As the keto diet has gained popularity, the food and beverage industry has risen to meet the occasion, with products and lines specifically labeled keto and entire brands dedicated to the keto community. Many keto bread recipes continue to use wheat flour, which is high in carbs—resulting in a still relatively high carb “keto” bread. With approximately 12 g carbs per serving, this leaves room for one slice a day while continuing to prioritize the consumption of fruits and vegetables. Other keto bread products achieve a low carb count by incorporating foreign-sounding ingredients such as protein isolates, inulin, and resistant starches.

…you can bake your keto bread and eat it too.

Enter Oat Fiber

With the addition of Oegema Grains’ oat fiber, you can bake your keto bread and eat it too, along with your customers. This versatile ingredient offers the texturization, moisture regulation, and shelf-life-extension of traditional grain breads. While oat fiber does fall within the category of carbohydrates, because it is an insoluble fiber content is deducted from the quantity of “net carbs” counted by those following the keto diet. The utilization of oat fiber therefore allows for a keto product lower in net carbs. Oat fiber can be instrumental in controlling the texture of high-fat keto food products while also preventing bowel obstruction often associated with the keto diet. With its mild oat and familiar flavor, it also achieves better tasting low-carb formulations.

Keto dieters are consistently looking for new and higher quality products that meet their needs and satisfy their taste buds. The demand is there, and they are eager to try innovative keto products.

Email us or give us a call at 541.687.8000 to get in contact with an expert.

The post THE IMPLICATIONS OF OAT FIBER FOR KETO BREAD APPLICATIONS appeared first on Oegema Grains.

On The Surface

Oat fiber is the result of processing an oat’s hull—that is, the outermost, indigestible seed-covering in which the groat is enclosed. In contrast, oat bran is derived from the outermost, edible covering of the groat itself.

Oat Fiber

Light in color and mild in flavor, oat fiber is comprised of primarily insoluble fiber, making it an ideal calorie controller and supporter of gastro-intestinal health (particularly, bulking). Oat fiber can extend the shelf-life of food products due to its water absorption properties and has a variety of texturizing functions applicable to baked goods, meats, and beverages.

Oat fiber is versatile in that it can increase the crumbling texture of pastries while thickening batters and marinades. It can also be used to preserve the crispy or crunchy quality of foods while reducing friability and breakage – creating the perfect tortilla chips or crackers. Still another impressive attribute of this multi-talented ingredient is its ability to increase water absorption while also moderating the rate of water retention, regulating the moisture of the food item and, in some instances, functioning as an anti-caking agent.

Oat Bran

Oat bran, medium brown and rich in flavor, is comprised of mainly soluble fiber, making it an effective anticholesteremic. This oat product is also very useful for altering texture in a variety of ways. Available in different particle sizes, oat bran can be used to improve texture and absorption, increasing crumb moistness for soft, chewy pastries. In a medium particle size, oat bran can also serve as a fitting topping for baked goods.

Clean Label Dietary Fiber

Pure and chemical-free, Oegema Grains oat bran and oat fiber ingredients are extremely beneficial in increasing dietary fiber content and achieving the optimal texture in your food products.

Learn more about Oat Fiber >

Learn more about Oat Bran >

If you would like to request a sample or discuss the various oat fiber and oat bran options Oegema Grains offers and how they might help your formulations, we would love the opportunity to speak with you. We specialize in partnering with food and beverage developers to create unique, innovative ingredients that help you succeed.

Email us or give us a call at 541.687.8000 to get in contact with the appropriate expert.

The post Oat Fiber vs. Oat Bran: What’s the Difference? appeared first on Oegema Grains.

Fiber has proven to be making a comeback for benefits beyond heart health and lowering cholesterol (FDA continues to list dietary fiber as one of the top three “nutrients to get more of,” because “diets higher in dietary fiber can reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.”¹) The latest research is showing that fiber is also a key component to a healthy gut microbiome. And a healthy gut microbiome is key to overall health.

We all know by now that adding fiber in baked goods, whether oat fiber or otherwise, will increase the Total Dietary Fiber (TDF) content.  But did you know that Grain Millers Oat Fiber will do so much more?

Whether you are formulating for breads, sweet goods, cookies, bars, chips, ready-to-eat cereals, or crackers, you may be surprised at how oat fiber can help you reach your goals.

1. CLEAN LABEL

Oegema Grains pioneered a milling-based, chemical-free oat fiber manufacturing process, which ensures product developers can create products with a true source of clean-label dietary fiber.

Unlike other brands of oat fiber and sources of dietary fiber, nothing is added and nothing is taken away in the Oegema Grains process – we never use caustic acids or chemicals which can strip lignin and other nutrients from the oat hull.

As the clean label initiative grows, developers can have confidence that Oegema Grains oat fiber meets their clean label guidelines for wholesome ingredients. Oat fiber from Oegema Grains can be simply labeled as Oat Fiber. It is non-GMO and available gluten-free, organically certified, or conventional.

2. INCREASE TOTAL DIETARY FIBER (TDF)

Oegema Grains oat fiber is very high in total dietary fiber (more than double that of wheat bran), making it easier than ever to reach a “good” or “excellent” source of dietary fiber claim.

3. LOWER COST

Oegema Grains oat fiber is plentiful and low in cost compared to Inulin, pea, chicory, even other oat fiber, as well as other sources of dietary fiber. Oat fiber may also be able to replace or partially replace the functionality of other ingredients in a formulation, such as gums, anti-caking agents, fat replacers, or emulsifiers. This means developers can use oat fiber to lower formula costs.

4. DECREASE CALORIES

The dietary fiber content of Oegema Grains oat fiber contributes zero calories and has significantly fewer calories per gram than most other bakery ingredients, meaning that formulating with oat fiber will help lower calories in your finished products. The calorie content of oat fiber is 24kcal per 100g, which is very low compared to other main baking ingredients such as wheat flour and wheat bran which are 350 and 216, respectively. Oat fiber also increases water absorption which further helps to reduce calories.

5. INCREASE SHELF LIFE

Since Oegema Grains’ oat fiber has high water absorption, it can potentially delay staling and extend shelf life. Oat fiber can also help improve eating qualities such as texture and mouthfeel in the finished product. 

6. RECOGNIZED BY FDA AS DIETARY FIBER

In June 2018 the FDA updated the fiber regulations, giving product developers the official approval to use oat fiber as dietary fiber in baked goods. This is great news for the baking industry since oat fiber is one of the top dietary fibers used in baked goods.

Oat fiber has been and will continue to be a key ingredient in baked goods. Oegema Grains’ oat fiber is not only high in total dietary fiber, but has the added benefits of being minimally processed, clean label, and low calorie with multiple functional benefits which can assist bakery product developers and bakery consumer product companies to provide healthy bakery goods to consumers. Along with protein, fiber is one of the key nutrients that consumers seek out for a healthy diet.

In future posts, we’ll dive into how oat fiber assists developers with applications beyond bakery.

If you would like to request a sample or discuss the various oat fibers Oegema Grains offers and how they might help your formulations, we would love the opportunity to speak with you. We specialize in partnering with food and beverage developers to create unique, innovative ingredients that help you succeed.

Will you be at the IBIE show Sept. 8-11? Stop by our booth #221.

You may also email us or give us a call at 541.687.8000 to get in contact with the appropriate expert.

Related: Baking With High Fiber in Sweet Goods

References:
1. “Key Nutrients and Your Health”

The post 6 Ways Baked Goods & Snacks Can Benefit From Oat Fiber appeared first on Oegema Grains.

Pair this with the hot topic of the FDA’s recent work on better defining what constitutes as fiber. In June, new guidelines were announced on what can be labeled as “dietary fiber.”

However, baking with fiber won’t do any good if you can’t bake with it correctly.

How do you make high fiber sweet goods like muffins or even croissants?

Why is fiber difficult to bake with? Does it have to be?

Why do most high-fiber baked goods taste like cardboard, and how do you avoid that?

What’s the big deal with putting fiber in sweet goods anyways?

In a recent podcast with BAKERpedia, Lin Carson chats with experts who will cover these topics.

To help explain what the new fiber regulations mean for the baking industry, the economic impact, and what else is on the horizon in way of regulations, she chats with Lee Sanders, Senior Vice President, Government Relations & Public Affairs / Corporate Secretary for the American Bakers Association.

And to answer your questions about baking with fiber, Lin chats with our own Roberto Serrano, Vice President of Product Development here at Oegema Grains. He’ll cover how our work with oat fiber is changing the way fiber is used in baking, from water absorption and a gelling capacity that mimics hydrocolloids, to playing a significant role in replacing fat.

Listen to the podcast below or over on BAKERpedia.

Please leave a comment if you have more questions and we’d be happy to answer.

The post Baking With High Fiber in Sweet Goods appeared first on Oegema Grains.

Among the group of fibers on the newly recognized list of dietary fiber sources, Oegema Grains’ oat fiber offers the best opportunity to formulate for clean labels. Oegema Grains utilizes a proprietary, chemical-free, environmentally sound processing technique for all of its oat fiber ingredients, including the market’s first chemical-free and organically certified oat fiber.

Through its proprietary process, Oegema Grains offers oat fiber with a variety of functional characteristics, suitable for applications from beverages to bars, snacks, pasta, cereals, and meat products, including gluten-free, Non-GMO, and organic products.

“Nothing added and nothing taken away” remains the motto for Oegema Grains’ oat fiber, with the company continually monitoring the supply chain from field selection to milling. “In today’s era of demand for transparency and traceability, our oat fiber has always checked all the boxes for discerning consumers,” says Chris Kongsore, Executive Vice President of Oegema Grains. “The recent change in FDA regulations further strengthens our position as a market leader in the supply of organic, chemical-free, clean label dietary oat fiber.”

In food formulation, oat fiber’s functional properties include improved product texture and integrity as well as enhanced crumb softness in baked goods, among others. Oat fiber is cost-effective, possesses a bland natural flavor with no off-odors, and is available in bags, totes, and bulk shipments.

“The functional and physiological benefits of oat fiber and the chemical-free process we use to produce it, make our fiber the preferred dietary fiber for use among formulators for all sorts of applications,” said Roberto Serrano, VP of Product Development for Oegema Grains.

The post New FDA Ruling Allows Oat Fiber for Dietary Fiber Label Claims appeared first on Oegema Grains.