Patent Application
20120009303
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method for producing a reduced fat, layered baked good and the resulting reduced fat product.
2. Description of Related Art
Layered, flakey baked goods are generally known as puff pastries. In a broad sense, puff pastries are made from a dough that is layered with fat and repeatedly folded and rolled out to form a dough with many dough layers separated by layers of fat. Butter and hydrogenated vegetable oils are the most common substances used for the fat layers. During baking of the layered dough, steam is formed and evaporated causing the expansion of the dough layers. The fat insulates the dough layers, allowing each to cook individually and puff the pastry. The finished product is a light and flakey baked good.
In recent years, however, consumer demand has been dramatically increasing for foods having less fat content. The traditional method of producing puff pastries results in a product with a high fat content, which is undesirable in a market searching for low fat alternatives. Removing the fat between layers, however, adversely affects the organoleptic properties of the end product. Thus, it would be desirable to produce a layered, flakey baked product with a lower fat content that has organoleptic properties similar to the traditional puff pastries.
The present invention provides a method for producing a reduced fat, layered baked good and the resulting product. A substance with a lower fat content than the substances used in prior art methods is substituted to create a reduced fat, layered baked good.
In one aspect, frozen dough is used to form a layered dough. A main dough is provided and formed into a sheet. A frozen dough is provided and formed into a sheet. The sheet of frozen dough is encased by the sheet of main dough to form a folded dough. The folded dough is rolled out and folded repeatedly to form a multi-layered dough. The multi-layered dough is then sheeted to a specified thickness, cut into a desired shape, proofed and baked to a specified moisture content.
In one aspect, ice is used to form a layered dough. A main dough is provided and formed into a sheet. Ice, which is preferably shaved ice and may consist of frozen water, frozen fruit juice or frozen vegetable juice, is placed on the main dough sheet. The layer of ice is encased by the sheet of main dough to form an ice-layered dough. The ice-layered dough is then sheeted to a specified thickness, cut into a desired shape, proofed and baked to a specified moisture content.
The final product resulting from the method of the present invention is a layered, flakey baked good with substantially less fat than products made with prior art methods that maintains the desirable organoleptic properties of traditional puff pastries.
The above as well as additional features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following written detailed description.
The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The present invention involves a method for producing a reduced fat, layered baked good and the resulting product. Prior art methods employ butter or fat, both of which are solids at room temperature, in the production of puff pastries to separate layers of dough. Substituting the fat or butter with a another solid substance having a lower fat content results in a similar layered, flakey baked good with substantially less fat than the puff pastries produced by the prior art methods that maintains desirable organoleptic properties. Preferably, the method of the claimed invention described below is a continuous process, but it may also be practiced as a batch process.
In an embodiment of the present invention, frozen dough is used in place of the fat or butter. Referring to
Next, a frozen dough sheet is provided 120. As with the main dough, the frozen dough may be prepared or bought ready-made. In one embodiment, the frozen dough is prepared with a composition of about 25% to 35% of hard winter wheat flour, about 25% to 35% of natural pregelatinized starch, and about 35% to 45% water. The dry ingredients are mixed together for about 1 minute and then water at a temperature of about 40° F. is added. The dough is mixed at a low speed for about 3 minutes and then at a higher speed for about 6 minutes. The dough is then formed into a sheet and frozen to a temperature of about 32° F.
The sheet of frozen dough is then encased 130 by the main dough to form a folded dough. As used herein, encasing means placing the substance being used to separate the layers of main dough on a portion of the main dough sheet and folding the remaining portion of the main dough sheet over the substance. Also, as used herein, a folded dough comprises a layer of frozen dough between two layers of main dough.
The folded dough is then rolled out and folded 140 several times to form a multi-layered dough using equipment and methods known in the art, such as those employed in automated croissant lines and laminated pastry lines. As used herein, a multi-layer dough is a dough with at least five total layers, or two layers of frozen dough and three layers of main dough. Preferably, the rolling out and folding 140 is repeated to form at least 10 distinct layers of main dough.
Next, the multi-layered dough is sheeted 150 to, in one embodiment, a thickness of about 1.4 to 1.6 millimeters. Preferably, the dough is sheeted to a thickness of about 1.5 mm. The sheeted dough may be cut 160 into a desired shape. Some examples of shapes are a square, circle, triangle, crescent, rectangle, star, or oval, or the dough may be cut into random shapes in such a way that no dough scraps are produced. The shaped multi-layered dough is then proofed 170. As used herein, proofing is the process of allowing the dough to rise for a specified time prior to baking In one embodiment, the dough is proofed 170 for about 75 to 105 minutes at a relative humidity of about 90% and temperature of about 95° F. Preferably, the shaped multi-layered dough is proofed 170 for about 90 minutes. The time and relative humidity of this proofing operation 170 may vary according to the desired expansion of the final product. After proofing 170, the multi-layered dough is baked 180 to a moisture level of about 1.75% to 3.25%, preferably about 2.5%. In one embodiment, the dough is baked at about 266° F. to 302° F. for about 10 to 15 minutes and then at about 230° F. to 248° F. for about 35 to 85 minutes. Preferably, the multi-layered dough is baked at about 300° F. for about 10 minutes and at 240° F. for about 45 minutes. These sheeting, cutting, proofing and baking steps may all be accomplished with equipment and methods known in the art, such as those used in automated croissant lines.
In another embodiment of the present invention, ice is substituted for the prior art fat substance. Referring to
The ice-layered dough is then sheeted 240 to a desired thickness, cut 250 into a desired shape, proofed 260 and baked 270 as described above in conjunction with the multi-layered dough made with frozen dough.
A main dough was prepared with the following composition: 6.13 pounds hard winter wheat flour, 0.042 pounds granulated sugar, 0.4 pounds vital wheat gluten, 0.218 pounds garlic powder, 0.152 pounds flour salt, 0.109 pounds yeast, and 2.949 pounds water. The dry ingredients were mixed using a Hobart Mixer for about 1 minute at speed 1. Water, at a temperature of about 65° F., was then added. The entire mixture was mixed in the Hobart Mixer for about 3 minutes at speed 1 and then for about 4 minutes at speed 2. The dough temperature measured about 80° F. The dough was allowed to ferment at room temperature for about 30 minutes. The main dough was formed into a sheet measuring about ¾ of an inch thick, about 14 inches wide and about 22 inches long, using a Rhondo Sheeter.
A frozen dough was prepared with the following composition: 3 pounds hard winter wheat flour, 3 pounds Xpandr SC natural pregelatinized starch, and 4 pounds water. The dry ingredients were mixed using a Hobart Mixer for about 1 minute at speed 1. Water, at a temperature of about 40° F., was then added. The entire mixture was mixed in the Hobart Mixer for about 3 minutes at speed 1 and then for about 6 minutes at speed 2. The dough temperature measured about 60° F. The dough was formed into a sheet, measuring about ¾ of an inch thick, about 14 inches wide and about 11 inches long, using a Rhondo Sheeter. The sheet was then cooled until its temperature reached 32° F.
The sheet of frozen dough was placed on half of the sheet of main dough. The other half of the sheet of main dough was folded over the sheet of frozen dough to form a folded dough, or a layer of frozen dough between two layers of main dough. The folded dough was then rolled out and folded 10 times to form a multi-layered dough of 10 layers. The multi-layered dough was then sheeted to a thickness of about 1.5 millimeters using a Rhondo Sheeter. The sheeted multi-layered dough was cut into squares of about 35 millimeters and the dough squares were proofed for about 90 minutes at a relative humidity of about 90% and a temperature of about 95° F. After proofing, the dough squares were baked for about 10 minutes at about 300° F. and about 45 minutes at about 240° F. to a moisture content of about 2.5%.
A main dough was prepared with the following composition: 5.441 pounds hard winter wheat flour, 0.044 pounds granulated sugar, 0.481 pounds vital wheat gluten, 0.218 pounds garlic powder, 0.152 pounds flour salt, 0.544 pounds romano cheese paste, 0.109 pounds yeast, 0.163 pounds olive oil and 2.949 pounds water. The dry ingredients were mixed together using a Hobart Mixer for about 1 minute at speed 1. Water, at a temperature of about 65° F., was added. The entire mixture was mixed in the Hobart Mixer for about 3 minutes at speed 1 and then for about 6 minutes at speed 2. The dough temperature measured about 80° F. The dough was allowed to ferment at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
The main dough was then formed into a sheet. About 20 grams of shaved ice (frozen water) was placed on half of the sheet of main dough to form a layer of ice. The other half of the sheet of main dough was folded over the layer of shaved ice to form an ice-layered dough with a layer of shaved ice between two layers of main dough. The ice-layered dough was then sheeted to a thickness of about 1.5 millimeters using a Rhondo Sheeter. The sheeted ice-layered dough was cut into squares of about 35 millimeters and the dough squares were proofed for about 90 minutes at a relative humidity of about 90% and a temperature of about 95° F. After proofing, the dough squares were baked in a Dahlen Oven for about 10 minutes at about 300° F. and about 45 minutes at about 240° F. to a moisture content of 2.5%.
Using frozen dough to form the layered, flakey baked product is advantageous as it allows the final product to contain more layers. As described above, the folded dough (consisting of two layers of main dough and one layer of frozen dough) may be rolled out and folded several times to form a multi-layered dough consisting of many layers of frozen dough and many layers of main dough. However, when shaved ice is used, the ice-layered dough (consisting of a layer of shaved ice between two layers of main dough) cannot be further rolled out and folded. Thus, the finished layered, flakey product made with shaved ice only has three total layers, whereas the finished product made with frozen dough may have hundreds of layers. Also, the folded dough tends to be easier to process and handle as compared with the ice-layered dough.
The present invention may be modified in a number of ways by one skilled in the art within the scope of the invention. For example, the composition of the dough may be altered. The above-described dough is flour-based, but the dough may also be corn-based, rice-based or legume-based. Ingredients may be removed from or added to the dough formulation. Flavoring agents may be added to the dough to impart various flavors to the finished product. Possible flavoring agents include natural and synthetic flavorings such as vanilla, chocolate, cheese, butter, fruit, spices or other flavors. Also, food coloring may be added to the dough or shaved ice so that the finished product would have colored layers.
The above-described invention discloses a method for the production of a reduced fat, layered, flakey baked product. Although the invention has been particularly shown and described, the disclosure is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and conditions may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
