Abstract:
A premix containing starch and a specified vital gluten, i.e. PL gluten, is described as being useful for preparing confectioneries.

Description:
This is a divisional of application Ser. No. 820,740, filed Jan. 22, 1986. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a premix containing starch and a specified vital gluten. 
     In general, bakery products such as sponge cakes, steam bread, cake doughnuts and cookies are made using flour as one of the main raw materials. The suitable kind of flour is the cake flour which has a low content of gluten and which has a low viscoelasticity when made into dough. 
     According to the kinds of the objective bakery products, ingredients such as sugar, table salt, fat and oil, and eggs are usually added to the flour to produce these products. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a premix containing (A) starch and (B) a specified vital gluten (hereinafter referred to as PL gluten) wherein the bound monoacyl glycerophospholipid content in the bound phospholipids is 30 mol% or more and in cases when the bound monoacyl glycerophospholipid content is 50 mol% or less, the content of the bound phospholipids is 2% or more. 
     Bakery products of high quality can be obtained by using the premix of the present invention. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The PL gluten employed in the present invention is a vital gluten wherein the bound monoacyl glycerophospholipid content in the bound phospholipids 30 mol% or more and when the bound monoacyl glycerophospholipid content is 50 mol% or less, the content of bound phospholipids is 2% or more. The vital gluten of the invention is characterized in that phospholipids are bound to gluten proteins and the content of monoacyl glycerophospholipids in the bound lipids is higher than ordinary commercially available vital gluten. 
     A detailed description of the PL gluten employed in this invention is given in European Patent Publication No. 0134658/85 published on Mar. 20, 1985 and in AU-A-30445/84 published on Jan. 17, 1985. 
     A method for preparing the PL gluten is briefly described hereinafter. 
     The PL gluten is obtained by adding phospholipase A (hereinafter referred to as PL-A) to flour in the ratio of 10 2  -10 4  units per 1 kg of flour, further adding water thereto and kneading the mixture by a conventional method and washing the kneaded mixture with water to remove starch and the like. The PL gluten can also be obtained by treating the mixture prepared by adding phospholipid to the flour and PL-A in the same way as given above, or by converting phospholipid to the phospholipid having a high content of monoacyl glycerophospholipid with PL-A and binding the resultant phospholipid to gluten protein in the PL gluten-producing process. 
     Phospholipid is added in an amount of 0.1-10% based on that of flour. 
     As the starch to be utilized for preparing the premix, wheat starch, rice starch, corn starch, potato starch, waxy corn starch, arrowroot starch, etc. can be used. 
     The amount of the PL gluten contained in the premix is in the range of 0.5-20 parts based on 100 parts of starch. 
     In addition to bread flour (hard flour), noodle flour (semi-hard flour) and commercially available vital gluten, the premix can include, if necessary, ingredients usually used in the production of bakery products such as sugar, table salt, fat and oil, skim milk, emulsifiers, flavors, etc. 
     By use of the premix, bakery products (sponge cake, steam bred, cake doughnuts, cookies, etc.) of good quality can be produced. 
    
    
     The present invention is illustrated by the following Examples wherein all numerical values refer to parts by weight unless otherwise indicated. 
     Example 1 
     Sponge Cake 
     
         ______________________________________Test Group No. I       II     III   IV   V______________________________________Cake flour     100     --     --    --   --Wheat starch   --      92     92    --   --Rice starch    --      --     --    92   92PL gluten      --       8     --     8   --(obtained in ReferenceExample 1, the same shallapply hereinafter)Commercially available          --      --      8    --    8glutenSugar          100     100    100   100  100Whole egg      100     100    100   100  100Baking powder   2       2      2     2    2Sugar ester     4       4      4     4    4Table salt     0.45    0.45   0.45  0.45 0.45Water          35      35     35    35   35______________________________________ 
    
     Production Process 
     (1) Cake flour, wheat starch, rice starch, PL gluten, commercially available gluten, and baking powder were mixed an sifted [mixture (1)]. 
     (2) Whole eggs, water, sugar ester, sugar and table salt were placed into a mixer and mixed well with a whipper to cause air bubbles. 
     (3) The mixture (1) was gradually put into the mixer and sufficiently stirred to obtain a whipped batter. 
     (4) The resulting whipped batter was put into a cake pan and baked at 200° C. The result is shown in Table 1. 
     
                                           TABLE 1__________________________________________________________________________                  Rate of       Batter     Well-Test    Main Raw       Specific            Specific                  balancedGroup    Materials       Gravity            Volume*1                  Shape*2                       Grain*3                            Texture*3__________________________________________________________________________I   Cake flour,       0.43 4.68  0.71 +    +II  Wheat starch       0.43 5.90  0.85 ++   ++    PL glutenIII Wheat starch       0.43 4.58  1.13 -    -    Commercially    available    glutenIV  Rice starch       0.43 4.97  0.83 +    +    PL glutenV   Rice starch       0.43 4.02  1.02 -    -    Commercially    available    gluten__________________________________________________________________________ 
    
     *1: The specific volume was measured by the rapeseed-substituting method. 
     *2: The rate of well-balanced shape was calculated by cutting a cake along its diameter and measuring the height as shown in the following drawing. When the value was close to 1, the upper surface was almost horizontal. As the value decreased, the center of the upper surface was raised. 
     When the value was over 1, the center of the upper surface was concave. ##STR1## 
     *3: The evaluation as to grain and texture was carried out by sensory evaluation and is expressed as follows: -: poor, +: good, ++: very good. 
     As is apparent from Table 1, the test groups II and IV were superior not only to the test groups III and V but also to the test group I since the volume of the cake was larger, the appearance of the upper surface was nearly flat an so suitable for the secondary processing such as decoration, and the grain and texture were better. 
     Example 2 
     Butter Sponge Cake 
     
         ______________________________________Composition:Test Group No.     I         II     III______________________________________Cake flour         100       --     --Corn starch        --        92     92PL gluten          --         8     --Commercially available gluten              --        --      8Sugar              100       100    100Whole egg          140       140    140Table salt         0.7       0.7    0.7Baking powder       1         1      1High fructose corn syrup              20        20     20Whipping agent containing fat              15        15     15Rum                 4         4      4Vanilla oil        0.4       0.4    0.4Water              20        20     20______________________________________ 
    
     Production Process 
     (1) Sugar, whole eggs, table salt, high fructose corn syrup, whipping agent containing fat, run, vanilla oil and water were mixed at a low speed for 30 sec. (Mixing was carried out with a vertical type mixer equipped with a whipper). 
     (2) Cake flour, corn starch, PL gluten or commercially available gluten and baking powder which were previously sifted were mixed with the mixture obtained in (1). (mixing was carried out at a low speed for 2 min. and at a moderate speed for 1 min.) 
     (3) The thus obtained batter was mixed by using a continuous mixer. 
     
         ______________________________________Pump              70 rpmRotary speed      200 rpmRotary pressure   3 kg/cm.sup.2Batter specific gravity             about 0.53Batter temperature             23° C.______________________________________ 
    
     (4) The batter made in the above (3) was placed into a cake pan and baked in an oven (about 180° C.). 
     The results are shown in Table 2. 
     
                       TABLE 2______________________________________Test   Main Raw    Specificgroup  Materials   Volume     Grain*                               Texture*______________________________________I      Cake flour  3.64       +     +II     Corn starch 3.62       +     +  PL glutenIII    Corn starch 3.02       -     -  Commercially  available gluten______________________________________ *+: good, -: poor 
    
     As is apparent from Table 2, the product in the test group II was superior to that in the test group III and was of the same quality as the conventional one. 
     Example 3 
     Steam Bread 
     
         ______________________________________Composition:Test Group No.     I         II     III______________________________________Cake flour         100       --     --Wheat starch       --        92     92PL gluten          --         8      8Commercially available gluten              --        --      8Sugar              25        25     25Table salt         0.3       0.3    0.3Baking powder       4         4      4Whole egg          10        10     10Water              60        50     50______________________________________ 
    
     Production Process 
     (1) Whole eggs and water were poured into a mixer and sufficiently mixed. 
     (2) The other raw materials were sifted and mixed, followed by mixing with the above mixture (1). (Vertical type mixer equipped with a beater was used at a low speed for 30 sec. and at a moderate speed for 30 sec.) 
     (3) The above batter was put into a cake pan and steamed. (Steam pressure: 0.5 kg/cm 2 , Steaming time: about 20 min.) 
     The results are shown in Table 3. 
     
                       TABLE 3______________________________________Test  Main Raw    Specificgroup Materials   Volume   Grain*                            Color*                                  Texture*______________________________________I     Cake flour  2.20     +     +     +II    Wheat starch             2.22     +     -     + PL glutenIII   Wheat starch             1.83     -     -     - Commercially available gluten______________________________________ *+: good, -: poor 
    
     The volume of steam bread in the test group II was substantially the same as in the test group I, and the grain and texture thereof were also good. 
     Example 4 
     Cookies 
     
         ______________________________________Composition:Test Group No.        I        II     III    IV   V______________________________________Cake flour   100      --     --     --   --Wheat starch --       92     92     --   --Potato starch        --       --     --     92   92PL gluten    --        8     --      8   --Commercially --       --      8     --    8available glutenSugar        65       65     65     65   65Whole egg    15       15     15     15   15Shortening   45       45     45     45   45Table salt    1        1      1      1    1Dry milk      3        3      3      3    3Sodium bicarbonate        0.5      0.5    0.5    0.5  0.5Ammonium carbonate        0.5      0.5    0.5    0.5  0.5Baking powder        0.5      0.5    0.5    0.5  0.5Vanilla      a bit    a bit  a bit  a bit                                    a bit______________________________________ 
    
     Production Process 
     (1) Flour or starch, gluten, baking powder, sodium bicarbonate, ammonium carbonate, dry milk, table salt, and vanilla were sifted and sufficiently mixed. 
     (2) Sugar was sifted. 
     (3) Shortening was put into a mixer and sufficiently mixed by using a beater at a low speed for 30 sec. 
     (4) The sugar (2) was introduced into the mixer (3) in several installments and mixed well. 
     (5) Whole eggs were beaten and introduced into (4) in several installments and mixed well. 
     (6) The mixture (1) was added to (5) in several installments and mixed well to obtain a homogeneous mixture as a whole. 
     (7) The dough was refrigerated for solidification, formed in a cylinder shape and cut with a wire-cutter. Then, pieces of dough were placed on a baking sheet, and baked at about 190° C. 
     The result is shown in Table 4. 
     
                       TABLE 4______________________________________Test  Main Rawgroup Materials   Appearance* Softness*                                Texture*______________________________________I     Cake flour  ±        ±   ±II    Wheat starch             ±        +      + PL glutenIII   Wheat starch             -           -      - Commercially available glutenIV    Potato starch             +           +      + PL glutenV     Potato starch             -           -      - Commercially available gluten______________________________________ *+: good, ±: ordinary, -: poor 
    
     Example 5 
     Cake Doughnut 
     
         ______________________________________Mix Composition:Test Group No.     I       II     III______________________________________Cake flour         68      --     --Corn starch        --      62.5   62.5PL gluten          --      5.5    --Commercially available gluten              --      --     5.5Sugar              20      20     20Table salt         1       1      1Shortening         5       5      5Skim milk          4       4      4Baking powder      1.5     1.5    1.5Sodium bicarbonate 0.5     0.5    0.5Total              100     100    100______________________________________Dough Composition:            Amount   Baker&#39;s %______________________________________The above mix    1500 g   100Whole egg        150      10Water            525      35______________________________________ 
    
     Production Process 
     (1) The powders of the above mix were mixed well, and the shortening was added thereto. The mixture was uniformly blended. 
     (2) The mix was sufficiently mixed with whole eggs and water in a mixer at a low speed for 40 sec. and at a moderate speed for 20 sec. 
     (3) Mixing temperature: 20°-24° C., floor time: 10 min. 
     (4) The dough was deposited with a pressure depositor and fried. (Frying temperature: 180°-185° C., frying time: about 2 min.). 
     The results are shown in Table 5. 
     
                       TABLE 5______________________________________                            Oil-**Test  Main Raw            Balance*                            absorp-group Materials  Volume*  of shape                            tion   Texture*______________________________________I     Cake flour +        +      ±   +II    Corn starch            +        +      -      + PL glutenIII   Corn starch            -        -      --     - Commercially available gluten______________________________________ *+: good, ±: ordinary -: poor *±: ordinary, -: a little high, --: high 
    
     As is apparent from Table 5, when corn starch and PL gluten were used instead of cake flour, the degree of oil-absorption was a little higher but almost the same cake doughnut as in the test group I was obtained. The texture of the test group II was better than that of the test group I using cake flour as the base of the composition.