Oat flour and method of preparation

Abstract

Improved conditioned whole grain oat flours are provided for the improved production of whole grain Ready-To-Eat breakfast cereals, especially puffed. Whole oat groats are steamed for greater times, dry toasted for extended times and milled to provide the present conditioned oat flour. The oat flours have minimal peroxidase activity and a ratio of the HPLC syringic acid peak to ferulic acid peak, of about .gtoreq.2.5 which ratio is characteristic of a toasted flavor attribute. The conditioned oat flour has a Farinograph cook or development time value of about five to 25 minutes indicating partial gelatinization or partial precooking. Employment of the specially conditioned oat flour allows for the production of cooked whole grain oat based cereal doughs having improved desired cooked cereal flavors in traditional extended cook time cereal cookers in reduced times thereby increasing production rates. Also, employment of the present oat flours allows for the production of puffed whole grain oat R-T-E cereals from short residence time cooker extruders which nonetheless have a cooked cereal grain flavor including even by direct expansion.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.