AU712739B2 - Smoked baked products and process for the production thereof - Google Patents

Description

Smoked baked products and processes for their production The present invention relates to novel baked products in the form of lye-treated baked products and sliced bread as well as smoked popcorn.

Baked products, in particular fresh baked products produced by bakeries, are as a rule produced according to traditional recipes and baking processes without the traditional production steps being significantly varied.

However, by means of novel recipes, attempts are constantly being made to produce baked products with new, appealing flavours or to increase the shelf life of traditional fresh baked products so that distribution also over longer distances is possible.

One type of baked products whose traditional recipes and whose production have scarcely undergone any major changes and which is still obtainable virtually exclusively as fresh baked products directly from the producer comprises soft or fresh lye-treated baked products, in particular in the traditional form of pretzels.

Lye-treated baked products are known as crisp long-lasting baked products or as a soft baked product whose shaped dough is dipped in a sodium hydroxide solution, e.g.

before baking. The subsequent baking process then results in the formation of a smooth deep brown surface and of the crusty taste typical of lye-treated baked products.

Such an lye-treated baked product is commercially available as a dried, industrially produced long-lasting baked product as a baked snack with a water content of less than 12% but is sold by bakeries in particular as a soft, fresh baked product in the form of pretzels, sticks or plaits or in the form of rolls. Soft lye-treated baked products sold as fresh products are traditional in particular in southern Germany (Schwaben, Bavaria). The present invention is described below in particular with reference to soft lyetreated baked products and has proved particularly advantageous in this product area. However, it is also intended expressly also to include sliced rye bread and mixed bread and popcorn. Such applications are mentioned below in a rather cursory form, but it is intended that those embodiments of the present invention which may also be used in applications other than the production of lye-treated baked products are regarded as embodiments of the present invention even when the bakery product produced is one of the other baked products mentioned.

An lye-treated baked product as described as a preferred baked product in the present application is an lye-treated baked product produced with the use of a conventional mixture of ingredients for dough preparation. The conventional baking ingredients are flour, malted flour, lard and optionally conventional baking materials. In the present invention, provided that the modifications described below and possible according to the invention are taken into account, all conventional recipes and shapes of an lyetreated baked product may be used since the present invention is not concerned with modification of the basic recipe or shape of the lye-treated baked product.

Lye-treated baked products are appreciated owing to their special known combination of smooth deep-brown P:\OPER\CAE\AME. 14/9/99 -3crust surface over a pale, soft and fairly neutral-tasting dough and owing to the savoury characteristic flavour of the surface layer. However, soft lye-treated baked products consumed as fresh baked products are suitable for consumption for a very limited time since the typical flavour of the fresh lye-treated baked product is very rapidly lost and the baked product dries up relatively quickly and, when it has free salt on the surface, tends to bind water. As a rule, rebaking lye-treated baked products gives only unsatisfactory results as a substantial change of flavour towards "stale bread" is detectable even after rebaking.

The present invention addresses the problem of providing a '04 novel baked product which, compared with a corresponding 15 traditional baked product, is distinguished by an improved shelf life and constant flavour and/or by a novel appealing flavour.

r According to the present invention, there is provided a baked product in the form of a lye-treated baked product or a sliced rye bread or mixed bread, characterized in that it has an 20 improved shelf life and/or a slight smoke aroma and that

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the baked product in at least one of the stages during

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its production in a bakery or thereafter or (ii) the dough used for the productioo of the baked product was subjected to the action of a cold smoke or a warm smoke for smoking purposes.

Further according to the present invention, there is provided a process for the production of a baked product characterized in that either the dough prepared for the production of the baked product is subjected to smoking by the action of a cold smoke or a warm smoke, or a baked product in the freshly baked state, and optionally after slicing, is subjected to an aftertreatment by smoking with cold smoke or warm smoke.

P:\OPER\CAE\AME. 14/9/99 3A Even further according to the present invention, there is provided popcorn, characterized in that it has been subjected, during its preparation and/or thereafter, to smoking with cold smoke and packaged in air-tight packaging.

The invention can be briefly characterized by stating that the traditional conventional production of a baked product, in particular of a soft lye-treated baked product, has been extended to include a process step which is not customary in the bakery, namely a smoking step. Smoking is one of the traditional methods for preserving food based on protein and optionally fat, such as, for example, meat, fish and also cheese, but the use of smoking in association with the production of baked products is unknown to us.

@0 FR 26 31 783 Al describes a baking process in which it is intended to provide, in an electric oven, the 4 0 see

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Se* 0a 5*00 P:\OPER\CAE\AME. 14/9/99 -4atmosphere typical of a wood-fired oven by passing combustion gases from a wood-burning chamber coordinated with the electric oven through the electric oven.

FR 26 31 783 Al relates to the production of a bread which can be referred to as "wood-oven bread" and which by no means represents a smoked product. It does not relate to the action of smoke for smoking purposes, i.e. an aerosol in the form of, for example, cold smoke, but to the action of clean hot combustion gases, which are, according to a preferred embodiment, supplied in filtered form, i.e. without constituents of a smoke.

Further features and advantages of the present invention are evident from the following description of the invention with *ooo reference to an embodiment by way of example only, which 15 describes an embodiment of the invention which is presently preferred and is the best one according to the present state of ooo3 developments.

The smoking step is preferably carried out directly after the conventional production of the baked product. However, 20 owing to the surprising advantages and effects obtained in such a process, it is currently assumed that the advantages of the process according to the invention may be achieved, at least in part, by treating the dough prepared from conventional ingredients with smoke for smoking purposes, for example by sucking smoke for smoking purposes into the prepared moist dough with the use of a vacuum dough preparation apparatus.

Preferably, the baked product is a sliced bread which after the conventional dough preparation, shaping and baking process and optionally slicing, was subjected to smoking. Further preferably, the baked product is a soft lye-treated baked product in the form of pretzels, sticks, plaits or rolls. Even further preferably, the baked product is present in air-tight packaging.

Apart from lye-treated baked products, light smoking, in 35 particular with cold smoke, has also proved very advantageous in the case of fresh sliced bread, in particular sliced bread based P:\OPER\CAE\AME. 14/9/99 4A on rye flour or on mixed rye/wheat flour. Products having a very appealing taste and a good shelf life can be obtained thereby.

In the case of long-lasting baked products, such as lyetreated baked products, which are used as baked snacks, the possibility of producing a novel flavour is fairly important.

Smoked baked snacks enable the consumer who has a preference for a smoked flavour to consume a smoked food without having to rely on fatty or protein-rich products which are undesirable from the point of view of diet.

Light smoking has proved to be an advantageous possibility for flavouring and for creating novel flavours 0 9** 9o..

o •go also in the case of crispbread, which may be regarded as a dry long-lasting sliced bread product.

For the purposes of the present application, popcorn, which is "baked" and, like a baked product, is a predominantly carbohydrate-containing product with protein ingredients having a binding action, is also to be regarded as a baked product in a further sense. Since popcorn is produced from specially pretreated maize grains which as such scarcely have an intense intrinsic flavour, popcorn must normally be subsequently flavoured externally, for example by addition of sugar or salt or addition of other seasonings. According to the present invention, a very appealing, uniform flavour may also be imparted to a popcorn by light smoking, which flavour may be found very appealing in particular by adults for consumption in combination with an alcoholic drink, for example beer or even a dry wine.

According to the present invention, smoked popcorn may be S* freshly smoked or prepared as an industrially produced product packed in air-tight packaging. The prepared popcorn may be smoked subsequently, but smoking may also be carried out in the manner of conventional popcorn production in the presence of a smoke for smoking purposes, i.e. in the form of popcorn production from maize in a smoking chamber.

The smoking of the fresh baked product, in particular of the prepared fresh lye-treated baked product or sliced bread, which is envisaged in the present invention, can be carried out in principle with the use of the same conventional apparatuses, conditions and materials for the preparation of the smoke for smoking purposes as those applied or used for the known smoking of meat and sausage products. In this context, reference may be made to the technical literature of the meat-processing industry, but also to the summary in relevant text books of food chemistry Schormller, Lehrbuch der Lebensmittelchemie, 2nd Edition, 1994) or in Food Lexica R6mpp Lexikon Lebensmittelchemie, edited by Prof. Dr. Gerhard Eisenbrand and SProf. Dr. Peter Schreiber, Georg Thieme verlag Stuttgart-New York, 1995, or "Lebensmittellexikon", Behr's Verlag, Hamburg). Reference is additionally made to the stated technical literature with Fegard to the meaning of the technical terms, such as smoking, baked products, lye-treated baked product, etc., used in the usual sense.

In the present invention, smoking is preferably carried out by means of a conventional smoke for smoking purposes, and in principle all smoking processes known and approved for the surface treatment of meat and meat products with smoke for smoking purposes may be used, namely as cold smoking with so-called cold smoke (temperatures up to about 20 0

C),

or as warm smoking with a so-called warm smoke (temperatures up to about 451C). Known processes and smoke mixtures, which as a rule are mixtures of various wood meals, are likewise used for smoke production. However, the present invention also relates to the use of so-called friction smoke produced by friction.

For the purposes of the present invention, brief cold smoking with cold smoke for a time between 5 and minutes, advantageously 10 to 20 minutes, has proved S sufficient and favourable, in particular because, as a result, there is no heed additionally to take into account the effect of high smoking temperatures on the baked product baked in the usual way, for example the lye-treated baked product.

It has been found that not only does a fresh lyetreated baked product cold-smoked in the usual manner differ from a conventional lye-treated baked product through a pleasant, savoury smoke flavour but that a smoked lye-treated baked product also remains consumable for substantially longer, can be packed air-tight without a troublesome loss of flavour and has a very appealing flavour without a typical taste of "stale bread" even on rebaking after air-tight storage over a relatively long period. In addition to an appealing novel baked product having a particular flavour, the present invention may also provide the possibility for lyetreated baked products, in particular soft fresh lye-treated baked products, such as pretzels, to be stored over a long period or distributed over long distribution distances without troublesome impairment of the consumability and without troublesome loss of flavour. It has been found that the same applies to sliced bread, in particular fresh sliced rye bread.

The invention is illustrated in more detail below with reference to a specific example: Example: A typical Schwabian pretzel is shaped in the usual manner from a dough comprising a conventional mixture of ingredients (flour, malted flour, lard or other vegetable or animal fats, baking materials), dipped in the baking lye (about 3.5-4% sodium hydroxide solution) and baked in the usual manner.

After cooling, the freshly baked pretzels are treated for 5 min in a conventional butchers' smoking chamber with cold smoke at a smoking temperature of about 0 C. The cold smoke was produced by means of a commercial butchers' smoke mixture which consisted of beech meal or a mixture of beech, fir and oak meal.

After smoking for five minutes, the pretzels obtained were subjected to a first tasting test and were found to have a pleasant smoke flavour. A part of the smoked pretzels was immediately packed air-tight, with the use of conventional sealing films, and stored over longer periods. At the same time, pretzels obtained in the conventional manner without the subsequent smoking step were treated identically as a control.

At time intervals of 1 day, 3 days and 7 days, the packs were opened and various pretzels either directly subjected to a tasting test or, simultaneously, rebaked and tested in the rebaked state. The results were compared with the conventional pretzels which had been stored under identical conditions.

It was found, surprisingly, that the decline in quality was substantially reduced in the case of the smoked I 8 pretzels and that the smoked pretzels could be more readily rebaked and had an outstanding flavour in the tasting. The smoke flavour declined slightly during storage and was only detectable as a fine nuance of a flavour after prolonged storage. However, the typical "stale bread taste" typical of rebaked pretzels also did not occur in such a case on rebaking.

Claims (9)

1. Baked product in the form of a lye-treated baked product or a sliced rye bread or mixed bread, characterized in that it has an improved shelf life and/or a slight smoke aroma and that (i) the baked product in at least one of the stages during its production in a bakery or thereafter or (ii) the dough used for the production of the baked product was subjected to the action of a cold smoke or a warm smoke for smoking purposes.

2. Baked product according to Claim 1, characterized in that it is a sliced bread which, after the conventional dough i i_ preparation, shaping and baking process and optionally slicing, was subjected to smoking.

3. Baked product according to Claim 1, characterized in that it is a soft lye-treated baked product in the form of pretzels, sticks, plaits or rolls.

4. Baked product according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, a. characterized in that it is present in air-tight packaging.

5. Baked product substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying example.

6. Process for the production of a baked product according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that either the dough prepared for the production of the baked product is subjected to smoking by the action of a cold smoke or a warm smoke, or a baked product in the freshly baked state, and optionally after slicing, is subjected to an aftertreatment by smoking with cold smoke or warm smoke.

7. Process according to Claim 6, characterized in that smoking is carried out by smoking with cold smoke in a conventional P:\OPER\CAE\AME. 14/9/99 smoking chamber.

8. Process according to either of Claims 6 and 7, characterized in that the smoked baked product is a soft lye- treated baked product or a sliced bread and is packed air-tight in the freshly baked and smoked state.

9. Process substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying example. Popcorn, characterized in that it has been subjected, during its preparation and/or thereafter, to smoking with cold !i smoke and packaged in air-tight packaging. S S *Patent Attorneys for the applicant DATED this FOURTEENTH day of SEPTEMBER, 1999 Horst Zwicker AND Elli Mayer S. by DAVIES COLLISON CAVE Patent Attorneys for the applicant