Substrate-limited yeast-leavened refrigerated dough products

#The present invention relates to refrigeratable dough products for use in making edible baked goods. In particular, the invention provides a yeast-leavened dough which can be stored for extended periods of time at refrigeration temperatures.

#A wide range of refrigeratable dough products are currently available to consumers for producing numerous different baked products. These refrigerated doughs range from doughs for biscuits and breads to sweet rolls to cornbread products. These dough products are rather popular with consumers because they are very convenient and easy to use, Most of these products are sold in a pre-proofed state so that they can be opened to remove the dough and the dough can be baked immediately. Packaging and selling doughs in a pre-proofed state omits any necessity on the part of the consumers to carefully proof the dough for an extended period of time before baking it.

#In producing refrigeratable dough products, suitably sized portions of unproofed dough are placed in individual containers. The dough is then proofed within the container, such as by holding the dough at an elevated temperature, causing the dough to expand. The dough will continue to proof until a positive internal pressure of about 15-20 psi is attained; most such containers will rupture or explode if the internal pressure of the container substantially exceeds about 40 psi. Such products are desirably capable of storage at refrigeration temperatures for at least a couple of weeks, and desirably as long as a few months, without any significant degradation of the quality of the dough or any substantial likelihood of having the containers rupture.

#FIG. 1 is a graph showing the volume of carbon dioxide generated by MAL- yeast in a dough composition heat treated at 32.degree. C.;

#FIG. 2 shows the rate of carbon dioxide evolution for the dough shown in FIG. 1;

#FIG. 3 is a graph depicting the rate of carbon dioxide generation over time for a GAL+ yeast in a dough composition held at 30.degree. C.;

#In accordance with the present invention, a dough product is prepared wherein the dough composition and the yeast used therein are chosen in a manner that effectively and controllably limits the leavening action of the yeast by controlling the amount of substrate fermentable by the yeast in the dough. Strains of yeast which do not ferment certain carbohydrates are known in the art; often, two different strains of the same species of yeast are unable to ferment the same sugars. Therefore, a strain of yeast may be utilized in a dough composition which is capable of fermenting only selected sugars. By controlling the total amount of those sugars in the dough composition; the amount of fermentation can be controlled.

#As explained above, even at refrigeration temperatures, most yeast will generate carbon dioxide. If the sugar substrate fermentable by the yeast is limited, carbon dioxide generation will substantially cease when the sugar is exhausted. Hence, by either allowing the yeast to-metabolize the fermentable sugars in the dough for a given period of time prior to canning or controlling the sugar content of the dough, carbon dioxide generation by the yeast can be substantially terminated once a certain predetermined volume has been reached, regardless of the temperature of the dough. Accordingly, the total volume of carbon dioxide generated in the container can be prevented from reaching a level sufficient to increase internal pressure and rupture the container.

#Wheat flours used in most commercial dough manufacturing operations contain about 5 weight percent (wt. %) of damaged starch. Alpha- and beta-amylases (inherent in wheat flour) convert such starch into maltose, among other sugars. Maltose and some of the other sugars produced by the action of the amylase are metabolizable by many strains of yeast.