Foods and beverages: apparatus – Cooking – Confining – conforming or molding support
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-04
2002-10-15
Alexander, Reginald L. (Department: 1761)
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Cooking
Confining, conforming or molding support
C099S413000, C099S400000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06463844
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a baking pan. This invention more particularly relates to a baking pan utilizable in a steaming and baking process in a heated enclosure.
Several steps are involved in making a good loaf of bread. The first step comprises the proper development of dough by kneading of a mixture of flour, water, salt, yeast (chemical leavening agents), and/or other ingredients. The dough is stored at a constant temperature and humidity for a period of time, known as proofing, so that the dough expands due to the generation of carbon dioxide through the reactions of yeast or the chemical leavening agents. The proofed dough is then baked in an oven to develop the necessary texture, crust, color, and flavor.
For mass production, proofing is conducted in a proof chamber or box at a temperature between 90 and 100° F. to accelerate the growth of yeast or the chemical reactions that lead to the production of carbon dioxide. To avoid drying of the outer surface of the dough the relative humidity of the proof chamber or box is generally maintained between 80 and 90%. To proof on a small scale, one or two loaves, of dough of consistent quality for home baking may not be an easy task. Home baking is quite often practiced in winter months when the ambient temperature and relative humidity are lower than the optima for proofing. Covering the dough with a wet cloth or towel or a plastic film is recommended to prevent the surface from becoming dried out. However, the cloth or film may stick to the dough surface so that its removal is very difficult. The proofing time can be quite long when the ambient temperature is low.
As is well known, injecting steam at the beginning of a baking process helps make a better loaf of bread and is the basis for various types of professional and industrial ovens. The steam keeps the surface of the dough moist and extensible to result in a loaf of greater volume without ragged breaks and good interior crumb texture. The steam also leads to a crisper and glossier crust because of the greater swelling of surface starch granules. Through the modifications of the Maillard pathways, the surface color is also affected by the presence of steam.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,776,532 and 5,800,853 disclose a baking method and associated baking pan paraphernalia that make steam available in household ovens for baking a variety of baked goods. This disclosure is directed to improvements in the baking method and related baking apparatus disclosed in those prior patents.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a baking pan apparatus utilizable in a baking and steaming process.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a baking pan utilizable in a food preparation process including an initial proofing portion and a subsequent cooking portion. More specifically, an object of the present invention is to provide at least one baking pan in accordance with the present invention is utilizable in such a food preparation process wherein the cooking portion includes an initial steaming/baking cycle and a subsequent baking only cycle.
These and other objects of the present invention, each attainable by one or more embodiments of the invention, will be apparent from the drawings and descriptions herein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A baking pan according to the present invention is utilizable in a cooking process involving a first steaming/baking cycle and a subsequent baking only cycle, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,776,532 and 5,800,853. The pan is also utilizable in a related or extended cooking method for a baked food product wherein the cooking process includes a dough proofing stage and a baking process. This baking process preferably includes a first cycle of baking and steaming and a second cycle of baking only. Pursuant to the present invention, this cooking method may be carried out with the aid of a cooking apparatus or assembly including a baking pan with a water-receiving internal chamber and a proofing and cooking chamber communicating with the internal chamber via one or more perforations in an upper surface of the baking pan. The proofing and cooking chamber is formed by a cover or lid placed over the upper surface of the baking pan.
A method for producing a cooking dough product utilizes, in accordance with the present invention, a baking-type pan having at least one recess or reservoir, at least one upper surface, and at least one perforation. The proofing method comprises (I) depositing an amount of water in the recess or reservoir, (II) placing, on the upper surface of the pan, at least one piece of a dough containing a leavening agent, and (III) providing a chamber about at least a portion of the dough (preferably all of the dough), the chamber being defined in part by a portion of the upper pan surface including the perforation, and (IV) maintaining the portion of dough in the chamber for a predetermined proofing interval, to allow water vapor to pass from the recess or reservoir via the perforation to increase the humidity in the chamber and to facilitate a rising of the dough.
The method preferably utilizing a baking pan according to the present invention additionally comprises disposing the pan, the dough, and the water in an oven, and turning on the oven for a limited period to heat the oven to a proofing temperature. In this case, an optimal proofing temperature is generated by oven heat. In another approach, the proofing temperature is attained by depositing hot water in the recess or reservoir of the baking pan. A cover or lid is placed on the baking pan so as to define the chamber. This assembly may be placed virtually anywhere, for example, in the oven, on a kitchen counter or on a table top, during the proofing process.
The cooking method preferably further comprises turning on the oven to heat the oven to at least one baking temperature after termination of the predetermined proofing interval and the rising of the dough. The baking pan and the dough may be already in place in the oven during the proofing process or, alternatively, may be placed in the oven only for a baking process. During a first portion of the baking process commencing upon heating of the oven to the baking temperature, the water in the recess or reservoir is converted to steam at least a part of which is fed to a lower surface of the risen dough. After all of the water is converted to steam, the risen dough is baked during a second portion of the baking process.
The cooking method may further comprise, prior to a commencement of the predetermined proofing interval, positioning, on the pan, at least one lid or cover to define the proofing chamber containing at least a portion of the dough. The lid is disposed in the oven together with the pan, the dough, and the water. The water vapor is directed through the perforation to the chamber to increase a level of humidity in the chamber during the proofing interval. This lid or cover may be a preformed rigid element or, alternatively, an extemporaneously formed temporary structure made, for instance, of aluminum foil.
Where the proofing of the dough is followed directly by a combined steaming and baking process, the lid or cover may be retained in position on the pan during the steaming to facilitate a moistening or wetting of upper surfaces of the dough by steam escaping into the proofing chamber, now functioning as a cooking chamber. Thus, at least part of the steam is directed to the chamber to moisten an upper surface of the dough.
The lid may remain in place on the baking pan during the entire proofing, steaming and baking process. Alternatively, the lid may be removed from the pan prior to termination of the second (baking only) portion of the baking process. The baking pan may be removed even prior to the commencement of the second (baking only) portion of the baking process, i.e., during the steaming and baking cycle of the entire process.
A lid or cover utilizable in a proofing and/or baking method pursuant to the present invention may be perforated or non-perfor
Tong Chao-Hsiang
Wang Kenny
Alexander Reginald L.
Coleman Henry
Sapone William
Sudol R. Neil
Testrite Baparoma International LLC
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