GB2289431A - Mould for baking dough - Google Patents

Abstract

Dough baking apparatus comprises a lower mould part 2, having at least one concavity 5, and an upper mould part 3, having at least one corresponding former 8 such that, in the assembled state, the upper and lower mould parts are spaced from one another, each former 8 lying within a concavity 5 to form a cavity in which dough can be baked, the cavity or cavities being open to the atmosphere via the spacing between the surrounding upper and lower mould parts. The upper and lower mould parts are preferably provided with holes in their non-cavity forming areas to permit passage of air and steam during cooking and observation of the rising and cooking dough. The apparatus enables mass production of cup-shaped dough products having a crust all over. <IMAGE>

Description

Dough Mould The invention relates to an apparatus and method for the proving and baking of dough, and to a dough product thus made.

Baked products, formed before baking to a particular shape by means of a mould, are commonplace, particularly where the uncooked dough is liquid in nature and unlikely to hold a form without support.

Such products are baked in the mould to retain their shape. In the case of bread dough its consistency has allowed the practice of forming the raw dough into a particular shape, placing it on a baking tray and baking it unsupported, although commercial bakeries may nevertheless use moulds for loaves of a particular shape or to ensure consistency of size and shape.

Bread products are increasingly used to form "ready meals", most obviously in the form of filled bread rolls where the roll is cut or torn into two parts and a filling inserted between the halves. This process of splitting the bread is time-consuming and unless carried out by machine lacks consistency in the cutting procedure. To eliminate this step in the production of filled bread rolls, UK patent application no. 2203380 proposes an apparatus for the formation of bread rolls which comprises a substantially closed twopart mould for each roll, formed by a cavity or set of cavities into which corresponding tongue-like formers project. The dough is able to rise and bake around the formers to form bread rolls with hollows into which a filling may be inserted. This has the advantage of providing a crust on all surfaces of the roll including those exposed to the filling, thereby reducing the tendency of the bread to become soggy.

In another use of bread for convenience meals, in particular those served in restaurants, a filling, either hot or cold, has been served in a small hollow loaf of bread. The top and innards of the loaf are removed leaving a cavity to receive the filling, the loaf crust thereby forming an edible bowl from which the meal may be eaten. In the past the loaves used in such an application have had their tops sliced off and the insides removed by hand. Advantageously the top may be placed over the filled loaf for both decorative and practical purposes. However, this manual approach is unsuitable for mass production since it cannot be relied on to produce uniform bread shapes and also involves cutting of the bread, which exposes a soft and porous bread surface.

It is an aim of the present invention to describe an apparatus and method for manufacturing such loaves capable of holding a filling in a manner which is efficient and which produces a consistent and practical product.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a mould for baking dough products comprising a first mould part having at least one concave portion and a second mould part having at least one corresponding former portion adapted in the assembled state of the mould parts to sit in a spaced manner within the concave portion of the first mould part so as to form a mould cavity, wherein the mould cavity is freely open to the atmosphere.

Advantageously the two mould parts have a plurality of concave portions and former or core sections respectively so that several products may be baked at once; the respective cavities are then preferably in communication with each other within the mould.

The mould cavities are arranged to be substantially open to allow the dough to rise fully and freely without any restriction. For this purpose, at least one of the mould parts is preferably provided with holes through which air and steam may pass and also through which the dough may be observed. These holes may cover a substantial part, say 10-40%, of the surface area of the mould part, although the concave and core portions themselves are generally solid. The upper limit is defined essentially only by mechanical considerations.

Preferably, the base of the or each concave portion is arranged so as to be flat so that the finished product can stand in a stable manner. The shape of the product is then generally that of a pot or cup. In further contrast to the mould shown in GB 2 203 380 the lip of the dough can rise more or less freely after reaching the limit of the cavity, as a result of the mould cavity being open to the atmosphere. This gives rise to a pleasing browned edge. In GB 2 203 380 the individual cavities are sealed, which means that the browning effect is not prominent and that steam cannot escape satisfactorily, and in addition the rising of the dough is only detectable in certain of the cavities in which special observation holes are provided. Moulds using the invention can be made to allow sight of all the dough pieces as they reach the top; it is of no consequence if some of them then spread sideways a little. The "lid" can be baked separately so as to fit accurately into the mould of the cup. It can be simply in the form of a teacake with a knob on top.

In a preferred arrangement, the apparatus is provided with a clamping means, such as a set of clips round the edge of the mould, adapted to prevent the mould parts from separating as a result of the expanding characteristics of the rising dough during proving and baking.

Both mould parts may be formed, for example, of pressed, spun and/or stamped steel sheet, or cast aluminium. Preferably, and again in contrast to GB 2203380, the top mould half is flat except for the downwardly protruding former This means that the steam is not trapped in the upper mould half.

With embodiments of the invention, dough products such as loaves, rolls or even cakes may be cooked so as to have a substantially vertically orientated hollow into which a filling may be poured. This filling may be hot or cold, solid or liquid and for a substantial period of time is prevented from leaking through the bread because of the existence of a crust as the inside surface of the hollow.

The invention is also concerned with a method of baking a dough product using a mould as described above, in which a piece of dough of predetermined size is placed in the concave portion, the mould parts are fitted together so that the dough is constrained to rise within the cavity, while the cavity remains freely open to the atmosphere, and the risen dough is then baked. Finally the invention relates also to a cupshaped baked product with a crust all over and having a substantially uniform level top edge; preferably this edge is browned more than the remainder of the baked product.

The invention may be implemented in a number of ways, but one specific embodiment will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a mould for baking dough; Figure 2 is a sectional view of the upper and lower mould parts respectively shown through lines X-X and Y-Y in Figure 1; and Figures 3 and 4 show the upper and lower mould halves respectively.

The dough-baking apparatus 1 comprises a lower mould part 2 and an upper mould part 3 which when assembled form a mould adapted to hold a plurality of dough products in individually constructed moulds. The lower and upper mould parts 2, 3 may be of any dimensions but it is envisaged that they should be adapted to fit either into a standard baker's oven for large scale baking or a conventional domestic oven for catering applications.

The lower mould part 2 is formed from a thermally conductive plate suited to use in an oven into which are pressed individual concavities 5 adapted to receive dough. Each concavity is of the shape to which the finished dough product is to conform. Ideally for free-standing products the bases 6 of the concavities 5 are flattened so that the finished product has a flattened base when baked. The concavities are also tapered in shape so that they are narrower at the base to allow the easy removal of the product.

The upper mould part 3 is similarly constructed from a material suitable for use in the temperatures associated with baking and comprises a plate on which are arranged formers 8 in a pattern corresponding to the arrangement of the concavities 5 of the lower mould part 2. When lowered into the lower mould part 2, the upper mould part 3 is held in relation to the lower part 2 so that the formers 8 lie within the concavities 5 in a spaced manner. It is envisaged that a spacing of the formers 8 from the concavities 5 of approximately 1-2 cm might be appropriate and ideally the formers' shapes are tapered to match the shape of the concavities thereby ensuring that the products have walls of roughly constant thickness.

The plate portions of the upper and lower moulded parts 3, 2 are also spaced apart from one another by a comparable amount, preferably rather more than the cavity spacing, by virtue of a flange 13 on the lower part so that air and steam is able to circulate freely between the plates of the mould parts and the individual concavities. A spacing of 2-4 cm might be appropriate, to ensure that the rising dough does not touch the upper mould part 3.

The space between the mould parts 2, 3 is open to the outside by means of air holes 10 provided in a regular pattern in the plate of the upper part 3 between the formers 8. Such holes may also be provided in the plate of the lower part 2 although it is envisaged that if arranged in the upper part the air holes 10 may advantageously serve as a means of visually checking the risen or baked state of the dough in each of the individual cavities. To this end the holes 10 are arranged regularly around the formers, for instance on the vertices of an octagon, so that a check can be made whether the dough has risen all round the former. The holes also improve heat penetration and allow the escape of steam, and may constitute about a third of the flat area of the upper mould part.

Where the two mould parts are supported on one another, around their common edge in the version shown, alignment points may be provided to ensure that the formers 8 are inserted in a symmetrical manner within the concavities 6. In the embodiment shown the alignment means are afforded by the flange 11 of the lower plate in conjunction with the flange 13 of the upper plate. The fitting of these flanges can be seen to best effect in Figure 2. It will be noted that the lower flange 11 has a double bend, forming a sort of inverted L facing outwards, the outer edge of the L corresponding to the downturned inner corner edge of the upper flange 13. For added stability both flanges have the same height.

Also visible clearly in Figure 2 is a clamping means 12 provided around the periphery of the apparatus; one U-clamp at each end is adequate. Such clamps are necessary not only to ensure the lateral location of the mould parts 2, 3 but also to prevent the separation of the mould parts 2, 3 owing to the considerable force exerted by the rising dough.

Figure 2 also indicates the construction of the mould halves. They are advantageously made starting from a single flat steel sheet, of perhaps 1-2mm thickness, with the future flanges 11, 13 round the edges, in which holes are punched to correspond to the individual cavities. These sheets are shown in Figures 3 and 4, representing the top and bottom halves or trays respectively. Typical dimensions would be for the bottom tray 440x744mm, plus 26mm of flange all round, and 456x762mm for the top tray, with fifteen regularly arranged holes of 113mm and 88mm diameter respectively for the bottom and top trays for the individual cavities.

Into the holes previously formed concavities and formers are inserted and then spot-welded. Typical heights for these would be 65mm and 78mm respectively, which leads to a 13mm additional gap between the horizontal parts of the mould halves compared to the cavities. With the flanges turned over the mould halves are thus completed. Figure 3 also shows the apertures in the top tray for the air circulation, and four quadrants are in fact shown representing four different embodiments; the lower right quadrant corresponds to Figure 1 while other possibilities are shown in the other quadrants, from which it may be seen that the holes represent a substantial minority, or even a majority, of the connecting area between the cavities.

Using the apparatus for the baking of dough products, a measured quantity of dough is inserted into the bottom of each concavity 5. The upper mould part 3 is placed on the lower mould part 2 using the flanges for alignment to ensure that the moulds are correctly orientated and the clamps 12 are applied to ensure that the mould parts 2, 3 are unable to become separated.

The dough is then allowed to rise or prove as necessary without any restriction on its expansion, before being baked in the required conditions. Correct timing is very important to achieve a uniform finished product.

Once baked, the shaped hollow product may be removed ready for filling, and a lid may be applied.

Advantageously, the bread products may be stacked in a space-saving manner because of their shape, as indeed may the mould parts, and may be packaged accordingly.

Although the application has been described with particular application to a mould apparatus having a plurality of mould areas, it is apparent that a single mould for use in the home is also within the scope of the invention. It is also within the scope of the invention for the mould parts to be of any shape, for instance circular, oval or square in plan, provided that a hollow is provided within the product. The invention is also not restricted to bread dough: any rising product could be used, such as liquid batter or cake mixture.

Claims (14)

1. A mould for baking dough products comprising a first mould part having at least one concave portion and a second mould part having at least one corresponding former portion adapted in the assembled state of the moulded parts to sit in a spaced manner within the concave portion of the first mould part so as to form a mould cavity, wherein the mould cavity is freely open to the atmosphere.

2. A mould according to claim 1 in which the first and second mould parts have a plurality of concave portions and former sections respectively, adapted in the assembled state of the mould parts to form a plurality of cavities.

3. A mould according to claim 2 in which the mould cavities are in communication with each other within the mould.

4. A mould according to any preceding claim in which at least one of the mould parts is provided with holes open to the atmosphere.

5. A mould according to claim 4 in which the holes are provided in areas of the mould parts other than the concave or former portions, and over a substantial part of these areas of the mould parts.

6. A mould according to any preceding claim in which the base of the or each concave section is arranged to be flat.

7. A mould according to any preceding claim including a clamping means adapted to prevent the mould parts from separating when in use.

8. A mould according to any preceding claim in which the first mould part and the second mould part are spaced relative to one another by a flange provided on the first mould part.

9. A mould according to any preceding claim made from steel sheet or aluminium sheet.

10. A mould according to any preceding claim in which the second mould part, apart from the protruding former portions, is flat.

11. A mould substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying figures.

12. A method of baking a dough product in a mould according to any preceding claim including the steps of placing a piece of dough in the or each concave portion1 fitting together the mould parts, allowing the dough to rise within the cavity, and baking the dough.

13. A method according to claim 12, when using a mould according to claim 4, in which the dough when risen is visible through the holes.

14. A cup-shaped dough product with a crust all over and having a substantially uniform level top edge.