CA1040921A - Oxidizing agent for making bread - Google Patents

Abstract

OXIDIZING AGENT FOR MAKING BREAD

Abstract of the Disclosure Ascorbic acid coated with an edible, water insoluble material is used as an oxidizing agent for bread. It may be used to replace conventional bromate and iodate oxidizing agents.
Preferably, it is used with conventional bromate oxidizing agent to replace the conventional iodate oxidizing agent. It may be used as an oxidizing agent in any bread making process.

Description

104092~
This invention relates to bread making and, more particularly, to oxidizing agents useful in bread making.
For many years, oxidizing agents have been used to modify the protein in wheat flour to promote desired bread characteristics such as large loaf volume, strong side walls, fine grain, smooth texture, and brightwhite crumb color. These are used in all of the conventional methods of making bread including continuous mix, brew process, straight dough, sponge dough, and short-time dough processes. While many oxidizing agents have been used, the most widely used material is a mixture of potassium bromate and potassium iodate.
The use of iodate in bread has been criticized by several groups because of flavour problems and possible undesirable characteristics. Presently, the FDA permits a total of 77 ppm. (based on flour weight) of total bromate and iodate. In practice, bromate is used in an amount of from two to four times the amount of iodate. - -~
Ascorbic acid has been described in U.S. Patent No. 2,149,682 issued March 7, 1939, as an oxidant capable of ;
improving the baking strength of flour. However, the material was seen to be unstable, apparently due to the fact that, in marked distinction from earlier known oxidants, it is a strong reducing agent possessing the property of being easily decomposed by oxidation. U.S. Patent No. 2,300,439, -issued November 3, 1942, shows one attempt at overcoming this problem in the use of ascorbic acid. More recently, in U.S. Patent No. 3,304,183, issued to Johnson on February 14, 1967, ascorbic acid is suggested as a reducing agent in ~ .

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1~4~)9~1 continuous mix bread. However, it is there used for the purpose of reducing mixing time and a conventional bromate-iodate oxidizing agent is also employed. Johnson carefully points out that the action of ascorbic acid is totally different from the bromate or iodate oxidizing agents. In fact, Johnson discloses that the use of ascorbic acid as a replacement for bromate or iodate results in bread with inferior characteristics and that it is only when used with these agents that mixing time can be realized while pro-ducing bread of acceptable quality. We have discovered, quite surprisingly, that bromate or iodate oxidizing agent can be effectively replaced with ascorbic acid and that bread of excellent characteristics can be produced by -continuous mix or by any other conventional bread making technique. Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to utilize ascorbic acid as an oxidizing agent for making bread -by any conventional bread making process. It is a further ;
object to replace iodate with ascorbic acid and produce bread by any conventional process with characteristics at least as good as those possessed by bread made in the same manner with iodate oxidizing agent.
Accordingly, in a first aspect, the invention is a bread dough including wheat flour, water, leavening and an oxidizing agent, and is the improvement wherein said oxidizing ~ ;
agent comprises particles of ascorbic acid coated with and encapsulated within a coating of an edible, water insoluble ~-~

material having a melting point of from 130F to 155F, said ascorbic acid being present in an amount of about 5 to 200 parts per million based on the weight of the wheat flour, ~aid water insoluble material being present in an amount B

104~)921 of about 5 to 200% by weight based on the ascorbic acid weight.
In a further aspect the invention is a method of making leavened bread from a bread dough comprising wheat flour, water, leavening, and an oxidizing agent in which process the bread dough is baked to form a leavened bread, and is the improvement wherein said oxidizing agent com-prises particles of ascorbic acid coated with and encapsu- `
lated within a coating of edible water insoluble material having a melting point of from 130F to 155F, said ascorbic acid being present in an amount of about 5 to 200 parts per million based on the weight of wheat flour, said water insoluble material being present in an amount of about 5 to 200% by weight based on the ascorbic acid weight.
In a further aspect the invention is an improved composition for use in bread making comprising an intimate -mixture of potassium bromate particles and ascorbic acid ~ -particles, the ascorbic acid particles being coated with and encapsulated with an edible, water insoluble triglyceride -having a melting point of about 130F to 155F, said ascorbic -acid being present in an amount of about 0.04 to 8 parts by weight based on the weight of the potassium bromate, said -: : .-:
triglyceride being present in an amount of about 5 to 200% -by weight based on the ascorbic acid weight.
Deta led Description Bread is co,nventionally made by any of several ;processes in each of which the present invention can be -utilized. Conventional processes, all of which are fully ~
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10409;~1 described in the literature, include continuous mix, brew process, straight dough, sponge dough, and "short time" or "no time" processes utilizing biochemical development of the wheat flour dough. The use of the invention in each of these processes is illustrated in the Examples which follow.

Continuous Process The following ingredients are used for the broth (liquid ferment) preparation:

10 Water: variable (about 68.0%) Sugar: 8.0%*
Salt (enriched): 2.25%
Soy-dairy blend: 2.0%
Yeast food (Arkady-Trade Mark) 0.5% -Calcium Acid Phosphate 0.1%
Calcium Propionate 0.1%
Yeast 2.5%

* all percentages herein are based on the flour weight unless otherwise specified.
The broth is prepared in stainless steel tanks and it ferments for 2 1/2 hours before use. At the end of the fermentation period, the broth is transferred to a reservoir tank. In this tank the temperature is maintained, while the broth is fed constantly and accurately through a plate type ~`~
heat exchanger ~ --4a-';''~ ':

104092~ -to the pre-mixer. At the same time, a Merchen Feeder (Trade Mark) continuously weighs flour which passes through a vibrating sifter and into the pre-mixer. An oxidant solu-tion consisting of 50 ppm.* potassium bromate and 12.5 ppm.
potassium iodate is continuously metered directly from the tank into the pre-mixer. The oxidants may alternatively be added to the broth tank in tablet form.
Blended liquid shortening is also metered into the pre-mixer. The above ingredients are metered into the pre-mixer at the rates pre-determined by the baker's formula which typically calls for:

100.00% of flour, and ` -

3.0 % shortening blend.
From the pre-mixer the thoroughly mixed ingredients are pumped to the developer. At the point of optimum develop-ment, when optimum film forming and gas retaining capacity is present, the dough is extruded, shaped, divided and placed in pans. It is ready for proofing and baking.
The baked bread has excellent characteristics of loaf volume, side wall strength, grain texture, and crumb color `
and is of fully acceptable commercial quality. `
E~AMPLE 2 Example 1 is followed except that the iodate is -replaced by 12.5. ppm. of ascorbic acid in the form of -coated particles. The coating is hydrogenated vegetable oil having a melting point of from 142 to 148F and having the following particle size distribution: -*ppm. means parts by weight per million parts by weight of flour unless otherwise specified.
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`` 10409Zl Retained on 20 mesh (U.S. sieve) 2% by weight (maximum) Retained on 70 mesh 60% by weight (minimum) Through 100 mesh 10% by weight (maximum) The coated ascorbic acid particles may be provided 5 by any conventional encapsulation process such as the following:
1) U.S. Patent No. 2,970,915 issued February 7, 1961.
2) U.S. Patent No. 3,495,988 issued February 17, 1970.
3) V.S. Patent No. 2,426,762 issued September 2, 1947.

4) U.S. Patent No. 3,664,963 issued May 23, 1972.

5) U.S. Patent No. 2,978,332 issued April 4, 1961.

6) Microencapsulation as disclosed in Food Technology November, 1973, pages 34-44 and in the patents assigned to the National Cash Register Corporation.
The coated particles included about 50 percent by weight of the coating material. Bread made using 25 ppm. of the coated particles (12.5 ppm. ascorbic acid) in place of the 12.5 ppm. iodate used in Example 1 produced bread free of iodate and having virtually identical characteristics to ~-the bread of Example 1. The loaf is in every way commer-cially acceptable. -: " ' .'-: .~' ~ -6-X~` , '' ~ '~

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Brew Process In this process, a brew is fermented for three or four hours or more at 87F and kept overnight in the refrigera-tor. The next day, all the ingredients (brew flour,shortening, sugar, milk blend, salt, yeast food, and yeast) are mixed till optimum dough development. After that, the dough is allowed to rest for 10-45 minutes (floor time) then passed through the rounder and molder. Then it is proofed and baked.
In this example, the brew has the following formula: ~

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104~9Zl Water variable (20 or 30~) Yeast 1%
Sugar 2~
Salt 1.25%
Fleischmann's Diamalt (Trade Mark) 0.5%
" Brew Buffer 0.25%
The dough has the following formula:

Brew All Water Variable (35-45%) Flour 100.0%
Sugar 6.0%
Yeast Food (Fermaloid - Trade Mark) 0.5 Salt 0.75~
Yeast 2.00%
Shortening 3.0%
Milk Blend 3.0%

A conventional oxidizing agent comprising 6 ppm. bromate and 6 ppm. iodate are added prior to mixing. Some of the oxidizing agent is supplied in the yeast food which has the -following composition (% based on weight of yeast food):

Monocalcium Phosphate Monohydrate 50.06%
Ammonium Sulphate 7.01%
Potassium Iodate 0.10%
Potassium Bromate 0.12%
Sodium Chloride 19.35%
Starch 23.36%

The bread made by this process has excellent, commercially acceptable characteristics.

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The process of Example 3 is repeated except that -~
the iodate (including that in the yeast food) is replaced with 12.5 ppm. ascorbic acid in the form of the coated : -capsules of Example 2. The bread produced without iodate has excellent, commerically acceptable characteristics in all respects comparable to the bread of Example 3. ~ -. . . ___ :, . . .
Straight Dough Process. The following ingredients are placed in a mixer and mixed to optimum development~
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Flour 100.0~
Water (variable) 60-68%
Sugar 6.0%
Salt 2.25%
Yeast Food 0.5%
Shortening 3.0%
Milk - Soy Blend 3.0%
Yeast 2.5%
Then the dough is allowed to ferment for 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours. Then it is divided, passed through an overhead proofer, rounded, and molded. Then it is ready for proofing and baking. The bread has excellent characteris-tics.
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Bread is made as in Example 5 except that the iodate (including that in the yeast food) is replaced with 12.5 ppm. ascorbic acid as in Example 4. The bread produced without iodate has excellent, commercially acceptable qualities in all respects comparable to the bread of Example 5.

S~on~e Dough Sponge ingredients are mixed for about 6 minutes ~ -and then allowed to ferment for 4 hours. Then the sponge . -. . :
dough is dropped to the dough mixer for remixing with the i, :
rest of the dough ingredients. After remix, the doughs are -run through the degasser, divider, overhead proofer, rounder .., . -.
25 and molder. At this stage, pans with dough are placed in ;
the proof box and then baked.

The sponge and dough formulas are as follows:
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Sponge ~04~92~ Dough Flour 62.5~ Flour 37.5%
Water (variable) 46.0~ Water 22.0~
Yeast food 0.5% Sugar 7.0%
Yeast 2.5~ Shortening 3.0%
Soy-Dairy Blend 3.0%
Salt 2.0%
Emulsifier 0.2%
Inhibitor (Ca-propionate) 0.1 The oxidizing agent (6 ppm. bromate and 6 ppm.
iodate) is incorporated in the yeast food of the sponge.
The bread has excellent characteristics.

Bread is made as in Example 7 except that the iodate (including that in the yeast food) is replaced with 6 to 12 ppm. ascorbic acid as in Example 4. The bread pro-duced without iodate has excellent, commercially acceptable qualities in all respects comparable to the bread of Example -7.

Short time or no time dough processes. The ob- :
jective in these processes is to reduce or eliminate the --bulk fermentation step in bread production for the purpose of savings in time, manpower and equipment. This is ac- -hieved by biochemical dough development. Its function is: -1) to ensure adequate gas production in the dough for proper leavening, ~

2) to contribute to flavor and aroma complex, ~- -3) to promote dough development, and ~
4) to promote dough maturing action. ~-These functions require the use of special addi- - -tives such as L-Cysteine Hydrochloride, correctly balanced --ratios of yeast nutrients, oxidants, and enzymes.

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: ' , ,' .' 1~4~921 Standard formula and procedure for conventional or continuous processes are used where fermentation step would be shortened or eliminated. To obtain good quality, con-tinuous or conventional no time bread with normal mixing and normal proof time, the following levels of oxidants may be used in accordance with the invention:
25-75 ppm. of potassium bromate up to 200 ppm. of encapsulated ascorbic acid.
Bread made in this manner in accordance with the invention has excellent characteristics.
The size of the coated ascorbic acid particles can vary widely. It will be recognized, however, that at the small levels of ascorbic acid used, a rather small particle size will be needed in order to achieve adequate distri-bution of the ascorbic acid in the bread dough. For this reason, it is preferred that at least 50 percent by weight of the particles will have a particle size of between 20 and 100 mesh ~U.S. sieve size). More preferably, at least 75 -percent will be between 20 and 100 mesh and, still more preferably at least 85 percent. The nature of the coating ~-can vary widely. The coated particles are preferably added before mixing the dough or at least at one early stage of ` mixing to ensure adequate distribution. It is also believed that some rupturing of the coating during mixing is bene-ficial and, in fact, a good deal of the coating is apparently .: :
ruptured during mixing. The amount of rupturing will vary, of course, depending upon the hardness and thickness of the - .
coating and these properties can be varied at will to achieve optimum resu]ts with any particular coating material. -~

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1~)4~)921 The coating should, of course, be edible and water insoluble and its only other requirement (other, or course, than being coatable by a known encapsulating technique) is that the coating be suitably frangible during the bread making process to make the ascorbic acid available. Since the mixing requirements of various bread making processes differ, and since the hardness of individual edible and water soluble coating materials will vary considerably, it is not feasible to place precise limits on the amount of thickness of coating materials useful in the present inven-tion. Fatty materials in general having a melting point of over 130F, and hydrogenated vegetable oils having a melting point of from 130 to 155F, preferably 140 to 150F, in particular, have proven eminently useful and are easily coated by any of several conventional encapsulation tec-hniques. For these materials, a coating amounting to about 100 percent by weight, based on the weight of the ascorbic acid, is typical. In general, a coating weight of from about 5 percent to 200 percent by weight, based on the ascorbic acid weight, will be sufficient depending, again, on the particular coating material. -The amount of ascorbic acid that may be used is generally up to 200 ppm. preferably from 5 to 200 ppm. based on flour weight. Bromate can be excluded altogether, but it is preferably used in amounts of up to 75 ppm., more pre-ferably 20-75 ppm. As mentioned above, the iodate is preferably excluded altogether but may be used in conven-tional amounts, generally one half to one fourth of the bromate and not to exceed 75 ppm. total bromate and iodate.

1~)409Zl The ascorbic acid is conveniently utilized in admixture with bromate and added to the dough mix in the manner conveniently used for bromate addition. When used in this manner, the ascorbic acid is generally used inan amount of from about 0.04 to 8 parts of ascorbic acid per part by weight of bromate.

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Claims (27)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:-

1. In a bread dough including wheat flour, water, leavening and an oxidizing agent, the improvement wherein said oxidizing agent comprises particles of ascorbic acid coated with and encapsulated within a coating of an edible, water insoluble material having a melting point of from 130°F to 155°F, said ascorbic acid being present in an amount of about 5 to 200 parts per million based on the weight of the wheat flour, said water insoluble material being present in an mount of about 5 to 200% by weight based on the ascorbic acid weight.

2. An improved dough according to claim 1 wherein said edible, water insoluble material comprises a triglyceride.

3. An improved dough according to claim 2 wherein said triglyceride comprises hydrogenated vegetable oil having a melting point of from 130°F to 155°F.

4. An improved dough according to claim 1 wherein at least 50% by weight of the coated ascorbic acid particles have a particle size of between 100 to 20 mesh.

5. An improved dough according to claim 4 wherein at least 75% by weight of the coated ascorbic acid particles have a particle size of between 100 and 20 mesh.

6. An improved dough according to claim 4 wherein at least 85% by weight of the coated ascorbic acid particles have a particle size of between 100 to 20 mesh.

7. An improved dough according to claim 1 wherein said oxidizing agent comprises potassium bromate in an amount of from 20 to 75 ppm. based on the wheat flour.

8. An improved dough according to claim 7 which is free of iodate oxidizing agent.

9. In a method of making leavened bread from a bread dough comprising wheat flour, water, leavening, and an oxidizing agent in which process the bread dough is baked to form a leavened bread, the improvement wherein said oxidizing agent comprises particles of ascorbic acid coated with and encapsulated within a coating of edible water insoluble material having a melting point of from 130°F to 155°F, said ascorbic acid being present in an amount of about 5 to 200 parts per million based on the weight of wheat flour, said water insoluble material being present in an amount of about 5 to 200% by weight based on the ascorbic acid weight.

10. An improved method according to claim 9 wherein said edible, water insoluble material comprises a triglyceride.

11. An improved method according to claim 9 wherein said oxidizing agent comprises potassium bromate in an amount of from 25 to 75 ppm. based on the weight of the wheat flour.

12. An improved method according to claim 11 wherein the bread dough is free of iodate oxidizing agent.

13. An improved method according to claim 9 wherein the bread dough is prepared by a continuous mix process.

14. An improved method according to claim 13 wherein a broth is used to prepare the dough and wherein the oxidizing agent is added to the broth.

15. An improved method according to claim 9 wherein the bread dough is prepared by a brew process in which a fermented brew and all the remaining dough ingre-dients are mixed to optimum development.

16. An improved method according to claim 9 wherein the bread dough is prepared by a straight dough process wherein all of the dough ingredients are mixed and wherein the oxidizing agent is added to the dough prior to completion of the mixing step.

17. An improved method according to claim 9 wherein the bread dough is prepared by a sponge dough method wherein a fermented sponge is mixed with the remaining dough ingredients and wherein the oxidizing agent is added to the dough prior to the completion of the mixing step.

18. An improved method according to claim 9 wherein the bread is prepared by a short time dough process in which a bulk fermentation step is eliminated or shortened by the utilization of biochemical dough development and wherein the oxidizing agent is added to the dough prior to completion of mixing of the dough ingredients.

19. An improved composition for use in bread making comprising an intimate mixture of potassium bromate particles and ascorbic acid particles, the ascorbic acid particles being coated with and encapsulated with an edible, water insoluble triglyceride having a melting point of about 130°F to 155°F, said ascorbic acid being present in an amount of about 0.04 to 8 parts by weight based on the weight of the potassium bromate, said triglyceride being present in an amount of about 5 to 200% by weight based on the ascorbic acid weight.

20. A composition according to claim 19 wherein at least 50 percent by weight of the coated ascorbic acid particles have a particle size of between 100 and 20 mesh.

21. A composition according to claim 20 wherein at least 75 percent by weight of the coated ascorbic acid particles have a particle size of between 100 and 200 mesh.

22. A composition according to claim 20 wherein at least 85 percent by weight of the coated ascorbic acid particles have a particle size of between 100 and 20 mesh.

23. An oxidizing composition according to claim 19 wherein said water insoluble triglyceride comprises hydrogenated vegetable oil.

24. In bread dough including wheat flour, water, leavening and and oxidizing agent, the improvement wherein said oxidizing agent comprises particles of ascorbic acid coated with and encapsulated within an edible water in-soluble material having a melting point of at least 130°F to 155°F.

25. An improved bread dough according to claim 24 wherein said coating comprises hydrogenated vegetable oil.

26. In a bread dough including wheat flour, water, leavening and an oxidizing agent, the improvement wherein said oxidizing agent comprises potassium bromate particles being coated with and encapsulated within an edible, water insoluble triglyceride having a melting point of about 130°F to 155°F, said ascorbic acid being present in an amount of about 0.04 to 8 parts by weight based on the weight of the potassium bromate, said triglyceride being present in an amount of about 5 to 200% by weight based on the ascorbic acid weight.

27. An improved bread dough according to claim 26 wherein said water insoluble triglyceride comprises hydro-genated vegetable oil.