Kraft Foods Holdings, Inc.

Kraft Foods Global Brands LLC

Harold Ira Levine

Louise Slade

Jeanny E Zimeri

Diane Louise Gannon

Edward Douglas Howey

Weizhu Yu

Zhen-Yi Yan

Patricia Ann Mozeke

Tim Michael Adrianson

Carolyn Louise Wilhelm

Chi-Fen Wang

Julia L Desrochers

A process is provided for making reduced fat, low fat or no-fat graham-based crackers and flour for the production thereof. The process for making the flour includes providing whole wheat berries having a moisture content of from about 15% by weight to about 20% by weight, radiating the berries with infrared (IR) energy, optionally maintaining the berries at an elevated temperature of from about 80&deg; C. to about 110&deg; C. for a period of time up to about one hour, and cooling, drying and comminuting the treated berries. The moisture content of the berries can be adjusted by moistening or tempering the berries prior to treatment with IR energy. The moisture content, optional tempering conditions, amount of irradiated IR energy, the elevated temperature, and the various treatment periods are sufficient to inactivate lipase and lipoxygenase in the berries yet insufficient to gelatinize more than about 20% of the starch in the berries. The graham flour has excellent shelf-life stability, and can be used to obtain machinable doughs on a mass production, continuous basis. Baked goods made from the flour have a surprisingly crunchy texture.

Method of stabilizing graham flour, and cracker produced from said flour

Growing community of inventors

Morris Plains, NJ, United States of America

Harold Ira Levine