grits 2102.2 Buckwheat grits w/rice crisps 2242.0 Cut spelt 1199.8 Rye cuts 1484.3

(22) The results show that the formulation including the buckwheat grits, with or without rice crisps, has a significantly crunchier texture than the formulations with cut spelt or rye cuts, showing that the buckwheat grits provide a higher level of distinct crunchy texture in the overall soft biscuit. This texture of the buckwheat grits was maintained over time, as the tested biscuits were seven months old. These results are particularly notable because the rye and spelt have a harder initial texture than the buckwheat grits, before being included in the soft biscuit formulation. Without wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that the buckwheat grits are able to resist absorption of moisture from the soft biscuit formulation and therefore retain their crunchy texture, possibly due to an outer shell that can act as a moisture barrier. The rye cuts and cut spelt, on the other hand, developed a tough and chewy texture upon inclusion in the soft biscuit formulation despite having an initial texture harder than the buckwheat grits.

Example 4

(23) Cereal products were prepared, each with a different type of inclusion. The following table shows the amount of each inclusion in the dough, the SDS of each inclusion, the calculated product SDS, and the measured product SDS:

(24) TABLE-US-00009 Grain Level Theoretical Measured (wt % of Grain SAG Product SAG Product SAG Grain Type dough) (%) (%) (%) Buckwheat 15 58 20 20.8 Grits Cracked Millo 15 27 15 15.9 Cut Triticale 15 29 15 17.2 Cut Spelt 15 37 17 18.1 Oat Cuts 15 27 15 18.1 Hulled Whole 15 25 15 15.0 Millet

(25) The table below shows the amount of each inclusion in the dough, the dough SAG, the SAG of the baked product, and the percent of SDS after baking.

(26) TABLE-US-00010 Grain Level Dough Product SAG Formu- (wt % of SAG SAG Retention lation Grain Type dough) (%) (%) (%) 1 Buckwheat Grits 15 27.1 21.7 80 2 Whole Grain 15 25.3 20.6 81 Buckwheat Cuts 3 Whole Grain 5 19.5 15.9 82 Buckwheat Cuts Hulled Whole 10 Millet 4 Whole Grain 15 24.1 19 79 Buckwheat Groats 5 Whole Grain 10 23.3 20.3 87 Buckwheat Cuts Cut Spelt 5 6 WG Buckwheat 10 21.9 19.4 89 Cuts Cut Triticale 5 7 WG Buckwheat 5 21 18 86 Cuts Hulled Whole 5 Millet Cut Spelt 5

(27) The values in the table show that the use of the inclusions is able to provide a cereal product with a high SAG. The grains and seed were able to maintain a high percentage of the SAG (79% or more) between the dough stage and the final product stage.

Example 5

(28) Cereal products were prepared according to the following general formulation:

(29) TABLE-US-00011 Percent of Ingredients Dough Wheat flour 31 Buckwheat Grits 16 Flour, flake and bran blend 3.5 Vegetable oil with emulsifier 9 Glycerin 7 Inulin 5 Sugar 3 Isomaltulose 5 Leavening agent <1 Salt <1 Water 7-10 Glucose and/or invert Syrups 6 Inclusions such as rice or whey crisps 5-10 and/or chocolate chips or dried fruit pieces Flavor <1 Total before cooking 100.00%

(30) Other variations were also prepared: the variables included, modified starch, whey crisps, chocolate chips, fruit inclusions, a variety of sucrose levels, combinations of the above, and higher glycerin levels. Each formulation provided a soft-textured biscuit having a desirable level of SAG ranging from about 15% to about 23% with inclusions having a distinct, pleasant crunch.

(31) It is to be understood that at least some of the descriptions of the invention have been simplified to focus on elements that are relevant for a clear understanding of the invention, while eliminating, for purposes of clarity, other elements that those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate may also comprise a portion of the invention.

(32) As used herein, the term about is understood to mean 10% of the value referenced. For example, about 45% is understood to literally mean 40.5% to 49.5%.