For centuries, grains have been grown and harvested as one of the most basic food staples. Grains including corn, wheat, rye, oats and others are traditionally ground into flour for use as the main building block for making a variety of baked goods including breads, pastas, tortillas and dessert items.
Regardless of the grain type, the individual grain kernels comprise a fibrous exterior shell referred to as bran, an interior starch portion called the endosperm, and a nutrient-rich core called the germ. During milling of the grain kernels, processes can be used to separate and remove the bran and germ from the endosperm resulting in a refined grain that is almost pure starch. While refined grains have advantages such as appearance and consistency, health studies have suggested that diets high in starches, like those from refined grains, play a role in certain unhealthy conditions such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes among others. Conversely, many of these same studies have indicated that the use of whole grains or grains that contain the entire kernel including the bran, endosperm and germ, promote certain health advantages.
One reason suggested for the health advantages associated with whole grains is that the bran and germ are both the nutrient-rich portions of the grain kernel and include concentrated portions of essential vitamins and nutrients. Further, the fibrous make-up of bran provides an excellent source of dietary fiber. Studies have shown that diets rich in whole grains can reduce the risks of heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers. Furthermore, other studies have suggested that individuals who consume whole grains tend to eat less and as a consequence, may weigh less or lose weight. In addition to the health benefits, the use of whole grains, for example in bread, is easily identifiable in the flour and consequently the bread is not a homogenous mixture. Since individual whole grain pieces are visibly identifiable and texturally distinguishable by the consumer, the mixture provides the appearance of a healthier alternative.
While the use of whole grains in baking provides numerous health benefits, these same whole grains require time-consuming preparation techniques to make appealing baked goods. In order to use whole grains in traditional baked goods, the whole grains must be soaked in water for 4-8 hours prior to baking. Otherwise, the whole grains will tend to absorb the water from the surrounding ingredients during the baking process such that the finished product has “hard” and/or “dry” regions that can negatively affect the quality of the baked good. Having to soak whole grains for extended periods of time (4 hours or more) substantially increases preparation time and reduces the throughput of the baked goods.
One approach that has been utilized to avoid the extended soaking time for whole grains is to instantize the grain during the milling process. Instantizing grain involves the process of heating grain kernels such that the internal starch of the endosperm is greater than 75% gelatinized. Gelatinization of starch refers to a process of creating fractures within the individual starch granules such that water or moisture has a point of entry and can be absorbed quickly by the starch granules. An example of an instantized grain is “instant oatmeal” that immediately absorbs hot water and takes on a pasty consistency. Typically, the process of instantizing grain consists of exposing grain kernels to an infrared heat source such that the internal moisture, typically at least 13% by weight, of the grain kernels, is quickly converted to steam which subsequently bursts or cracks the individual starch granules. While instant grains can be used to reduce the overall soak period of whole grains, instant grains suffer from the drawback that when exposed to water, the starch granules basically disintegrate due to their high gelatinization and the granules become indistinguishable in both appearance and texture to a consumer of the baked good.
As such, it would be advantageous to have a whole grain product that is identifiable to the consumer as a whole grain that includes all of the desirable health characteristics associated with whole grains and can be used in a baked good without the need to subject the whole grain to hours of pre-soak.