Biscuit dough

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a dough for producing a biscuit having a slowly-digestible-starch-over-total-available-starch ratio of at least 31%, the biscuit comprising at least 29 wt % cereal flour, 5 to 22 wt % fat and at most 30 wt % sugar relative to the total weight of the biscuit, the dough comprising: cereal flour, fat, sugar and added water; and wherein the added water is in an amount of at most 8 wt % relative to the weight of dough.

Claims

1. A dough for producing a biscuit having a slowly-digestible-starch-over-total-available-starch ratio of at least 31% and a slowly available glucose value of at least 15.0 g/100 g of the biscuit, the biscuit comprising at least 29 wt % cereal flour, 5 to 22 wt % fat and at most 30 wt % sugar relative to the total weight of the biscuit, the dough comprising: cereal flour, fat, sugar and added water; wherein the added water is in an amount of at most 8 wt % relative to the weight of dough; and wherein the cereal flour comprises a refined cereal flour having a water absorption under 55% as measured according to NF-ISO-5530-1 and the refined cereal flour forms at least 14.5 wt % of the biscuit.

2. The dough according to claim 1, wherein the added water is in an amount of from 3 to 7 wt % relative to the weight of dough.

3. The dough according to claim 1, having a pre-baking density of from 1.0 to 1.5 g/cm.sup.3.

4. The dough according to claim 1, wherein the refined cereal flour comprises wheat flour comprising soft wheat flour, wheat flour with low damaged starch, thermally treated wheat flour, or combinations of two or more thereof.

5. The dough according to claim 1 for forming a biscuit comprising at most 19 wt % wholegrain cereal flakes by weight of the biscuit.

6. The dough according to claim 1, wherein the dough has a particle size distribution such that at least 20 wt % of the dough passes through a vibrating sieve mesh of 10 mm.

7. The dough according to claim 1, wherein the dough has a particle size distribution such that at least 8 wt % of the dough passes through a vibrating sieve mesh of 2 mm.

8. The dough according to claim 1, wherein the dough has a particle size distribution such that the D10 of the dough mass distribution is at most 6 mm.

9. The dough according to claim 1, wherein the dough requires a pressure of at least 5000 kg/m.sup.2 to compress the dough to a density of 1.22 g/cm.sup.3.

10. The dough according to claim 1, wherein the pressure required to compress the dough to a density of 1.22 g/cm.sup.3 is from 6500 to 30000 kg/m.sup.2.

11. The dough according to claim 1, wherein the dough comprises at least about 29 wt % cereal flour, about 4 to about 20 wt % fat and at most about 27 wt % sugar.

12. A method for forming a biscuit having a slowly-digestible-starch-over-total-available-starch ratio of at least 31%, the biscuit comprising at least 29 wt % cereal flour, 5 to 22 wt % fat and at most 30 wt % sugar relative to the total weight of the biscuit, the method comprising: providing the dough according to claim 1; moulding the dough into the shape of the biscuit; and baking the biscuit.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the step of moulding the dough involves compressing the dough to a pre-baking density of from 1.0 to 1.5 g/cm.sup.3.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the baking is: (i) conducted for a time of from 4 to 12 minutes; and/or (ii) conducted so that the temperature within the biscuit does not exceed 110 C., within the first 2 minutes of baking.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein the dough is mixed in a multi-step process and wherein: ingredients, excluding the added water, the cereal flour and wholegrain cereal flakes, if present, are mixed together, then the added water is added; then the cereal flour is added; then the wholegrain cereal flakes, if present, are added.

16. The method according to claim 12, wherein the step of moulding is a step of rotary moulding.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the rotary moulding is performed with a rotary moulder comprising: (i) a moulding cylinder and a grooved cylinder for shaping the dough into the biscuits, the moulding cylinder receiving the dough and the grooved cylinder with grooves of 5 to 15 mm, preferably 10 mm, pressing the dough in the moulding cylinder; and, optionally (ii) a hopper as a funnel for feeding the moulding and grooved cylinders; and/or (iii) a demoulding belt for demoulding the biscuits, optionally further comprising a humidification system; wherein the difference of speed between the grooved cylinder and the moulding cylinder is preferably maintained under 10%.

18. The method according to claim 12, wherein the method further comprises a step of forming a layered cookie by providing the biscuit with a filling part and, optionally, at least one further biscuit part.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the layered cookie contains 10 wt % to 25 wt % fat and 15 wt % to 40 wt % sugar relative to the total weight of the layered cookie.

20. A biscuit or filled cookie having a slowly-digestible-starch-over-total-available-starch ratio of at least 31%, the biscuit or filled cookie comprising at least 29 wt % cereal flour, 5 to 22 wt % fat and at most 30 wt % sugar relative to the total weight of the biscuit or filled cookie, prepared by a method comprising: providing the dough according to claim 1; moulding the dough into the shape of the biscuit or filled cookie; and baking the dough.

21. The biscuit or filled cookie according to claim 20, wherein the biscuit has a slowly available glucose value of at least 16.5 g/100 g of the biscuit or filled cookie.

22. The biscuit or filled cookie according to claim 20, wherein the biscuit has a slowly available glucose value of at least 18.0 g/100 g of the biscuit or filled cookie.

23. The biscuit or filled cookie according to claim 20, wherein the biscuit has a slowly available glucose value of at least 21.0 g/100 g of the biscuit or filled cookie.

24. The dough according to claim 1, wherein the dough has a particle size distribution such that at least 30 wt % of the dough passes through a vibrating sieve mesh of 10 mm.

Description

(1) The disclosure will now be described in relation to the figures, provided by way of non-limiting example, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the different steps of a method for forming a biscuit;

(3) FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the different steps of a method for forming a layered cookie;

(4) FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a rotary moulder. The large arrow indicates the direction to the oven;

(5) FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of a filling-over-biscuit cookie; and

(6) FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a sandwich cookie.

(7) As a key to FIG. 1:

(8) E1: Mixing the ingredients

(9) E2: Resting the dough

(10) E3: Rotary moulding the dough into biscuits

(11) E4: Glazing the biscuits

(12) E5: Baking the biscuits

(13) E6: Cooling the biscuits

(14) E7: Packaging the biscuits

(15) As a key to FIG. 2:

(16) E1: Mixing the ingredients into a dough

(17) E2: Resting the dough

(18) E3: Rotary moulding the dough into biscuits

(19) E4: Glazing the biscuits

(20) E5: Baking the biscuits

(21) E6: Cooling the biscuits

(22) E7: Depositing filing on one biscuit

(23) E8: Assembling the layered cookie

(24) E9: Cooling the layered cookie

(25) E10: Packaging the layered cookie

(26) The disclosure will now be described in relation to the following non-limiting examples.

EXAMPLES OF BISCUITS

Example 1

(27) A plain Cocoa biscuit was prepared. The biscuit has the following composition (in percentage of the final biscuit):

(28) TABLE-US-00002 dough ingredients 115.41 wt % glazing ingredients 1.69 wt % water removal 17.10 wt % total 100 wt %

(29) More particularly, biscuits are produced from dough formed with the following recipes:

(30) TABLE-US-00003 Ingredient Wt % in dough Wt % in Biscuit Refined soft wheat flour 29.4 29.2 Wheat bran and germ 3.0 3.1 Whole grain spelt flour 0.91 0.90 Whole grain rye flour 2.9 2.9 Whole grain barley flour 5.6 5.5 Whole grain oat flakes 7.7 7.8 SUGARS 16.5 19.0 FAT 10.2 11.8 ADDED WATER 7.6 2.0 Cocoa powder 3.0 3.3 Chocolat drop 11.3 13.0 Flavouring powder 0.27 0.31 Emulsifier 0.33 0.38 Salt 0.25 0.29 Leavening agents 0.80 0.18 Vitamin and mineral lend 0.16 0.18 Total 100.0 100.0 Relative total wt % after baking 86.8

(31) (amounts are expressed in percentage with respect to the weight of, respectively, final biscuit and unbaked dough)

(32) The water absorption measured by Brabender Farinograph of the refined wheat flour is 52%.

(33) The ingredients of the dough are mixed together in a horizontal mixer until the dough gets a homogenised consistency. Then the dough is rested for 30 minutes. After resting, the dough is fed into the hopper of the rotary moulder for forming the biscuits. The dough is fed so that the moulding and grooved cylinders of the rotary moulder are nearly visible. The speed differential of the moulding and grooved cylinder is kept below 10%. The biscuits are then glazed with a glazing that comprises (in weight percentage of the final biscuit):

(34) TABLE-US-00004 water 1.48 wt % skimmed milk powder 0.169 wt % starchy icing sugar 0.0425 wt %.

(35) After glazing the biscuits are driven to the oven for baking for about 7 min. During baking the temperature of the dough remains under 160 C. at all times. At the end of baking the water content is about 2.0 wt %.

(36) When the biscuits are taken out from the oven, they are allowed to cool down on open belts until the temperature of the biscuits is below 30 C. for packing.

(37) The biscuit comprises 57.15 wt % cereal ingredients, more in particular 31.19 wt % wholegrain cereal flour representing 64.55% of the total cereal flour. The biscuit has 17.1 wt % fat and 27.1 wt % sugar. Fat represents 35% of the total caloric value of the biscuit, while carbohydrate represents 58% and more precisely, sugar represents 24%. The biscuit has a SDS/(RDS+SDS) ratio of 40.75% and 16.3 g SAG/100 g biscuit. The biscuit has a starch content of 36.5 wt %.

Example 2

(38) The biscuit has the following composition (in percentage of the final biscuit):

(39) TABLE-US-00005 dough ingredients 112.46 wt % glazing ingredients 1.69 wt % water removal 14.15 wt % total 100 wt %

(40) More particularly, biscuits are produced from dough formed with the following recipes:

(41) TABLE-US-00006 Ingredient Wt % in dough Wt % in Biscuit Refined soft wheat flour 32.3 31.1 Wheat bran and germ 3.1 3.1 Whole grain spelt flour 0.89 0.86 Whole grain rye flour 3.1 3.0 Whole grain barley flour 4.4 4.2 Whole grain oat flakes 9.5 9.5 SUGARS 16.6 18.6 FAT 12.2 13.6 ADDED WATER 4.5 1.5 Honey (dry) 4.5 4.9 Chocolate drop 7.7 8.6 Flavouring powder 0.29 0.32 Emulsifier 0.15 0.17 Salt 0.26 0.29 Leavening agents 0.44 0.10 Vitamin and mineral lend 0.15 0.17 Total 100.00 100.00 Relative total wt % after baking 89.3

(42) (amounts are expressed in percentage with respect to the weight of, respectively, final biscuit and unbaked dough).

(43) The water absorption value measured by Brabender Farinograph of the refined wheat flour is 53%.

(44) The ingredients of the dough are mixed together in a horizontal mixer until the dough gets a homogenised consistency. Then the dough is rested. After resting, the dough is fed into the hopper of the rotary moulder for forming the biscuits. The dough is fed so that the moulding and grooved cylinders of the rotary moulder are nearly visible. The speed differential of the moulding and grooved cylinder is kept below 10%. The biscuits are then glazed with a glazing that comprises (in weight percentage of the final biscuit):

(45) TABLE-US-00007 water 1.47 wt % skimmed milk powder 0.170 wt % starchy icing sugar 0.040 wt %.

(46) After glazing the biscuits are driven to the oven for baking for about 7 min. During baking the temperature of the dough remains under 160 C. and the water content decreases until it reaches 1.5 wt %.

(47) When the biscuits are taken out from the oven, they are allowed to cool down on open belts until the temperature of the biscuits is below 30 C. for packing.

(48) The biscuit comprises 56.4 wt % cereal ingredients, more in particular 29.66 wt % wholegrain cereal flour representing 60.34% of the total cereal flour. The biscuit has 17.24 wt % fat and 24.56 wt % sugar. Fat represents 34% of the total caloric value of the biscuit, while carbohydrate represents 60% and more precisely, sugar represents 22%. The biscuit has a SDS/(RDS+SDS) ratio of 44.18% and 18.6 g SAG/100 g biscuit. The biscuit has a starch content of 38.1 wt %.

EXAMPLES OF SANDWICH COOKIES

Example 1

(49) A sandwich cookie has the following composition (in percentage of the final cookie):

(50) TABLE-US-00008 dough ingredients 87.12 wt % glazing ingredients 3.02 wt % filling ingredients 28.00 wt % water removal 18.14 wt % total 100 wt %

(51) More particularly, the biscuits of the sandwich cookie are produced from dough formed with the following recipes:

(52) TABLE-US-00009 Ingredient Wt % in dough Wt % in Biscuit Refined soft wheat flour 48.7 49.4 sugar 16.0 18.9 wholegrain cereal flour (rye, barley, 3.6 3.7 spelt) wheat bran and wheat germ 2.4 2.6 oat flakes 10.5 11.0 FAT 10.1 11.9 ADDED WATER 6.8 1.0 Flavouring powder 0.33 0.39 Emulsifier 0.12 0.14 Salt 0.21 0.25 Leavening agents 0.74 0.17 Vitamin and mineral lend 0.50 0.59 Total 100.00 100.00 Relative total wt % after baking 84.8

(53) (Amounts are expressed in percentage with respect to the weight of, respectively, final biscuit and unbaked dough.)

(54) The refined soft wheat flour used in example 1 has a water absorption value as measured with Brabender Farinograph of 53-54%.

(55) The ingredients of the dough are mixed together in a horizontal mixer until the dough gets a homogenised consistency. Then the dough is rested. After resting, the dough is fed into the hopper of the rotary moulder for forming the biscuits. The dough is fed so that the moulding and grooved cylinders of the rotary moulder are nearly visible. The speed differential of the moulding and grooved cylinder is kept below 10%. The biscuits are then glazed with a glazing that comprises (in weight percentage of the final biscuit):

(56) TABLE-US-00010 water 2.68 wt % skimmed milk powder 0.27 wt % refined sugar powder 0.07 wt % total 3.02 wt %.

(57) After glazing the biscuits are driven to the oven for baking for about 6 min. During baking the temperature of the dough remains under 160 C. and the water content decreases until it reaches 1%.

(58) When the biscuits are taken out from the oven, they are allowed to cool down on open belts. Once the temperature of the biscuits is below 33 C. the biscuits are then assembled with a filling to form sandwich cookies. The filling has the following composition:

(59) TABLE-US-00011 sugar 14.26 wt % wheat starch 1.93 wt % emulsifier 0.08 wt % flavouring agent 0.04 wt % cocoa powder 4.31 wt % fat 7.38 wt % total 28.00 wt %.

(60) The sandwich cookie has 18.08 wt % fat and 26.5 wt % sugar. Fat represents 35.7% of the total caloric value of the sandwich cookie, while carbohydrate represents 57% and more precisely, sugar represents 23%. The sandwich cookie has a SDS/(RDS+SDS) ratio of 39.95% and 16.5 g SAG/100 g sandwich cookie.

Comparative Example 1

(61) The sandwich cookie for the comparative example 1 has the following composition (in percentage of the final cookie):

(62) TABLE-US-00012 dough ingredients 87.30 wt % glazing ingredients 3.02 wt % filling ingredients 28.00 wt % water removal 18.32 wt % total 100 wt %

(63) More particularly, the biscuits of the sandwich cookie are produced from dough formed with the following recipes:

(64) TABLE-US-00013 Ingredient Wt % in dough Wt % in Biscuit Wheat flour 47.5 49.7 sugar 15.5 18.9 wholegrain cereal flour (rye, barley, 3.5 3.7 spelt) wheat bran and wheat germ 2.1 2.3 oat flakes 10.2 11.0 FAT 9.8 11.9 ADDED WATER 9.7 1.0 Flavouring powder 0.32 0.39 Emulsifier 0.12 0.15 Salt 0.18 0.22 Leavening agents 0.72 0.18 Vitamin and mineral lend 0.48 0.58 Total 100.00 100.00 Relative total wt % after baking 82.1

(65) (Amounts are expressed in percentage with respect to the weight of, respectively, final biscuit and unbaked dough)

(66) The amount of the various ingredients is actually the same as in example 1, only more water is added into the dough, thus changing the percentage for all ingredients. Another difference is the use of refined wheat flour in example 1, whereas in the comparative example 1, conventional soft wheat flour is used.

(67) This soft wheat flour has a water absorption value as measured with Brabender Farinograph of 58-59%.

(68) The ingredients of the dough are mixed together in a horizontal mixer until the dough gets a homogenised consistency. Then the dough is rested. After resting, the dough is fed into the hopper of an ordinary rotary moulder for forming the biscuits. The speed differential of the moulding and grooved cylinder is kept below 10%. The biscuits are then glazed with a glazing that comprises (in weight percentage of the final biscuit):

(69) TABLE-US-00014 water 2.68 wt % skimmed milk powder 0.27 wt % refined sugar powder 0.07 wt % total 3.02 wt %.

(70) After glazing the biscuits are driven to the oven for baking for about 6 min. During baking the temperature of the dough remains under 160 C. and the water content decreases until it reaches 1%.

(71) When the biscuits are taken out from the oven, they are allowed to cool down on open belts. Once the temperature of the biscuits is below 33 C. the biscuits are then assembled with a filling to form sandwich cookies. The filling has the following composition:

(72) TABLE-US-00015 sugar 14.26 wt % wheat starch 1.93 wt % emulsifier 0.08 wt % flavouring agent 0.04 wt % cocoa powder 4.31 wt % fat 7.38 wt % total 28.00 wt %.

(73) This sandwich cookie has 29.7% SDS/(RDS+SDS) and 12.5 g/100 g sandwich cookie of SAG. Thus, SAG content for this sandwich cookie is much less than 15 g/100 g sandwich cookie. This shows that the change in dough recipe and in use of a different rotary moulder result in sandwich cookies with better SAG content.

(74) Also, use of refined wheat flour in example 1 enables diminution of added water content in the dough down to less than 8 wt % of the dough. It is believed that this makes it possible to better protect the starch from gelatinisation and therefore preserve a high amount of SDS.

Example 2

(75) The sandwich cookie has the following composition (in percentage of the final cookie):

(76) TABLE-US-00016 dough ingredients 87.60 wt % glazing ingredients 3.01 wt % filling ingredients 28.00 wt % water removal 18.62 wt % total 100 wt %

(77) More particularly, the biscuits of the sandwich cookie are produced from dough formed with the following recipes:

(78) TABLE-US-00017 Ingredient Wt % in dough Wt % in Biscuit refined soft wheat flour 48.7 49.6 sugar 15.9 18.9 wholegrain cereal flour (rye, barley, 3.6 3.6 spelt) wheat bran and wheat germ 2.4 2.6 oat flakes 10.4 11.0 FAT 10.1 11.9 ADDED WATER 7.2 1.0 Flavouring powder 0.33 0.39 Emulsifier 0.12 0.14 Salt 0.21 0.25 Leavening agents 0.76 0.18 Vitamin and mineral lend 0.37 0.44 Total 100.00 100.00 Relative total wt % after baking 84.4

(79) (Amounts are expressed in percentage with respect to the weight of, respectively, final biscuit and unbaked dough.)

(80) The refined soft wheat flour used in example 2 has a water absorption value as measured with Brabender Farinograph of 53-54%.

(81) The ingredients of the dough are mixed together in a horizontal mixer until the dough gets a homogenised consistency. Then the dough is rested. After resting, the dough is fed into the hopper of the rotary moulder for forming the biscuits. The dough is fed so that the moulding and grooved cylinders of the rotary moulder are nearly visible. The speed differential of the moulding and grooved cylinder is kept below 10%. The biscuits are then glazed with a glazing that comprises (in weight percentage of the final biscuit):

(82) TABLE-US-00018 water 2.68 wt % skimmed milk powder 0.27 wt % refined sugar powder 0.07 wt % total 3.01 wt %.

(83) After glazing the biscuits are driven to the oven for baking for about 6 min. During baking the temperature of the dough remains under 160 C. and the water content decreases until it reaches 1%.

(84) When the biscuits are taken out from the oven, they are allowed to cool down on open belts. Once the temperature of the biscuits is below 33 C. the biscuits are then assembled with a filling to form sandwich cookies. The filling has the following composition:

(85) TABLE-US-00019 dairy derivatives (whey, yoghurt) 4.48 wt % wheat starch 5.60 wt % sugar 10.07 wt % emulsifier 0.07 wt % flavouring agent (yoghurt) 0.06 wt % acidifying agent 0.02 wt % fat 7.70 wt % total 28.00 wt %.

(86) The sandwich cookie has 17.62 wt % fat and 28.3 wt % sugar. Fat represents 34.8% of the total caloric value of the sandwich cookie, while carbohydrate represents 59% and more precisely, sugar represents 25%. The sandwich cookie has a SDS/(RDS+SDS) ratio of 43.38% and 19 g SAG/100 g sandwich cookie.

Comparative Example 2

(87) The sandwich cookie for the comparative example 1 has the following composition (in percentage of the final cookie):

(88) TABLE-US-00020 dough ingredients 87.80 wt % glazing ingredients 3.01 wt % filling ingredients 28.00 wt % water removal 18.81 wt % total 100 wt %

(89) More particularly, the biscuits of the sandwich cookie are produced from dough formed with the following recipes:

(90) TABLE-US-00021 Ingredient Wt % in dough Wt % in Biscuit wheat flour 46.8 49.4 sugar 15.4 18.9 wholegrain cereal flour (rye, barley, 3.5 3.6 spelt) wheat bran and wheat germ 2.3 2.6 oat flakes 10.1 11.0 FAT (vegetable fat) 9.7 11.9 ADDED WATER 10.2 1.0 Flavouring powder (yoghurt) 0.31 0.38 Emulsifier 0.12 0.15 Salt 0.20 0.25 Leavening agents 1.02 0.25 Vitamin and mineral lend 0.36 0.44 Total 100.00 100.00 Relative total wt % after baking 81.8

(91) (Amounts are expressed in percentage with respect to the weight of, respectively, final biscuit and unbaked dough.)

(92) The amount of the various ingredients is actually the same as in example 2, only more water is added into the dough, thus changing the percentage for all ingredients. Another difference is the use of refined wheat flour in example 2, whereas in the comparative example 2, conventional soft wheat flour is used. This soft wheat flour has a water absorption value as measured with Brabender Farinograph of 58-59%.

(93) The ingredients of the dough are mixed together in a horizontal mixer until the dough gets a homogenised consistency. Then the dough is rested. After resting, the dough is fed into the hopper of an ordinary rotary moulder for forming the biscuits. The speed differential of the moulding and grooved cylinders is kept below 10%. The biscuits are then glazed with a glazing that comprises (in weight percentage of the final biscuit):

(94) TABLE-US-00022 water 2.68 wt % skimmed milk powder 0.27 wt % refined sugar powder 0.07 wt % total 3.01 wt %.

(95) After glazing the biscuits are driven to the oven for baking for about 6 min. During baking the temperature of the dough remains under 160 C. and the water content decreases until it reaches 1%.

(96) When the biscuits are taken out from the oven, they are allowed to cool down on open belts. Once the temperature of the biscuits is below 33 C. the biscuits are then assembled with a filling to form sandwich cookies. The filling has the following composition:

(97) TABLE-US-00023 dairy derivatives (whey, yoghurt) 4.48 wt % wheat starch 5.60 wt % sugar 10.07 wt % emulsifier 0.07 wt % flavouring agent (yoghurt) 0.06 wt % acidifying agent 0.02 wt % fat 7.70 wt % total 28.00 wt %.

(98) This sandwich cookie has 28.5% SDS/(RDS+SDS) and 12.3 g/100 g sandwich cookie of SAG. Thus, SAG content for this sandwich cookie is much less than 15 g/100 g sandwich cookie. This shows again that the change in dough recipe and in use of a different rotary moulder result in sandwich cookies with better SAG content.

(99) Also, use of refined wheat flour in example 1 enables diminution of added water content in the dough down to less than 8 wt % of the dough. It is believed that this makes it possible to better protect the starch from gelatinisation and therefore preserve a high amount of SDS.

Example 3

(100) The sandwich cookie has the following composition (in percentage of the final cookie):

(101) TABLE-US-00024 dough ingredients 90.39 wt % glazing ingredients 1.90 wt % filling ingredients 27.00 wt % water removal 19.29 wt % total 100 wt %

(102) More particularly, the biscuits of the sandwich cookie are produced from dough formed with the following recipes:

(103) TABLE-US-00025 Ingredient Wt % in dough Wt % in Biscuit refined soft wheat flour 49.5 50.9 sugar 13.9 16.7 wholegrain cereal flour (rye, barley, 5.8 5.9 spelt) wheat bran and wheat germ 2.0 2.2 oat flakes 7.8 8.3 FAT (vegetable fat) 11.0 13.2 ADDED WATER 7.8 1.1 Flavouring powder (yoghurt) 0.23 0.27 Emulsifier 0.29 0.35 Salt 0.20 0.24 Leavening agents 0.75 0.18 Vitamin and mineral lend 0.55 0.66 Total 100.00 100.00 Relative total wt % after baking 83.7

(104) (Amounts are expressed in percentage with respect to the weight of, respectively, final biscuit and unbaked dough)

(105) The water absorption value measured by Brabender Farinograph of the refined wheat flour is 53-54%.

(106) The ingredients of the dough are mixed together in a horizontal mixer until the dough gets a homogenised consistency. Then the dough is rested. After resting, the dough is fed into the hopper of the rotary moulder for forming the biscuits. The dough is fed so that the moulding and grooved cylinders of the rotary moulder are nearly visible. The speed differential of the moulding and grooved cylinder is kept below 10%. The biscuits are then glazed with a glazing that comprises (in weight percentage of the final biscuit):

(107) TABLE-US-00026 water 1.69 wt % skimmed milk powder 0.17 wt % refined sugar powder 0.04 wt % total 1.90 wt %.

(108) After glazing the biscuits are driven to the oven for baking for about 7 min. During baking the temperature of the dough remains under 160 C. and the water content decreases until it reaches 1.1%.

(109) When the biscuits are taken out from the oven, they are allowed to cool down on open belts. Since the temperature of the biscuits is below 33 C. the biscuits are then assembled with a filling to form sandwich cookies. The filling has the following composition:

(110) TABLE-US-00027 sugar 16.47 wt % moisturising agent 6.75 wt % vegetable fat 1.62 wt % fruit concentrate 1.35 wt % gums 0.27 wt % acidity regulator 0.38 wt % emulsifier 0.11 wt % flavouring agent (mixed berry) 0.05 wt % total 27.00 wt %.

(111) The sandwich cookie has 12.05 wt % fat and 29.3 wt % sugar. Fat represents 26% of the total caloric value of the sandwich cookie, while carbohydrate represents 68% and more precisely, sugar represents 27.7%. The sandwich cookie has a SDS/(RDS+SDS) ratio of 35.07% and 15.5 g SAG/100 g sandwich cookie.

(112) Dough Properties

(113) The density of the dough in the moulds used to form the biscuits was quantified by calculating the density, i.e. the mass per unit volume, of the dough in the rotary mould. This is done by dividing the weight of a dough piece (straight after rotary molding) by the volume of the rotary mould.

(114) TABLE-US-00028 Die volume (cm3) Dough weight (g) Density (g/cm3) Plain Biscuit 11.324 14.5 1.280 Sandwich 8.56 11.0 1.285 Biscuit

(115) The density values of further samples were measured and ranged from 1.20 to 1.29 g/ml.

(116) The dough properties of the samples were also subjected to compression testing and sieving testing according to the test methods described herein. In particular, the pressure required to achieve a density of 1.22 g/cm.sup.3 was measured and the particle size distributions were observed.

(117) TABLE-US-00029 Rheology Sieving Rest Temp Force Pressure % D10 Dough time ( C.) (kg) (kg/m.sup.2) <10 mm (mm) Biscuit Ex 1 0 h 30 30 C. 12.97 6625 63% 1.25 Biscuit Ex 1 2 h 30 30 C. 19.1 9728 84% 0.95 Biscuit Ex 1 2 h 30 20 C. 29.3 14922 78% 0.95 Biscuit Ex 2 0 h 30 24.5 C. 10.8 5500 29% 5.25 Biscuit Ex 2 2 h 30 24.5 C. 12.8 6519 25% 4.50 Biscuit Ex 2 2 h 30 24.5 C. 11.8 6010 Biscuit Ex 2 2 h 20 24.5 C. 13.8 7028 Sandwich Ex 2 1 h 25 C. 14.5 7385 32% 3.50 Sandwich Comp Ex 2 1 h 25 C. 5.0 2546 4% >10 % <10 mm refers to the amount of dough that goes through the 10 mm sieve. It is calculated as follows: % 10 mm = 100 % dough mass on 10 mm sieve. % <2 mm refers to the amount of dough that goes through the 2 mm sieve. This amount can simply be measured and the % determined.

(118) Unless otherwise stated, the percentage values recited herein are by weight and, where appropriate, by weight of the final biscuit.

(119) Although preferred embodiments of the disclosure have been described herein in detail, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that variations may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the disclosure or of the appended claims.