PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF A SHELF-STABLE FILLED SPONGE-TYPE BAKERY PRODUCT

Abstract

A process is described for the production of a packaged shelf-stable sponge-type bakery product. The process includes a) preparation of a first mixture batter containing sugar, flour, oils and/or fats etc.; b) emulsification and dosing of the first batter on a baking surface; c) pre-steaming baking the first batter with the formation of a layer of semi-baked mixture; d) dosing of a filling inside the layer of semi-baked mixture of step c), placed in a baking mold and thus obtaining an open filled semi-finished product; e) preparation of a second mixture batter containing sugar, flour, fats and/or oils etc.; f) emulsification and dosing of the second batter on the open and filled semi-finished product of step d), thus obtaining a covered and filled semi-finished product; g) steam baking the product obtained in step f) to form a baked and filled bakery product; h) cooling; and i) packaging of the baked and filled bakery product.

Claims

1.-28. (canceled)

29. A process for the production of a packaged shelf-stable sponge-type bakery product having a casing of chemically leavened cake and a filling inside said casing, which comprises the steps of: a) preparation of a first mixture batter comprising sugar, flour, animal and/or vegetable fats and/or oils, at least one leavening agent, starch, egg products and optionally water and at least one ingredient characterizing the taste and the appearance of the finished bakery product; b) emulsification and dosing of said first batter on a flat baking surface, wherein said emulsification is carried out by passing the batter in a turboemulsifier with the incorporation of a percentage of air by volume based on the volume of the mixture comprised between 26 and 30%; c) pre-steam baking of said first batter with the formation of a layer of semi-baked mixture; d) dosing of a filling inside said layer of semi-baked mixture of step c), placed in a baking mould of semispherical shape, which gives to said layer of semi-baked mixture a concave shape, thus obtaining an open and filled semi-finished product; e) preparation of a second mixture batter comprising sugar, flour, animal and/or vegetable fats and/or oils, at least one leavening agent, starch, egg products, and optionally water and at least one ingredient characterizing the taste and the appearance of the finished bakery product; f) emulsification and dosing of said second batter obtained in step e) on said open and filled semi-finished product of step d), thus obtaining a covered and filled semi-finished product, wherein said emulsification is carried out by passing the batter in a turboemulsifier with the incorporation of a percentage of air by volume based on the volume of the mixture comprised between 35 and 40%; g) steam baking of said covered semi-finished product obtained in step f) with the formation of a baked and filled bakery product that comprises a casing of cake, having a humidity content between 20% and 30%, and an inner filling; h) cooling of said baked and filled bakery product thus obtained; and i) packaging of said baked and filled bakery product.

30. The process according to claim 29 wherein in step a) of preparation of a first batter and in step e) of preparation of a second batter, said first and second batter comprise, by weight based on the total weight of the mixture, 23-28% sugar, 10-15% flour, 8-13% animal and/or vegetable fats and/or oils, 0.3-0.8% of at least one leavening agent, 10-15% starch, 20-30% egg products and optionally 0-5% water and 0-8% of said at least one ingredient characterizing the taste and the appearance of the finished bakery product.

31. The process according to claim 29, wherein said chemically leavened cake of the invention is a chemically leavened sponge-type cake selected from the group consisting of sponge cake, shortcrust pastry, short dough, cake of the type for torta margherita, for muffins, for brownies and for plum cake.

32. The process according to claim 29, wherein the at least one ingredient characterizing the taste and the appearance of the finished bakery product is selected from the group consisting of cocoa, chocolate, milk, coffee, nuts, cereal grain particles, malt, fruit and vegetable juices and purees, or mixtures thereof.

33. The process according to claim 32, wherein said at least one ingredient characterizing the taste and the appearance of the finished bakery product is present at 2-6% by weight based on the total weight of the batter.

34. The process according to claim 29, wherein the starch is selected from the group consisting of the group consisting of starch of wheat, rice, potato, corn, tapioca, optionally deglutinated and mixtures thereof.

35. The process according to claim 29, wherein said flour is selected the group consisting of from any cereal flour, wholemeal or refined, with or without gluten, in the group which comprises durum wheat, soft wheat, turanicum wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. Turanicum), rye, corn, rice, spelt, barley, sorghum, millet, oats, triticale, buckwheat, quinoa, and mixtures thereof.

36. The process according to claim 29, wherein the weight ratio between the contents of starch and of flour is between 0.5 and 3.

37. The process according to claim 29 wherein in said step a) of preparation of said first batter and in said step e) of preparation of said second batter, the ingredients are mixed in the following order: sugar is added to a mixture of said animal and/or vegetable fats and/or oils, optionally already in a mixture with the at least one ingredient characterizing the taste and the appearance of the finished bakery product; after mixing the liquids are added and finally the powders and any remaining ingredients.

38. The process according to claim 29, wherein in steps b) and f) of emulsification and dosing of said respectively first and second batter, the emulsification is carried out by passing the batter in a turboemulsifier, with the incorporation of a percentage of air by volume based on the volume of the mixture of 28%, in said step b) and of 38%, in said step f).

39. The process according to claim 29, wherein in step b) of emulsification and dosing of said first batter, said baking surface is flat.

40. The process according to claim 39, wherein said baking surface is a grid covered with a sheet of baking paper.

41. The process according to claim 29, wherein step c) of pre-baking is carried out in a steam oven with homogeneous atmosphere of saturated steam at ambient pressure, at a temperature between 90 and 100 C. for a time between 3 and 7 minutes.

42. The process according to claim 41, wherein at the end of step c) of pre-baking, said layer of semi-baked mixture has a humidity between 20% and 30%.

43. The process according to claim 29, wherein said filling is hydrated and is selected from the group the group consisting of a cocoa flavoured cream, jam, honey, fruit puree and combinations thereof.

44. The process according to claim 29, wherein in step d) of dosing of a filling the quantity of filling that is dosed on said layer of semi-baked mixture is such as to constitute at least 40% by weight based on the weight of the finished baked bakery product.

45. The process according to claim 44, wherein said quantity of filling that is dosed on said layer of semi-baked mixture is such as to constitute from 60 to 70% by weight based on the weight of the finished baked bakery product.

46. The process according to claim 29, wherein step g) of baking of said second batter is carried out in a steam oven with homogeneous atmosphere of saturated steam at ambient pressure, at a temperature between 90 and 100 C. for a time between 8 and 16 minutes.

47. The process according to claim 44, wherein at the end of step g) of baking, the cake casing has a humidity content of about 28%.

48. The process according to claim 29, wherein said first batter of step a), said second batter of step e) and said filling of step d) are gluten free, wherein said starch is deglutinated and said flour is gluten free.

49. The process according to claim 29, wherein no artificial preservatives are added.

50. The process according to claim 29, wherein step h) of cooling is followed by a step of surface decoration of said baked bakery product, carried out with dosing of an anhydrous filling.

51. The process according to claim 29, wherein in step i) of packaging, said baked bakery product is packaged in a metallized barrier film.

52. A baked bakery product having a casing of chemically leavened cake and a filling inside said casing, wherein said casing has a humidity content comprised between 20% and 30%, which baked bakery product is obtained according to the process of claim 29.

53. The bakery product according to claim 52, which does not contain artificial preservatives.

54. The bakery product according to claim 52, wherein the bakery product is gluten free.

55. The bakery product according to claim 52, which has a shelf life of at least 3 months at room temperature.

56. The bakery product according to claim 52, wherein said bakery product has a flat and circular base, with diameter of about 7-8 cm, and a height of approximately 2.5-3.5 cm at the point in which the height is greatest.

57. The bakery product according to claim 52, wherein said bakery product has a content of fats between 8 and 16% by weight based on weight of the finished product.

58. The bakery product according to claim 52, wherein the bakery product has a value of humidity of said casing of cake of about 28%.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0122] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram that summarises the process of the invention.

[0123] FIG. 2 is a photograph of a product obtained according to the process of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0124] The present invention will be described further by referring to the exemplary embodiments given here below by way of a non-limiting illustration.

Example 1

[0125] A first liquid mixture (first batter) was prepared having the composition described in Table 1.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Composition of the first batter Quantity expressed in percentage by weight based on the weight of Ingredients the mixture Cocoa powder 5.6 Caster sugar 25.8 Concentrated butter 4 Fractionated palm fat 4.6 Monoglycerides in paste 5.1 De-shelled whole eggs 13.8 Liquid egg yolk 11 Water 2.2 Wheat starch 13.9 Sodium bicarbonate 0.20 Ammonium carbonate 0.10 Acid sodium pyrophosphate 0.30 Soft wheat flour 11.7 Spray egg white 1 Flavouring 0.50 Salt 0.20

[0126] The batter was prepared, at room temperature, in a planetary mixer fitted with a wire whisk.

[0127] In a first step 1, cocoa and sugar were mixed, dry, at 20 rpm for one minute, to avoid the formation of lumps in the later steps. Then, in a step 2, butter, palm fat and mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids were added, with mixing at 20 rpm for one minute followed by mixing at 50 rpm for 3 minutes. In a step 3, the eggs, the egg yolk and water were added, mixing at 20 rpm for one minute and then at 30 rpm for 2 minutes. Finally, in a step 4, the powders (i.e. the remaining ingredients of Table 1) were added with mixing at 40 rpm for 2 minutes and then at 20 rpm for 2 minutes.

[0128] The humidity content of the mixture thus formed was 27%.

[0129] The mixture thus obtained was transferred to a turboemulsifier where it was subjected to a treatment with the following parameters (Table 2) to homogenize the mixture.

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Parameters of homogenisation of the first batter Rotor turns 150 rpm % Air 28 Counter-pressure 2 bars Specific weight at entry 0.95-1.05 g/ml Specific weight at exit 0.68-0.72 g/ml Mixture flow rate upon exit 0 cm/min (Bostwick 30) Mixture temperature 26-30 C. upon exit

[0130] The mixture thus processed was then made to proceed to the dosing system which comprises a rotary stencil machine.

[0131] The dispenser deposited a round disk of mixture having weight of 7.5 g on a sheet of baking paper with weight of 80 g/m.sup.2 and this enters a first steam baking oven. The oven has a homogeneous atmosphere of saturated steam at ambient pressure and the temperature inside the chamber is 98 C. The baking process had a duration of about 5 minutes.

[0132] The baked disk thus obtained was detached from the baking paper and inserted in a metal mould with imprint of semispherical shape. The mould was Teflon-coated in order to obtain a good extraction of the product without the use of release agents.

[0133] 19 g of a hydrated cream having the composition of Table 3 was then dosed inside the mould containing the disk of baked mixture, having previously been brought to the temperature of 30 C. by means of a scraped surface heat exchanger. The flow rate of the cream was 8 cm/30 measured by the Bostwick method.

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Composition of the cream Quantity expressed in percentage by weight based on the weight of Ingredients the mixture Glucose syrup 21.8 Water 22.8 Refined palm fat 7.1 (melted at 60 C.) Mono-and diglycerides 0.5 of fatty acids Dark chocolate 15.5 Corn starch 4 Caster sugar 7.4 20/22 cocoa powder 4.1 Skimmed milk powder 10 Dextrose 6.8

[0134] A second mixture was prepared as per the first batter described above, with the difference that the parameters of homogenisation are as per Table 4.

TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 Parameters of homogenisation of the second batter Rotor turns 200 rpm % Air 38 Counter-pressure 1.8 bars Specific weight at entry 0.95-1.05 g/ml Specific weight at exit 0.62-0.66 g/ml Mixture flow rate upon exit 0 cm/min (Bostwick 30) Mixture temperature 31-33 C. upon exit

[0135] Finally 8.5 g of the second batter was dosed by means of a rotary nozzle on the semi-finished product thus obtained, to cover the surface of the product and thus close the semi-finished product obtained, forming a flat surface.

[0136] The baking moulds were then placed in the steam oven and baked for a time of 12 minutes with average temperature of 98 C.

[0137] The baked product was removed from the mould immediately after the exit from the oven with suction pad system and left to cool in an air-conditioned environment at 20 C. for approximately 15 minutes.

[0138] At the end of the cooling phase the surface decoration of the product was carried out with a milk-based anhydrous cream by means of a jet printer.

[0139] The bakery product which is obtained has the following overall composition (Table 5).

TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 Overall composition of the finished product Dosings grams % Baked mixture 15.5 44.3 Filling cream 19 54.3 Anhydrous 0.5 1.43 decoration cream Total 35 100

[0140] The product was then packaged in a filtered and controlled air chamber in metallized barrier film. The shelf life of the thus packaged product at ambient temperature is 6 months.

[0141] The product obtained had a humidity of 28% and a water activity value of 0.87 homogeneously distributed. The product had a regular appearance and a uniform colour. The product was also found to be uniformly soft and free of crusts, with a cream filling in the centre. The casing of cake was found to be in one piece, no point of joining between the two mixtures being essentially visible.

[0142] The finished product of the invention had a diameter of the flat base of 70 mm and a height of 26 mm.

[0143] The product also had the following nutritional profile (Table 6).

TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 6 Nutritional profile of the product of Example 1 per 100 g Energy/kcal 347 Proteins (g) 6 Fats (g) 14 of which saturated (g) 6.8 Carbohydrates (g) 48.2 of which sugars (g) 31 Fibres (g) 2.3 Salt (g) 0.45

[0144] Referring to FIG. 2, a product 1 is shown according to the invention which can be obtained according to the process as just described, wherein reference numeral 2 corresponds to the casing resulting from the joining of the first batter (upper) with the second batter (base), reference numeral 3 corresponds to the filling enclosed inside the casing, in this case a cocoa-flavoured cream, and reference numeral 4 corresponds to the anhydrous decoration.