The present invention provides methods for improving the baking properties of cake flour using microwave heating. The microwave treated cake flour is intended as a substitute for chlorinated cake flour. The present unchlorinated, microwave treated cake flour is an essential ingredient in dry mixes for batter baked goods especially high sugar-to-flour ratio layer cakes. In addition to other dry mix ingredients, preferred dry mixes additionally essentially comprise about 0.15% to 0.45% triglycerol monostearate for even greater enhancement of finished baked goods' volume. The method comprises exposing undehydrated cake flour having a moisture content of 12%.+-.2% to sufficient amounts of microwave energy to heat the flour to a temperature of about 230.degree. to 270.degree. F. and to a finished moisture content of less than 6%. Preferred microwave flours are additionally characterized by a peak pasting viscosity of at least 400 Stir Number Units.
A process for improving cake baking properties of wheat flour is disclosed. The process includes the steps of introducing a quantity of wheat flour into a container which is provided with mixing devices; heating the wheat flour at a temperature in the range of 110.degree.-140.degree. C. to dry the wheat flour while injecting nitrogen gas into the container, whereby air exposure of the wheat flour is prevented; rotating the container, thereby continuously mixing the wheat flour with the nitrogen gas during the heating step; and cooling the heated flour to 50.degree. C. while preventing air exposure of the heated flour.
A suspension of a starch-containing product in heated during agitation, whereby the viscosity is registered as a function of the temperature. A curve over the relationship between viscosity an temperature is treated as a property profile for the sample and is compared with another known curve in order to determine the heating properties for the sample. A device for this analysis has an agitator (7), the drive means (10, 11) of which has a power sensor (12) for sensing the power which the agitator is subjected to during the agitating, whereby a measure of the viscosity is obtained. A temperature sensor (13) senses the temperature of the sample.
