the invention is applicable to any finely particulate gluten which tends to agglomerate excessively when dispersed in aqueous media , and is particularly useful in connection with vital wheat gluten . the invention stems from the initial discovery that vital wheat gluten , exhibiting by itself an excessive tendency to agglomerate when agitated in an aqueous liquid , is readily dispersible in water when pre - mixed with a soy flour , the protein content of which has not been denatured , while pre - mixing with a soy flour treated to denature the soy protein failed to reduce agglomeration . the same results are achieved with peanut flour , navy bean flour , lentil flour , cottonseed flour and rapeseed flour , so long as the protein thereof is undenatured , as well as with the proteins isolated or concentrated in undenatured form from such materials . when the aqueous medium in which the gluten is to be dispersed does not contain a substantial amount of salt , the same results are also obtainable with dairy whey solids . though higher proportions of the additive material can be employed without serious disadvantage other than lack of economy , best results are achieved when the soy flour or other agglomeration - inhibiting additive is included in an amount equal to 3 - 15 % by weight , based on the total weight of the gluten and the agglomeration - inhibiting additive . it is of particular importance , especially when the protein material to be rendered non - agglomerating is vital wheat gluten , to employ that material in a particle size such that the average maximum particle dimension does not exceed 350 microns . when the particle size of the gluten is significantly larger , the effect of the soy flour or like proteinaceous additive in preventing agglomeration of the gluten is markedly reduced . it is advantageous to employ the gluten to be dispersed in a particle size such that most of the gluten has a maximum particle dimension smaller than 150 microns and no substantial proportion thereof has a maximum particle dimension larger than 350 microns . the average maximum particle dimension of the soy flour or other agglomeration - inhibiting additive should not exceed 350 microns in all events and , advantageously , is made to approximate that of the gluten . in particularly advantageous embodiments of the invention , the gluten is initially dry blended with the agglomeration - inhibiting additive to provide a uniform admixture of the two particulate solid materials . alternatively , the gluten and the agglomeration - inhibiting additive are introduced separately into the aqueous medium in which the stable dispersion is to be established . while the invention is generally applicable to all procedures requiring establishment of a stable aqueous dispersion of gluten , it offers special advantages when applied to the problems presented by use of vital wheat gluten as an additive in the production of baked goods , either by the various batch procedures or by the continuous - mix method . with batch procedures , the gluten and the agglomeration - inhibiting additive can be dispersed in all or a portion of the water for the formula or can simply be added to the mix . when the sponge - dough method is used , the gluten and agglomeration - inhibiting additive can be added to the sponge , or to the dough , i . e ., the &# 34 ; remix &# 34 ;, or to both . for the continuous - mix procedure or other procedures using an aqueous brew or broth , the gluten and the agglomeration - inhibiting additive can be dispersed in the water for the brew or broth , or in an amount of water held out of the brew or broth with the gluten dispersion then being added to the brew or broth at an appropriate stage . when employing the invention in connection with brews or broths containing substantial amounts of sodium chloride , more stable dispersions of the gluten in the brew or broth are obtained if the gluten and the agglomeration - inhibiting agent are first dispersed in a portion of the water for the formulation and the dispersion then added to the brew or broth , with the time of addition being so selected that at least three minutes of agitation time will still be available after the dispersion is added . use of dairy whey solids is avoided when the brew or broth contains a substantial proportion of salt . using a waring blender , 200 ml of water was introduced into the bowl of the blender , 25 g of new era vital wheat gluten was added , and the wheat gluten was dispersed by operating the blender for 1 minute . the gluten agglomerated after the dispersion had stood at room temperature for only 30 minutes . the new era vital wheat gluten employed was finely particulate , having the following particle size distribution : ______________________________________percent by wt . particle size ( microns ) ______________________________________ 0 larger than 350 2 300 - 35012 210 - 30018 149 - 21016 105 - 14952 smaller than 105______________________________________ twenty five grams of full fat enzymatically active soy flour and 225 g of the same vital wheat gluten employed in example 1 were placed in a glass jar and tumble - blended by hand for 15 minutes . using a waring blender , 25 g of the resulting mixture and 200 ml water were combined in the bowl and mixed for 1 minute . the resulting dispersion was allowed to stand at room temperature for observation . after 7 hours , no significant agglomeration or settling could be observed . using a waring blender , 200 ml water was placed in the bowl , 25 g of full fat enzymatically active soy flour was added , and the blender then operated for 1 minute to disperse the soy flour . two hundred and twenty five grams of the vital wheat gluten of example 1 was then added and the blender again operated for 1 minute to disperse the gluten . the resulting dispersion was set aside at room temperature for observation . no agglomeration or settling had occurred at the end of 7 hours . the procedure was repeated , except that the vital wheat gluten was dispersed in the water before the soy flour . again , no agglomeration or settling was observed at the end of 7 hours . following the same procedure set out in example 2 , three samples were prepared with the following formulations : ______________________________________weight in gramsingredient sample a sample b sample c______________________________________vital wheat glutenof example 1 243 . 75 237 . 50 231 . 25full fat enzymaticallyactive soy flour 6 . 25 12 . 50 18 . 75 250 . 00 250 . 00 250 . 00______________________________________ twenty five grams of each sample was combined with 200 ml water and each sample was dispersed in its volume of water by manual agitation with a stirring rod . the resulting dispersions were set aside at room temperature for observation . for sample a , agglomeration and settling were observable at between 2 and 3 hours . for samples b and c , no agglomeration or settling were observable at the end of 7 hours . using the same vital wheat gluten as in example 1 , a control dispersion was prepared by stirring 25 g of the gluten into 200 ml of water , using a stirring rod . following the procedure of example 2 , three samples were prepared with the following formulations : ______________________________________weight in gramsingredient sample d sample e sample f______________________________________vital wheat glutenof example 1 237 . 50 231 . 25 225 . 00nutrisoy . sup . 1 soy flour 12 . 50 18 . 75 25 . 00 250 . 00 250 . 00 250 . 00______________________________________ . sup . 1 low fat soy flour sold by archer daniels midland co ., decatur illinois ; containing 0 . 9 % fat , 6 % moisture , 58 % ( dry basis ) protein , by weight , the protein of the soy flour being essentially nondenatured . all particles smaller than 250 microns , average maximum particle dimension smaller than 150 microns . using a stirring rod , each of the three samples was dispersed in 200 ml water . the four dispersions were set aside at room temperature for observation . for the control , extensive agglomeration and settling were observable within 2 hours . in sample d , commencement of agglomeration was observed after 5 hours , but the dispersion was still judged to be pumpable after 7 hours . no agglomeration or settling was observable in sample e after 7 hours . no agglomeration or settling was observable in sample f after 24 hours . following the procedure of example 2 , 225 g of manildra vital wheat gluten was dry blended with 25 g of full fat enzymatically active soy flour to provide sample g . as compared to the wheat gluten of example 1 , the manildra gluten was relatively coarse , having the following particle size distribution : ______________________________________percent by wt . particle size ( microns ) ______________________________________36 larger than 350 8 300 - 350 6 210 - 300 6 149 - 21012 105 - 14932 smaller than 105______________________________________ sample h was prepared by blending 225 g of the wheat gluten of example 1 with 25 g of soy flour in which the protein was essentially undenatured , blending being carried out as in example 2 . sample j was prepared by first sifting the above - described manildra gluten through a no . 70 u . s . standard sieve and then blending 225 g of the finer fraction of that gluten with 25 g of the same soy flour employed for sample h , the gluten of sample j thus all being finer than 210 microns . four brews suitable for producing white bread by the continuous - mix process were prepared according to the following formulation : ______________________________________ingredient weight ( grams ) ______________________________________stage i ( start ) water 610 . 00xpando . sup . 2 2 . 03wytola . sup . 3 8 . 54potassium bromate 0 . 0128ammonium sulfate 0 . 4138stage 2 ( set ) glucose 12 . 20yeast 10 . 17stage 3 ( spike ) salt 21 . 15verv . sup . 4 2 . 85sodium propionate mold inhibitor 0 . 81glucose 65 . 00yeast 10 . 17potassium bromate 0 . 064______________________________________ . sup . 2 a dough conditioner comprising mono and diglycerides and ethexylated monoglyceride , supplied by breddo food products , kansas city , kansas . . sup . 3 a dough conditioner comprising lipoxidase and an enzymeperoxidizable fat supplied by j . r . short milling co ., chicago , illinois . . sup . 4 a dough conditioner comprising calcium stearoyl2 - lactylate and sodium stearoyl2 - lactylate , supplied by patco products division , c . j . patterson co ., kansas city , missouri . mixing is carried out for 30 minutes at 76 ° f . in stage 1 . stage 2 allows fermentation for 45 minutes . stage 3 allows fermentation of 1 hour at 80 °- 81 ° f ., at the end of which time the brew is to be supplied to the preliminary mixer of the continuous - mix dough producing apparatus . agitation is carried out throughout stages 2 and 3 . for one of the four brews , 9 . 15 g of sample g was dispersed in 50 g of the water for the stage 3 and the dispersion was added to the brew at the beginning of that stage . sample h and sample j were dispersed and added to the second and third brews , respectively , in precisely the same fashion as for sample g . for the fourth brew , 9 . 15 g of a dispersible vital wheat gluten product sold commercially by breddo food products corp ., kansas city , kansas , as mg 100 , and described as being in accordance with the aforementioned landfried et al u . s . pat . no . 3 , 362 , 829 was added in precisely the same fashion as for sample g . at the end of stage 3 , each brew was passed through a no . 18 u . s . standard sieve to remove any agglomerated particles . for the brews made with the breddo mg 100 product , sample h and sample j , the screenings each provided only approximately 0 . 75 g of solids . for the brew prepared with sample g , the screening step provided approximately 2 . 5 g of solids . in each case , the solids collected on the sieve were predominantly agglomerated gluten . the 0 . 75 g amounts are considered acceptable . the 2 . 5 g amount is excessive . this example demonstrates that the procedure of the invention inhibits agglomeration of the gluten fully as well as does the coating procedure described in the aforementioned landfried et al u . s . pat . no . 3 , 362 , 829 , and also demonstrates the criticality of employing the gluten of this invention in such finely particulate form that the average maximum particle dimension does not exceed 350 microns . the procedure of example 6 was repeatd with two brews , using sample h of example 6 for one brew and the breddo mg 100 product for the other . in each case , the gluten material was pre - dispersed in 50 ml of water held out of the formulation for stage 3 and the dispersion was added 2 minutes before the completion of stage 3 . in each case , an excessive amount of gluten was retained on the sieve , demonstrating that a longer mixing time , typically at least 3 minutes , is necessary to accomplish adequate dispersion of the gluten through the brew liquid , and that it is advantageous to add the gluten material at the start of stage 3 . proceeding as in example 6 , preparations identical to sample h of that example were tested in a commercial continuous - mix bakery against the breddo mg 100 product , in the production of white bread . the bread produced by the use of sample h was judged to be equally as good as the bread produced with the breddo mg 100 product . pea flour was prepared by grinding dried split green peas in a quaker mill adjusted to yield a rather coarse meal and then passing the meal through a no . 40 u . s . standard sieve to obtain a flour no particles of which were larger than 420 microns , the average maximum particle dimension being smaller than 210 microns . grinding of the peas was carefully done to avoid generation of such heat as would denature the pea protein . the pea flour so obtained analyzed as follows : ______________________________________ percent by wt .. sup . 6______________________________________moisture 11 . 80fat 1 . 07protein . sup . 7 22 . 09ash 2 . 20______________________________________ . sup . 6 as is basis . sup . 7 nitrogen multiplied by 6 . 00 one sample of the pea flour was blended with new era vital wheat gluten having the characteristics set out in example 1 , and a second sample of the pea flour was blended with the manildra vital wheat gluten referred to in example 6 , that relatively coarse gluten having been passed through a no . 40 u . s . standard sieve to provide a gluten of approximately the same average particle size as the pea flour . both mixtures consisted of 90 % by weight gluten and 10 % by weight pea flour . for use as control , a third dry blend was prepared according to example 2 , the control blend thus consisting of 90 % by weight of the new era gluten and 10 % full fat enzymatically active soy flour . three brews suitable for the production of white bread were prepared according to example 6 and the three gluten blends were tested for agglomeration following the procedure of that example . the gluten - pea flour blends were observed to have a non - agglomerating characteristic slightly superior to that of the gluten - soy flour control . the procedure of example 9 was repeated , using navy bean flour in place of the pea flour . the navy bean flour was prepared in the same manner as the pea flour . the gluten - navy bean flour blends were observed to be equally as free from agglomeration as was the gluten - soy flour control blend . analysis of the navy bean flour , on the same basis as for the pea flour of example 9 , was as follows : the procedure of example 9 was repeated , substituting defatted peanut flour for the pea flour , the peanut flour being prepared as was the pea flour except that the raw peanuts were first extracted with hexane . the gluten - peanut flour blends were equal to the gluten - soy flour control blend so far as freedom from agglomeration was concerned . analysis of the peanut flour , on the same basis as for the pea flour of example 9 , was as follows : the procedure of example 9 was repeated , substituting commercial rapeseed flour for the pea flour . the gluten - rapeseed flour blends were observed to be inhibited against agglomeration to approximately the same extent as was the gluten - soy flour control blend . analysis of the commercial rapeseed flour , on the same basis as in example 9 , was as follows : the rapeseed flour was screened and only that portion passing a no . 40 u . s . standard sieve was employed . as used , the rapeseed flour had the following particle size distribution : ______________________________________percent by wt . particle size ( microns ) ______________________________________ 0 larger than 420 2 297 - 42026 177 - 297 2 149 - 17718 105 - 14952 smaller than 105______________________________________ the procedure of example 9 is repeated , substituting commercial detoxified cottonseed flour for the pea flour , with the cottonseed flour being all finer than 420 microns and having an average maximum particle dimension smaller than 210 microns , the gluten - cottonseed flour blends being inhibited against agglomeration of the gluten to approximately the same extent as with the gluten - soy flour control . the procedure of example 9 was repeated , substituting commercial spray dried dairy whey solids for the pea flour and using water containing no significant proportion of sodium chloride other than that introduced by the dairy whey solids . the dairy whey solids were sieved with a no . 80 u . s . standard sieve , and only the smaller fraction , consisting of particles smaller than 177 microns , was employed . the gluten - whey solids blends were observed to be as inhibited against agglomeration as the gluten - soy flour control .
an inherent tendency for particulate wheat gluten to agglomerate when introduced into an aqueous medium is inhibited by mixing the gluten with an edible material , which is rich in protein capable , when interposed between the gluten particles , of interfering with and preventing the hydrogen bonding between protein molecules of the gluten which would otherwise cause the gluten particles to agglomerate . soy flour is particularly effective as the agglomeration - inhibiting additive and can be introduced by pre - mixing with the gluten . the invention is particularly useful in inhibiting agglomeration of vital wheat gluten in the production of yeast - leavened baked goods .