Baking & Snack - October 2004 - 66

INGREDIENT TECHNOLOGY

age for bread products," said the president of a base, mix and
concentrate supplier that also processes such grains.
Going beyond wheat, a variety of other flours can be
milled from different grains. Corn flour is a good example.
As pointed out by the corporate accounts manager of a
major producer of corn flour with plants in both the US
and Mexico, "Corn flour is a whole-grain product and has
long been a staple for production of corn tortillas and other Hispanic foods. It is now gaining interest as a 'crossover'
ingredient in sweet goods, breads and rolls, cookies and
crackers, and batter and breading technology."

ᮡ Light in color, whole-wheat flour (in foreground) from a proprietary hard
white wheat refined by a patent-pending process, gives the sweet taste and
smooth texture from refined flour (in scoop), compared with conventional
whole-wheat flour (at left).
CONAGRA FOOD INGREDIENTS

of its own weight before it reaches the oven. The bakery
runs slower, thus hobbling productivity.
WHAT CHOICES? At the International Baking Industry Exposition, a major miller introduced white wheat
whole-wheat flour, milled using a proprietary process,
with the texture and taste of white flour. By using a special cultivar of white wheat and reducing considerably
the size of bran flecks in the flour, the miller achieved a
smoother, more appealing look to finished products.
Referring to the new flour, Dr. Smail said, "It is the first
of several products that will impact the industry, and I
believe that the miller's strategy is targeted in the right
direction. The industry must start developing products
with good taste - familiar tastes - and still deliver
health benefits to the consumer."
In some products, however, bakers want good piece
identity for the whole grains included in the formulation.
Cleaned, unprocessed wheat kernels, sometimes called
"wheat berries," by themselves are too hard to add directly
to doughs. In finished products, unconditioned berries can
"steal" moisture from the surrounding crumb, speeding the
staling reaction. Instead, bakers should use "soaked" grains.
The ingredient supplier does all the work to condition
kernels of whole grains to give them a chewy, not flinty, texture. The supplier standardizes the moisture content of the
grains so the baker need not make formula changes. And the
additional water bound into the grains assures good keeping
quality and longer shelf life. Artisan and sourdough bread,
rye bread, pumpernickel bread, bagels and baguettes, even
muffins and cakes, benefit from their addition.
"Soaked grains can definitely support a whole-grain im-

70 / BAKING & SNACK / October 2004

AT WHAT COST? Increasing Americans' intake of
whole grains comes at a cost, however. To keep calories
constant, those three servings would necessarily replace
some of the six to 11 servings of grain foods now recommended. Critics point to problems with both feasibility
of supply and nutritional outcomes.
As the Wheat Foods Council stated in a letter to USDA
Secretary Ann M. Veneman and HHS Secretary Tommy
G. Thompson, the food pattern suggested by the Dietary
Guidelines Advisory Committee "may be impractical and
could further reduce folic acid consumption."
The council echoed the sentiment also voiced by the
American Bakers Association and the North American
Millers' Association that the guidelines should recognize
the value of whole-grain foods in the diet, but not at the
expense of enriched grains.
The critical importance of the issue was raised with
the dietary guidelines advisory committee by ABA's vicepresident of regulatory and technical services, Lee Sanders. "What kind of impact would occur on the health of
Americans and what changes would occur in the positive
statistics that have been achieved, if Americans stopped
consuming enriched grain foods."
"The current statement 'aim for at least three servings
of whole grains per day, preferably by substituting whole
grains for refined grains' has already been portrayed negatively in the news media," said Elizabeth A. (Betsy) Faga,
president of NAMA, during testimony before the committee. "A more positive way of making the same point would
be 'aim for five to 10 ounces/slices of grain products daily,
including three servings of whole-grain products."
The WFC letter made a point about realistic expectations, claiming that Americans may be able to make up
for the shortfall in folic acic from a cutback in enriched
and fortified grain foods, but doing so would require a
significant increase in their intake of whole-grain foods,
dark-green vegetables and legumes. These are foods, the
council noted, that Americans typically consume at levels
lower than necessary to compensate for the shortfall.
Whole grains are no longer an emerging issue but one
that's here now. And action by bakers will be required to keep
the baking industry and its product in the picture.
Ⅲ

Baking & Snack - October 2004

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