JP7613841B2 - Mixed flour for Japanese snacks and method for producing Japanese snacks - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a mix flour for Japanese-style snacks used to produce Japanese-style snacks with good releasability without using a leavening agent containing burnt alum (anhydrous aluminum potassium sulfate (AlK( _SO4 ) ₂ )) that has been conventionally used, and a method for producing Japanese-style snacks.

Japanese snacks such as imagawayaki (also called obanyaki or kaitenyaki), taiyaki, ningyoyaki, and momiji manju are made by pouring a batter made by adding water, eggs, seasonings, etc. to wheat flour or other grain flour into a baking mold and baking it.

These Japanese snacks, which are manufactured using baking molds, require a so-called demolding process in which the baked snacks are removed from the baking mold after baking. When mass-producing Japanese snacks, demolding properties, which determine whether the baked snacks can be easily released from the mold, are an important factor in the demolding process. In particular, when manufacturing using an automatic machine, poor demolding properties reduce work efficiency, and in the worst case scenario, it becomes difficult to automate the manufacturing process. Furthermore, even when manufacturing by hand, poor demolding properties significantly reduce work efficiency.

Traditional Japanese snacks generally contain calcined alum as a leavening agent. It is believed that calcined alum acts on the gluten in wheat flour, causing it to contract during baking. For this reason, it was known that in dough containing added calcined alum, the gluten contracts during baking, causing the Japanese snack to shrink slightly after baking, making it easier to separate from the mold.

Incidentally, aluminum compounds added to foods such as burnt alum are also present in small amounts in soil, water and air, and are also found in small amounts in grains and vegetables. For this reason, it was thought that they would not have any serious effects on the human body, but in experiments in which large amounts of aluminum were administered to rats, adverse effects on the kidneys and bladder and a decrease in grip strength were observed.

In addition, international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) have set the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) as the provisional amount that a person can ingest over their lifetime without adversely affecting their health, and in the case of aluminum, this is set at 2 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per week.

Labeling of aluminum content is not mandatory, but the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has indicated its intention to set usage standards, and manufacturers of sweet breads, confectionery, and food additives are promoting a switch to aluminum-free ingredients.

For this reason, the ingredients of Japanese snacks are being switched to aluminum-free ingredients, but as mentioned above, when leavening agents that do not contain burnt alum are used, the astringent effect of gluten is lost and release properties deteriorate, which can cause problems, particularly in automated manufacturing processes.

The following Patent Document 1 discloses a composition for baked goods mix useful as a dough ingredient for baked goods such as pancakes, which contains as its main components wheat flour such as weak flour, medium flour, strong flour, whole wheat flour, durum semolina, and grain flour such as rye flour, rice flour, corn flour, and corn grits, to which organic acids such as acetic acid, lactic acid, citric acid, malic acid, adipic acid, fumaric acid, tartaric acid, ascorbic acid, and salts of these acids have been added as acidifying agents. Taiyaki is also listed as an example of a product to which the invention can be applied.

The following Patent Document 2 discloses a composition in which a specific cellulose is added to bread dough as dietary fiber in order to provide bakery dough that is not sticky when divided, rolled, and shaped and has good physical properties. Paragraph 0026 of this document states, "It is preferable that the dietary fiber composition contains an oxidizing agent component, since it has the effect of improving the firmness of the dough, thereby making it possible to further increase the amount of water absorbed. The oxidizing agent component is a component that crosslinks gluten proteins in bakery dough through an oxidizing action, thereby strengthening the dough, and it is preferable to use one or more of ascorbic acid, sodium ascorbate, potassium ascorbate, etc."

JP 2019-62858 A Patent No. 5739129

However, the ascorbic acid described in the above Patent Document 1 is only described as an example of a compound that can be added as an acidic agent for adjusting pH, and there is no mention of improving demolding properties. Also, while it is described that the organic acid can be added as a salt, no specific salt compound name is mentioned. Furthermore, there is no consideration of the effect of ascorbic acid on the leavening agent.

The composition in Patent Document 2 is a bakery dough used for bread, that is, a food ingredient in the form of foaming using yeast, and has a different mechanism of expansion and contraction from foods such as Japanese snacks that are foamed using a leavening agent. For this reason, there is no mention whatsoever of problems with release caused by swelling during the baking process using a leavening agent, or of the use of sodium ascorbate to improve this.

None of the above documents mentions the problem of improving the release properties during baking of Japanese snacks such as taiyaki when the snacks are made with an aluminum-free composition. Furthermore, there is no mention of adding sodium ascorbate to solve the problem.

The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a Japanese-style snack mix flour that achieves the same mold-releasing properties as dough containing a conventional leavening agent containing burnt alum, even with an aluminum-free Japanese-style snack mix flour, and that enables production with an automated machine and also improves work efficiency even when produced manually, as well as a method for producing Japanese-style snacks using the same.

As a result of intensive research conducted by the inventors to achieve the above object, they discovered that even when a leavening agent that does not contain alum is used, the release properties can be improved by adding sodium ascorbate to the ingredients, and that it is possible to provide a mixed flour for Japanese-style snacks that achieves the same release properties as ingredients that use a leavening agent containing conventional burnt alum, and thus completed the present invention.

That is, the present invention provides a mixed flour for Japanese snacks that contains cereal flour and/or starch and a leavening agent that does not contain alum, and is characterized in that it contains 0.005% by mass or more and less than 0.50% by mass of sodium ascorbate.

The Japanese-style snack mix flour of the present invention achieves the same mold-releasing properties as doughs that use conventional leavening agents containing burnt alum, enables production using automated machines even with aluminum-free ingredients, and can also provide a Japanese-style snack mix flour that can improve work efficiency even when produced manually.

The Japanese-style snack mix flour of the present invention is preferably applied to Japanese-style snacks that are baked using a baking mold.

The Japanese-style snack flour mix of the present invention preferably contains 40 to 97.985% by mass of the grain flour and/or starch, 1.0 to 10.0% by mass of the leavening agent, 0.005 to 0.50% by mass of the sodium ascorbate, 0.01 to 1.0% by mass of the thickener, and 1.0 to 20.0% by mass of sugar.

The present invention also provides a method for producing Japanese snacks, which includes a preparation step of preparing dough using the above-described Japanese snack mix flour, a baking step of baking the prepared dough in a baking mold, and a step of releasing the baked Japanese snack from the mold.

The method for producing Japanese snacks of the present invention achieves mold release properties equivalent to those of dough containing a conventional leavening agent containing burnt alum, enables production using automated machinery even with aluminum-free ingredients, and also improves the efficiency of manual production.

According to the present invention, even with an aluminum-free composition, it is possible to provide a Japanese-style snack that has the same mold release properties as a composition containing burnt alum, without compromising color or taste.

The Japanese-style snack flour mix of the present invention contains cereal flour and/or starch, alum-free leavening agent, and sodium ascorbate.

In other words, the Japanese snack flour mix of the present invention is characterized in that even when a leavening agent that does not contain alum is used, by adding sodium ascorbate, it is possible to obtain mold release properties equivalent to those obtained when a leavening agent containing burnt alum is used.

Generally, alum refers to a double salt of sulfate of monovalent cation M ^I ₂ (SO ₄ ) and sulfate of trivalent metal ion M ^III ₂ (SO ₄ ) ₃ , but the alum in the present invention refers to aluminum sulfate, which is widely used as a food additive, particularly potassium aluminum sulfate dodecahydrate [AlK(SO ₄ ) _{2.12H 2} O], commonly known as potassium alum, and particularly calcined alum, which is the anhydrous form of potassium alum. The presence of such alum can also be confirmed by detecting aluminum.

The leavening agent is added to bake Japanese snacks fluffy and improve their texture. There are no particular limitations on the leavening agent, so long as it does not contain alum, and any leavening agent added to this type of baked Japanese snack can be used. Specific examples include those containing one or more of sodium bicarbonate, glucono delta lactone (gluconolactone), sodium acid pyrophosphate, monosodium phosphate, potassium α-hydrogen tartrate, calcium dihydrogen phosphate, calcium monohydrogen phosphate, etc. The leavening agent content may be added so as to obtain the required texture, and the total content of the leavening agent in the mixed flour is preferably 2 to 10% by mass, more preferably 4 to 8% by mass. If the amount of leavening agent added is small, the desired leavening effect cannot be obtained, and if too much, adverse effects such as a deterioration in taste will occur.

Sodium ascorbate (C ₆ H ₇ NaO ₆ ) is the sodium salt of ascorbic acid, and although there is also the sodium salt of erythorbic acid, which is an isomer of ascorbic acid, sodium L-ascorbate is preferred in terms of ease of availability, low cost, etc. The content of sodium L-ascorbate can be quantitatively analyzed, for example, by oxidation-reduction titration in terms of ascorbic acid.

However, ascorbic acid that is not a sodium salt is not suitable as an additive for the present invention because it has a strong sour taste that affects the taste, deteriorates the texture, and has a detrimental effect on leavening agents and the like due to its acidity. Hereinafter, in this specification, sodium L-ascorbate will be referred to simply as sodium ascorbate.

The content of sodium ascorbate in the mixed flour is 0.005% by mass or more and less than 0.50% by mass, preferably 0.007% by mass to 0.30% by mass, and more preferably 0.01% by mass to 0.2% by mass. If too little sodium ascorbate is added, the mold release properties will deteriorate, and if too much is added, a bitter taste will become evident, the taste will deteriorate, the color will become dull, and the appearance will become poor.

Of the main ingredients of flour and/or starch, examples of flour ingredients that can be used include wheat flour, rye flour, barley flour, rice flour, millet flour, barnyard millet flour, pearl barley flour, and corn flour. Of these, wheat flour is preferred, and examples of wheat flour include strong flour, semi-strong flour, medium flour, and weak flour, with weak flour and medium flour being particularly preferred.

In the present invention, the flour may be adjusted to a predetermined particle size before use. When producing flour by crushing, classifying, and sieving grains such as wheat, the optimum flour from the sieved flour may be selected, or flours of multiple particle sizes may be combined and used.

Furthermore, the Japanese snack flour mix of the present invention may contain wheat flour that has been heat-treated. By using wheat flour that has been heat-treated, the dough has the advantage of being crisp and has a light texture. The proportion of heat-treated wheat flour is preferably 50 to 100% by mass, more preferably 70 to 100% by mass, relative to the amount of wheat added.

As the method of heat treatment, a known method can be used. Specific examples include dry heat heating and moist heat heating. For example, in dry heat heating, heating is performed without adding water to the raw materials. Apparatuses that can be used for dry heat heating include rotary kettles, roasting kettles, paddle dryers, hot air dryers, shelf dryers, etc. In moist heat heating, after the moisture content of the raw materials is adjusted by adding water appropriately so that the moisture content is about 13 to 16% by mass, heating is performed in a heated sealed container. Alternatively, heating is performed in a container containing heating steam. Apparatuses that can be used for moist heat heating include sealed heating devices, box-type steamers, etc.

There are no particular restrictions on the heating conditions, but for example, the material is placed in a heating vessel such as a rotary kettle and heated while stirring until the final product temperature reaches 100-120°C, preferably for a total heating time of 30-60 minutes. In addition, the method is not limited to using a heating vessel such as a rotary kettle, and various other methods can be used, such as placing the raw materials in a rotating drum and heating while blowing hot air into it.

As for the starch, raw starches such as tapioca starch, potato starch, corn starch, and the like, as well as processed starches thereof can be used. Examples of processed starches include starches that have been gelatinized, acid-treated, etherified, esterified, or cross-linked. By adding starch, the baked dough tends to become suitably soft, melt in the mouth, and retain its shape, making it less likely to lose its shape.

The content of flour and/or starch in the mixed flour is preferably 40 to 97.985% by mass, more preferably 50 to 95% by mass, and most preferably 70 to 90% by mass.

In addition, the starch content relative to the total amount of flour and starch is preferably 0 to 60% by mass, and more preferably 2.0 to 50.0% by mass.

The mixed flour of the present invention may contain a thickener as a raw material. The thickener has the effect of imparting a certain viscosity to the adjusted dough, making it easier to fix the desired amount of dough in a mold, and improving workability. As the thickener, those generally added to foods can be used, such as xanthan gum, guar gum, tamarind seed gum, roasted bean gum, gellan gum, carrageenan, curdlan, pullulan, etc. The amount of thickener added may be such that the desired viscosity is obtained, and is preferably 0.01 to 1.0% by mass, more preferably 0.01 to 0.8% by mass in the mixed flour.

The mixed flour of the present invention may also contain sugars as a raw material. Sugars are added to adjust the taste of Japanese-style snacks. The sugars to be added may be selected from sugars added to this type of food, and may include, for example, sugar, lactose, maltose, glucose, oligosaccharides, fructose, as well as betaine, xylitol, erythritol, white rough sugar, processed brown sugar, sugar syrup, and raffinose. Among these, sugar and glucose are particularly preferred, and xylitol, erythritol, stevia, licorice, aspartame, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, and the like may be used in the case of a calorie-restricted food. In the present invention, sugars are used in a broad sense, including the sugar-based and non-sugar-based sweeteners exemplified above.

The amount of sugar added varies depending on the sugar used, but when using sugars other than high-intensity sweeteners such as commonly used sugar or glucose, the amount added in the mixed flour is preferably 1.0 to 20.0% by mass, more preferably 2.0 to 15.0% by mass.

In addition to the above ingredients, the Japanese snack mix flour of the present invention can contain various ingredients that are commonly used as ingredients for Japanese snacks. Examples of such ingredients include seasonings (salt, pepper, soy sauce, miso, mirin, sake, monosodium glutamate, etc.), egg products (eg, egg yolk powder, whole egg powder), vegetable protein ingredients such as soy protein, pea protein, and wheat gluten, dairy products (milk, skim milk powder, whey protein, casein, etc.), gelatin, dietary fiber, emulsifiers (sucrose fatty acid esters, glyceric acid fatty acid esters, etc.), dextrin, fats and oils, sweeteners, spices, vitamins, minerals, etc. Among these, the taste and texture of Japanese snacks can be improved by adding egg products, starch, fats and oils, and salt as necessary.

The Japanese snack mix flour of the present invention is suitable for use in Japanese snacks such as imagawayaki (also known as obanyaki or kaitenyaki), taiyaki, ningyoyaki, momiji manju, and takoyaki, which are baked in a baking mold and then released from the mold. However, the scope of application of the Japanese snack mix flour of the present invention is not particularly limited to the above-mentioned example products, and it may also be used to manufacture other Japanese snacks such as okonomiyaki.

The above-mentioned Japanese-style snacks can be obtained by mixing the Japanese-style snack mix flour with other ingredients such as water, milk, and eggs as necessary to form a dough, and then by a known manufacturing method.

For example, they can be manufactured through a process including a preparation step of mixing the Japanese snack mix flour with other ingredients to prepare a dough (batter), a baking step of pouring the prepared dough into a baking mold, adding bean paste or ingredients as necessary, and baking, and a demolding step of removing the baked Japanese snack from the mold.

In particular, it is desirable to have a process in which the mold release step includes opening a baking mold that has a pair of plates that open and close like a hinge, inverting the baking mold so that the surface on which the baked goods are placed faces downward, and allowing the Japanese-style snacks to peel off from the mold due to gravity and fall naturally to release the snacks.

By incorporating a process for demolding through natural falling, special devices and mechanisms required for demolding are no longer necessary, simplifying the entire manufacturing equipment.

1. Production of Taiyaki The ingredients of Example Samples 1 to 3 and Comparative Samples 1 to 4 were prepared by adding sodium ascorbate or calcined alum shown in Table 1 to the total amount of Japanese snack mix flour (hereinafter also referred to as "mix flour") having the composition shown in Table 1, and further mixed with the amount of water shown in Table 1 and homogenized to prepare dough.

The resulting taiyaki dough was baked in a taiyaki baking mold that has two hinged plates that can be baked together by fitting them together. First, a specified amount of dough was poured into one of the plates, which had been preheated to 170°C, and baked at 170°C for 5 minutes. After that, bean paste (standard product) was poured in, and the dough was sandwiched between the other plate, which had been baked in the same way, and baked for another 5 minutes to produce taiyaki.

2. Evaluation method Immediately after baking, each of the obtained taiyaki samples was evaluated by a panelist for releasability and color tone, and then tasted and evaluated for taste. The evaluation was carried out by seven panelists, who rated the samples on a 5-point scale using the evaluation criteria shown in Tables 2 to 4, and the average was calculated.

3. Results The results are shown in Table 5.

As shown in Table 5, the taiyaki of Examples 1 to 3, which used a Japanese-style snack mix flour containing 0.01 to 0.1% by mass of sodium ascorbate, showed good release properties equivalent to or close to those of the taiyaki of Comparative Example 1, which contained burnt alum, compared to the taiyaki of Comparative Example 2, which did not contain burnt alum. The taiyaki of Examples 1 to 3 also had good color and taste.

On the other hand, in the taiyaki of Comparative Examples 3 and 4, in which sodium ascorbate was added in excess beyond the range of the present invention, the release properties were improved to some extent, but the color tone and taste were inferior. This is thought to be due to the adverse effects on color tone and taste caused by the increased amount of sodium ascorbate added.

These results show that by using a Japanese snack mix flour within the scope of this invention, it is possible to obtain mold release properties equivalent to those of conventional snacks without adversely affecting color or taste.

Claims (3)

The mixed flour for Japanese snacks contains grain flour and/or starch and a leavening agent that does not contain alum , and is applied to Japanese snacks baked using a baking mold , and is characterized in that the mixed flour for Japanese snacks contains 0.005% by mass or more and less than 0.50% by mass of sodium ascorbate. The Japanese-style snack mix flour according to claim 1, comprising: 40 to 97.985% by mass of the grain flour and/or starch; 1.0 to 10.0% by mass of the leavening agent; 0.005 to 0.50% by mass of the sodium ascorbate; 0.01 to 1.0% by mass of a thickener; and 1.0 to 20.0% by mass of a sugar. A method for producing Japanese snacks, comprising a preparation step of preparing dough using the Japanese snack mix flour described in claim 1 or 2, a baking step of baking the prepared dough in a baking mold, and a step of releasing the baked Japanese snack from the mold.