GB1587964A

GB1587964A - Processing of dough product

Info

Publication number: GB1587964A
Application number: GB43090/77A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Food Research Inc
Current assignee: Food Research Inc
Priority date: 1977-10-17
Filing date: 1977-10-17
Publication date: 1981-04-15

Description

(54) PROCESSING OF DOUGH PRODUCT (71) We, FooD RESEARCH INC, an American Company of Box 10192, Tampa, Florida 33609, United States of America, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement : This invention relates to the preparation of a dough product such as a pizza. More particularly, it is directed to the processing of a pizza crust which may be subjected to a multiplicity of steps including precooking, ingredient receiving, quick freezing, packaging and handling.

Convenience food processing is an extremely large industry. Shelf life is a most important aspect of a convenience food.

Foods must retain their colour, moisture content and general palatability over extended periods of time. This is particular true with respect to pizza. Pizza is sold in various ways. The pizza shell or crust may be manufactured and sold to the individual consumer or to another processor who places ingredients thereon. The completed pizza may be partially cooked, uncooked or completely cooked followed by a freezing step.

Quick-freezing apparatus is used to produce frozen pizza bearing food ingredients.

The substantial velocity of air in such apparatus will blow off many of the ingredients such as grated cheese, oregano, parsley, pepperoni, anchovies, shrimp, and the like. This produces a substantial economic loss with respect to the processing of the frozen pizza. The food ingredients which have been blown from the crust to the floor or conveyor cannot be reused. Further, there is significant dehydration of the pizza crust and the food ingredients.

The food ingredients of any pizza product are subject to oxidation. For example, ingredients such as pork sausage, pepperoni and anchovies are highly susceptible to oxidation and consequently, rancidity.

Finally, shrinkage, flavour loss, and scorching can be very troublesome during the cooking of known pizza products. Spices are very volatile and lose their strength both in storage and in the cooking process.

Shrinkage is caused when the various portions of the pizza product are dehydrated.

U.S. Patent No. 2,668,117 exemplifies the prior art. Here a tomato product is placed on a pizza crust. Subsequently, the coated pizza crust is treated to coagulate or coalesce the tomato product on the surface of the dough. The food ingredients are then placed over the film of tomato sealing agent.

Thus, any unwanted moisture may not penetrate the dough crust. There- must be an interaction of the sealing agent with the dough product. The various other problems of dehydration, breaking and splitting, oxidation, food loss during freezing and general shelf life of the product have not been overcome.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a dough product with a protective coating which is effective to retard dehydration and reduce breaking and splitting of the dough product to improve the transportability thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide an edible protective film that is sufficient to constitute on oxygen barrier for retarding oxidation to prevent ingredients highly susceptible to oxidation from becoming rancid.

Another object of the invention is to provide a protective, edible film of a dough product which will retain flavors within the product during cooking and be sufficient to effectively retard the scorching of the dough product during a cooking step.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a protective, edible film over the food ingredients on a pizza crust that is sufficient to hold the food ingredients physically in place on the crust to prevent inadvertent removal thereof during a quickfreezing processing step.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a dough product having the characteristics of an extended shelf life compared to dough products available heretofore.

The present invention provides a method of preparing a dough product comprising the steps of preparing a shaped dough pro duct, preparing an aqueous dispersion of a water soluble algin whose viscosity is such that the dispersion can be used for uniformly coating a surface of the shaped dough product, applying an amount of the aqueous dispersion to cover a surface of the shaped dough product, and applying an amount of an aqueous gelling solution to the algincoated surface for a period of time sufficient to form a substantially continuous edible algin-containing film which covers said surface.

In one preferred embodiment, the method further comprises the steps of placing food ingredients on said film-coated surface, applying a further amount of the aqueous dispersion to cover the food ingredients, and applying a further amount of aqueous gelling solution to the algincoated ingredients for a period of time sufficient to form a further substantially continuous edible algincontaining film which covers the ingredients and any algin-containing film exposed on the dough product.

Advantageously, the shaped dough product preparing step includes precooking the dough, said film being applied to said surface after the precooking step. Preferably, the shaped dough product is a shaped pizza crust. and said amount of the aqueous dispersion and said amount of the aqueous gelling solution are applied to the entire pizza crust to form said film over the entire surface of the pizza crust. Where food ingredients are placed onto the film-coated surface, this coating is sufficient to retard the migration of material from the food ingredients into the dough crust.

In another preferred embodiment, the shaped dough product preparing step includes forming a shaped pizza crust, and placing pizza food ingredients on the pizza crust, said surface being constituted by the pizza food ingredients so placed.

The placing of an edible algin-containing coating over the food ingredients is particularly useful when the aim is to form a frozen pizza. During the freezing process, high air velocities are encountered. However, the covering film is sufficient to hold the food ingredients in during the freezing process.

The edible algin-containing film which covers the food ingredients reduces breaking and splitting of the product thereby improving the transportability thereof. This film is effective to retard dehydration of both the crust and the food ingredients during handling, storage and transporting.

This film is also sufficient to retain flavours within the food ingredients during cooking.

With respect to storage, this film is sufficient to constitute an oxygen barrier for retarding oxidation to prevent ingredients that are highly susceptible to oxidation from becoming rancid. This film is also sufficient to retard the scorching of the product, including the dough and food ingredients when cooked by the consumer.

An alginate coating composition for use in the process of this invention can be prepared by adding water-soluble algin to water. Any water-soluble algin that will gell with a calcium salt such as sodium, potassium and ammonium salts of alginic acid may be use. Sodium alginate in its less degraded form, namely, the high viscosity grades, is generally used in the specific embodiments of this invention.

An edible filler material may be mixed with the algin. Examples of filler materials that have been used include carbohydrates comprising monosaccharides, polysaccharides and mixtures thereof. More specifically, dextrose, malto dextrin, sorbital or corn syrup solids may be used in this process.

When using algin alone, the coating composition is prepared by adding water-soluble algin to pure drinking water at room temperature. The algin-containing films used in this invention include up to about 90% water at the time it is first formed and then with the water evaporating to a point below 30 /O by weight of the film. The thickness of the film varies. However, thicknesses of 1 to 2 mils have been found satisfactory.

The water-soluble algin is added to the water until the resulting composition has a viscosity in the range of 350 to 5,000 centipoises at room temperature. Filler materials may be used with the algin in an appropriate relationship from about 2 1/2 to 20 parts by weight of the water-soluble algin to about 97 1/2 to 80 parts by dry weight of the filler material. The mixture of algin and filler is then dissolved in a sufficient quantity of pure drinking water to produce an aqueous dispersion having a viscosity between 350 and 5,000 centipoises at room temperature.

The viscosity of the aqueous dispersion is dependent upon the particular conditions under which the dough product is being treated. The dough products used in these specific embodiments were pizzas. The aqueous dispersion is sprayed directly onto the surface of the pizza. The viscosity of the aqueous dispersion may vary. However, the dispersion should maintain a substantially uniform coating until the solidified continuous film is formed by contact with the gelling solution. If the viscosity is too high, the resulting coating will be too thick and gummy. This latter condition represents a waste of valuable material without producing any further beneficial effects. It is specifically desired that the substantially continuous alginate film is effective to produce the results unexpectedly achieved in accordance with this invention.

Once the aqueous dispersion containing algin is applied to the dough product, a gelling solution is then applied. The dough product may be sprayed with the gelling solution to cover part of the product or may be totally immersed if the ,entire product is to be covered. The aqueous gelling solution contains a water-soluble source of calcium ion such as calcium chloride, calcium gluconate, calcium acetate, calcium propionate or calcium lactate. The aqueous gelling solution is applied for a period of time sufficient to form a substantially continuous film that adheres to the dough product surface. The film should be strong enough to prevent cracking and breaking during subsequent handling and shipping operations.

The stronger the concentration of the calcium ion in solution, the quicker the alginate coating will be solidified and formed. For example, a suitable continuous film can be produced by using a 0.5 molar solution of calcium chloride sprayed directly onto the aqueous dispersion that is uniformly disposed over the surface of the dough product surface. Gelling time is reduced also by adding an edible gum or gumlike thickening agent to the calcium ion gelling solution. The thickening agents are in quantities sufficient to give the gelling composition a Brookfield viscosity of between 5 and 250 centipoises and more specifically 5 to 100 centipoises at room temperature.

In accordance with this invention, a firm, strong alginate is formed almost instantaneously upon the application of the gelling solution to the aqueous dispersion.

A gelling solution used in a specific embodiment carried out in accordance with this invention includes the following composition: carboxymethyl cellulose gum 29.5 grams pure drinking water 3640.5 grams calcium chloride 304.5 grams The carboxymethyl cellulose has a medium viscosity and bears product No.

7MCF from the Hercules Powder Company.

The calcium chloride bears product No. 4152 and is designated food grade by Mallinckrodt Chemical Company. The above gelling solution has a viscosity of about 20 centipoises at room temperature.

In a specific embodiment of this invention, a fully processed frozen pizza including food ingredients such as tomato sauce and cheese was coated with an algin-containing coating in accordance with the described process of this invention. One half of the pizza was coated with the algin-containing coating and the other half of the pizza was left uncoated. The pizza was then cooked at the prescribed temperature. In a totally unexpected manner, the coated portion of the pizza cooked without scorching. That is, the film was sufficient to retard the scorching of the pizza during cooking. However, on the control side, or uncoated half of the pizza, scorching of the food ingredients and crust resulted under the precise same cooking conditions.

In another embodiment, a plain pizza crust was first coated with an algin-containing film on one side thereof. Subsequently, food ingredients were placed thereon and a second algin-containing film was formed thereover in accordance with the described process. The food ingredients included grated cheese, oregano, parsley and pepperoni. Airless spray guns were used to form- both algin-containing films. The aqueous dispersion containing a watersoluble algin was first sprayed on the surface to be coated. Then, the gelling solution was sprayed over the algin-containing coating of the process.

The pizza crust bearing the food ingredients with the two separate algin-containing coatings were then conveyed through a blast or conveyor quick-freezing unit. The finely grated cheese, oregano, parsley and pepperoni were maintained in place. That is, the algin-containing film was sufficient to.

hold the food ingredients physically in place on the surface of the pizza crust while the pizza was subjected to the fteezing step of the process. None of the food ingredients were blown off during the course of the freezing step. In addition, dehydration of the food ingredients was retarted due to the algin-containing coating.

The ingredients on the frozen pizza would not fall off during packaging, storage, or transportation. Further, dehydration during tbe subsequent processing steps would also be retarded. The film is sufficient to constitute an oxygen barrier for retarding oxidation thereby preventing ingredients highly susceptible to oxidation, such as sausage pepperoni, and anchovies, from becoming rancid. During cooking of the coated pizza, it was found that the protective film retained the flavours of the spices and seasonings and the food ingredients.

Pepperoni, which is a common ingredient of pizzas, has been cooked having a coating made in accordance with this invention disposed therearound. At the same time, uncoated pepperoni has been cooked. A visual comparison of the cooked specimens showed the uncoated pepperoni to be scorched. Further, flavour loss due to loss of moisture and seasoning was found in the uncoated pepperoni. On the other hand, the coated pepperoni was not scorched and maintained its moisture and seasoning. The same type of results were achieved when comparing coated and uncoated seasoned sausage meat which is a common food ingredient for pizzas. There was a marked difference in shrinkage, flavour rention, and browning for the sausage in the same manner as in the experiments with the pepperoni.

The spray solutions may be applied through nozzles disposed over a wire-mesh conveyor. Any overspray of the solution may be easily recovered. The thickness of the film to be deposited may be controlled by the pressure in the spray guns, the exposure time, and the belt speed. These all have a bearing on the thickness and consistency of the film desired. The formation of various types of film containing alginate is well known.

While the processing of dough product has been shown and described in detail, it is obvious that this invention is not to be considered as being limited to the exact form dsclosed, and that changes in detail and construction may be made therein within the scope of the invention.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:- 1. A method of prepering a dough product comprising the steps of preparing a shaped dough product, preparing an aqueous dispersion of a water soluble algin whose viscosity is such that the dispersion can be used for uniformly coating a surface of the shaped dough product, applying an amount of the aqueous dispersion to cover a surface of the shaped dough product, and applying an amount of an aqueous gelling solution to the algin-coated surface for a period of time sufficient to form a substantially continuous edible algincontaining film which covers said surface.

2. A method as claimed in Claim 1, further comprising the steps of placing food ingredients on said film-coated surface, applying a further amount of the aqueous dispersion to cover the food ingredients, and applying a further amount of aqueous gelling solution to the algin-coated ingredients for a period of time sufficient to form a further substantially continuous edible algin-containing film which covers the ingredients and any algin-containing film exposed on the dough product.

3. A method as clamed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the shaped dough product preparing step includes precooking the dough, said film being applied to said surface after the precooking step.

4. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein the shaped dough product is a shaped pizza crust, and said amount of the aqueous dispersion and said amount of the aqueous gelling solution are applied to the entire pizza crust to form said film over the entire surface of the pizza crust.

5. A method as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the shaped dough product preparing step includes forming a shaped pizza crust, and placing pizza food ingredients on the pizza crust, said surface being constituted by the pizza food ingredients so placed.

6. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein said amount of the aqueous dispersion is sprayed onto said surface of the shaped dough product.

7. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 2 to 4, wherein said further amount of the aqueous dispersion is sprayed onto the food ingredients.

8. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 7, wherein the algincontaining film and/or the further algin-containing film includes up to about 90% water at the time it is first formed and then with the water evaporating to a point below 30% by weight of the film.

9. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 8, wherein there is a sufficient amount of solids in the aqueous dispersion to provide a viscosity of from about 350 to 5,000 centipoises at room temperature.

10. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 9, wherein the aqueous dispersion comprises a water-soluble algin and sorbital.

11. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 10, wherein the aqueous dispersion comprises sodium alginate and malto dextrin in the respective portions of 2+ to 20 parts by dry weight of sodium alignate and 9712 to 80 parts by dry weight of malto dextrin.

12. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 11, wherein the gelling solution comprises calcium chloride and a gum thickener.

13. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 11, wherein the gelling solution comprises calcium chloride and carboxymethyl cellulose gum.

14. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 13, wherein the algin-coated, ingredient bearing dough product is conveyed through a blast freezer to effeot freezing thereof.

15. A method as claimed in Claim 14, wherein the frozen dough product is pack

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. difference in shrinkage, flavour rention, and browning for the sausage in the same manner as in the experiments with the pepperoni. The spray solutions may be applied through nozzles disposed over a wire-mesh conveyor. Any overspray of the solution may be easily recovered. The thickness of the film to be deposited may be controlled by the pressure in the spray guns, the exposure time, and the belt speed. These all have a bearing on the thickness and consistency of the film desired. The formation of various types of film containing alginate is well known. While the processing of dough product has been shown and described in detail, it is obvious that this invention is not to be considered as being limited to the exact form dsclosed, and that changes in detail and construction may be made therein within the scope of the invention. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:-

1. A method of prepering a dough product comprising the steps of preparing a shaped dough product, preparing an aqueous dispersion of a water soluble algin whose viscosity is such that the dispersion can be used for uniformly coating a surface of the shaped dough product, applying an amount of the aqueous dispersion to cover a surface of the shaped dough product, and applying an amount of an aqueous gelling solution to the algin-coated surface for a period of time sufficient to form a substantially continuous edible algincontaining film which covers said surface.

15. A method as claimed in Claim 14, wherein the frozen dough product is pack

aged for storage and transportation.

16. A method of preparing a dough product as claimed in Claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described.

17. A dough product whenever prepared by the method of any one of Claims 1 to 16.

18. A dough product as claimed in Claim 17, wherein the dough product is a pizza.