Foods and beverages: apparatus – Cooking – Confining – conforming or molding support
Patent
1996-04-02
1997-12-02
Simone, Timothy F.
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Cooking
Confining, conforming or molding support
99448, 99450, 220 232, 220 234, 220486, 220743, 220912, A21D 800, A21D 806, A47J 2700, A21B 313
Patent
active
056924313
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to bread baking and to a method and apparatus for use in bread baking. More particularly, the invention is concerned with a method and apparatus for use in relation to the moulds or pans in which bread is commercially baked.
The bread baking industry is one of the largest sectors of the world's manufactured food industry. In many areas bread is made in moulds or bread pans which define the final shape of the loaf. Bread pans have changed little in the last 100 years. They are normally made from 0.6 or 0.8 millimetre steel, coated with either tin or aluminium. Since the 1960's the inside of the pans has been coated with a silicone coating to help release the baked loaf and minimise the use of additional release emulsions.
Bread pans are frequently joined together in groups, normally of 4 or 6, to help with the mechanical handling on automated bread plants. Conventionally, the pans are assembled by metal fabricating techniques in the above-mentioned groups. Each pan itself forms an essential part of the structural integrity of the assembly. Each pan is welded to upper and in some cases, lower generally rectangular metallic straps, each of which defines a rectangular space into which the relevant number of pans is assembled. Each strap is endless and thus encloses the assembly of pans at the upper or lower edges of the pans. Between each pair of pans is a pair of short metal spacers. The entire assembly is formed by conventional fabrication techniques. The mechanical wear and operator abuse can be very severe in these bread plants, and sets of bread pans are traditionally designed in a very robust way to withstand these conditions. The result is that a set of 4 bread pans designed to make 4 loafs each weighing 800 grams will in themselves weigh in excess of 5 kilograms. Thus, the bread itself weighs only 39 per cent of the combined weight of the loaves and pans.
The silicone release coating on known bread pans enables a bakery to reduce by one half the amount of release emulsion which would otherwise be needed. The silicone gradually wears away however, and after about 1200 bakes the pans have to be treated by specialists operators to have the coated carbon and remaining silicone chemically stripped away, and a new coat of silicone applied. Typically, the life of a set of industrial bread pans is about 2.5 years and during this period they will be cleaned and reglazed 4 times.
It can thus be seen that conventional bread pan assemblies comprise a generally frame-like structure which includes the pans themselves. These pans are individually constructed so as to have sufficient strength in themselves to withstand the rigours of life in a commercial bakery. However, the pans are themselves welded into and form part of the frame work of the assembly. The pans themselves provide the vertical structure between the two upper and, in some cases lower endless straps which link the pans.
Accordingly, we have identified particular shortcomings of the conventional bread baking pan assembly, these shortcomings including the following. Firstly, there is the considerable weight of the assembly, as mentioned above. As a result, the thermal capacity of the assembly is correspondingly high and heat losses between successive bakings between the baking temperature of 250 degrees celsius and the dough introductory pan temperature of 60 degrees celsius are considerable. Likewise, there is a significant problem in terms of the difficulties of servicing the pans. It is a long and expensive process. Technical developments in this area have apparently been directed at improving this ease of service. A further factor concerns the limitations imposed on the coating which can be used on bread pans, this limitation arising from the need for the pan to be at least fairly readily serviced in the manner explained. A further factor is that, as mentioned, the entire assembly of bread pans and linking frame structure is discarded when the assembly has been used to an extent that sticking is a problem and further servicing
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Mackies (UK) Limited
Simone Timothy F.
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