Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Plant material is basic ingredient other than extract,...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-07
2002-12-17
Tran, Lien (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
Plant material is basic ingredient other than extract,...
C426S074000, C426S094000, C426S496000, C426S549000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06495191
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In the conventional production of wheat flour by milling, a selected wheat blend is first subjected to cleaning prior to its actual grinding. Two to two and a half percent of moisture is added and a rest period from eight to twenty hours follows. Commercial wheat always contains small percentages of contaminating materials such as weed seeds, mixed cereals, dirt, etc. Various conventional methods and devices are used to affect removal of this foreign matter, such as magnetic separators to remove iron and steel objects. Once the wheat kernels have been cleaned and tempered, they are ready to be ground. The tempering process of the wheat is significant to the complete milling and baking procedure.
The cleaned and tempered wheat is subjected to a series of conventional grinding operations, in which the first five or six sets of rolls exert a crushing and shearing action. Known as the “break system” and designed primarily to bring about a far-reaching separation of the tough bran from the friable endosperm, this part of the grinding process is carried out on corrugated iron rolls, called “break rolls”, which revolve in opposite directions at different speeds. Each successive set of rolls takes the stock from the preceding one, after proper separation, so that they operate serially rather than in parallel. Proceeding from the first to the fifth or sixth set of break rolls, the corrugations on the rolls become finer and the setting of the rolls progressively closer.
The crushed material, called “stock”, passes after each break first to a sifter or bolter equipped with a series of inclined coarse sieves on top and progressively finer sieves, which are vibrated. Here the separation of the stock proceeds to three general classes of material according to size: the coarsest fragments, retained on the top sieves and conveyed subsequently to the second break; the medium sized granular particles primarily comprising endosperm and called the “middlings”; and the finest material passing through the fine silk bottom sieves and called “break flour”.
The same process is repeated at subsequent breaks, yielding flour, middlings, and progressively smaller coarse particles. The stock going to each succeeding break contains less and less endosperm until after the fifth or sixth break the remaining material is largely composed of bran flakes.
After purification, the middlings collected from each of the earlier stages are gradually ground into flour between smooth rolls, called reduction rolls. This involves a series of reduction processes in which, as in the case of breaking, the smooth rolls are set progressively closer at each succeeding set of rolls. Each reduction subjects the middlings to a crushing and rubbing action which produces finer middlings and flour, and loosens the adhering bran flakes. Each resulting stock passes through a sifter which effects the separation of fine flour, reduced middlings and larger bran fragments. The remaining middlings are again graded according to size, purified, and conveyed to the succeeding reduction rolls. The reductions are repeated until ultimately most of the endosperm has been converted into flour, and the bran separated by the sifters.
These series of breaks and reductions give rise to many flour streams, which may number as many as 30 in modern mills. Thus, each break produces flour, such as first break flour, second break flour, etc., and each reduction, in turn, produces middlings and flours. These streams, being derived from different portions of the endosperm and varying in refinement, differ in protein content, ash content, purity (absence of branny material), etc. Beginning with the first separation of the most highly refined middlings, the flour contains progressively more branny and germ impurities at each successive reduction.
The general trends in average composition of different mill streams as they progress from the head to the tail of the mill are indicated by the data in the following table compiled by Geddes:
Chemical Composition of Certain Mill Streams and By-Products Obtained in Wheat Milling
Total
Total
Moisture
N
Fat
Fiber
Ash
Sugars
Product
%
%
%
%
%
%
Wheat and
mill products
Wheat
10.3
2.05
2.1
—
1.73
2.6
First patent flour
11.5
1.82
1.0
0.2
0.40
1.3
First clear flour
11.0
2.13
1.7
0.2
0.81
1.8
Second clear flour
10.4
2.33
2.0
0.3
1.34
2.1
Red dog
9.2
2.87
5.4
2.4
3.15
6.4
Bran
8.8
2.33
4.1
10.8
6.38
5.4
Shorts
8.9
2.47
5.2
8.4
4.10
6.0
Germ
8.5
4.84
11.9
1.8
4.80
15.1
Flour streams
First break flour
11.8
1.91
1.1
0.2
0.66
1.4
Second break
11.3
1.99
1.4
0.1
0.56
1.3
flour
Third break flour
11.5
2.08
1.4
0.1
0.49
1.4
Fourth break flour
11.2
2.29
2.2
0.1
0.64
1.5
Fifth break flour
11.0
2.35
2.6
0.1
1.03
1.6
First middlings
11.5
1.80
1.0
0.1
0.36
1.2
flour
Third middlings
11.1
1.80
1.1
0.1
0.38
1.4
flour
Fifth middlings
10.7
1.89
0.9
0.1
0.44
1.5
flour
Seventh
11.1
1.96
1.4
0.1
0.65
2.5
middlings flour
Ninth middlings
10.8
1.84
1.5
0.2
0.61
2.0
flour
First tailings
9.8
2.57
5.4
4.4
3.67
4.3
from purifier
Depending upon which flour streams are combined to yield the final product, different commercial flour grades are obtained. If all the streams are combined, a “straight flour” is obtained. Frequently the more refined streams are kept separate and sold as “patent flours” while the remaining streams yield “clear flours”. The most common types of commercial flours are “fancy patent”, which contains 40 to 60 percent of straight flour and the rest patent flour; “short patent” with 60 to 80 percent; “medium patent”, with 80 to 90 percent; and “long or standard patent with” 90 to 95 percent straight flour, and the rest patent flour.
In the conventional production of bakery goods from wheat flour, it is not possible to add large amounts of dietary minerals, or other edible materials, to the flour or dough since the weight of such minerals or other materials will cause the flour cell walls to collapse during the fermentation process so that despite the existence of leavening (usually yeast) the dough will not rise. That is the minerals take up space inside the cells caused by carbon dioxide production during the fermentation process and thus may cause effective “collapse” of the cells. While attempts have been made to increase the amount of dietary minerals by using chemical additives, such as calcium citrate, this can make the final product less desirable.
According to the present invention, a wheat flour, dough, and method of producing a wheat flour and dough, are provided which greatly increase the flexibility of the type of bakery goods that can be produced. The bakery goods produced according to the invention can be produced without any chemical additives (other than normal additives used in the milling and baking industry), and with an entirely natural and high quality taste and texture. The flour/dough according to the invention can retain at least 5% (e.g. 5-12%) by weight more free moisture than conventional flour/dough of similar type, e.g. between about 30-70% by weight (and any narrower range within that broad range) free moisture (that is added moisture, not inherent in the flour), and many times more dietary minerals. For example an additional about 2-20% by weight (and any narrower range within the broad range) dietary mineral (such as any one or more of calcium, folic acid, zinc, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, copper, selenium, and iron) may be provided. For instance, enough calcium can be added to the flour, with or without other minerals, to allow bread of normal (or even enhanced) taste and texture to be baked which provides about 50-200% of the RDA (for adults) of calcium per 32 gm slice, or per two slices (or other pieces) totaling 64 gm.
Another advantage according to the invention is that it effectively increases the capacity of the mill corresponding to the percentage of middlings removed.
According to one aspect of the present invention wheat flour is provided comprising or consisting essentially of about 50-95% straight flour, clear flour, break flour, and/or patent flour; an
Nixon & Vanderhye PC
Tran Lien
LandOfFree
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