IES63925B2 - A method of marking baked products - Google Patents

Abstract

The crust of baked bread, is marked with trade mark, logo or other informational or design material by the application to the dough surface prior to baking of an edible substance which induces differential crust colouration on baking. The edible substance is sprayed eg ink jet spraying or painted on the surface of the dough and comprises an aqueous or alcohol solution or suspension of one or more of sugar, carbohydrate, proteinaceous material or milk powder. By appropriate selection of the edible substance, the markings may be either lighter or darker in colour after baking than the unmarked portion of the crust.

Description

A METHOD OF MARKING BAKED PRODUCTS The present invention refers to baked products and in particular to a method for applying identifying information to a baked product.

Baked products such as bread and the like have in recent decades been sold prepacked in wrappers on which typically is printed information about the manufacturer and the type of product in addition to trade mark material.

Nevertheless, many local bakeries continue in their 1θ tradition of producing freshly baked products which are bagged after selection by a customer.

In more recent years, the supply of frozen part-baked bread to the in-store bakery business has been growing rapidly.

Cartons of these frozen breads are delivered to retailers 15 who finish the baking in small ovens for 8-10 minutes to change the colour of the crust from a pale white to a golden brown.

Bread delivered in this form to be further baked in ovens cannot obviously be pre-packed in individual packages showing the manufacturers brand or the ingredients or type of bread or weight.

This represents a problem for suppliers as other manufacturers products can be passed off for the supplier's products and there is currently no way of , incorporating a supplier or manufacturer's name associated with the bread. Likewise the identification of particular i. types of bread - such as rye bread, multigrain bread, organic bread etc is made difficult at the point of sale.

Moreover, even with bread which is sold in pre-packaged form, such as small rolls, there is no identification of its type or manufacturer once the packaging has been removed.

Breads which have a message, such as a brand name, incorporated into the crust by imprinting the crust to pick out the message in low or high relief are known. This requires direct deforming impact of a printing tool or a baking tray on the surface of the product and is relatively crude in that the characters or designs imprinted on the crust must be sufficiently large so as to retain their integrity during the baking process. As the product rises and increases its volume during baking, the definition of the imprinted message can be lost if the characters are small and/or the imprinting is insufficiently deep. The use of baking trays having indentations also gives rise to hygiene difficulties on cleaning and to problems on releasing the bread from the tray.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method of marking the crust of a baked product which avoids distorting the surface of the product and which is hygienic and convenient.

The present invention provides a method of marking the crust of a baked or part-baked product, comprising applying an edible marking substance to the outer surface of the product prior to baking, then baking the product for a time sufficient to develop differential crust colouration, at the position of application of the marking substance compared to the non- marked portions.

The marking substance preferably comprises sugar, carbohydrate, protein or milk powder, or combinations thereof in an aqueous or alcohol medium and most preferably comprises starch, glucose or skimmed milk powder or combinations thereof.

Advantageously, the substance is applied to the product by 5 spraying.

The crust of a baked product such as bread can vary in colour according to the recipe or baking process used. The method of the invention provides a means for artificially inducing differential crust colouration in the baked product. By applying a suitable marking substance to the surface of an unbaked or part baked product in discrete areas of the crust during the production process, the marking retains its definition during baking, even after a freeze - thaw cycle, resulting in a change in the crust colour under the marked area compared to the unmarked areas of the crust when the product is baked The marking substance is applied to the crust by direct application (for example with a brush) or by spraying (for example with an ink jet printer), with or without the use of a stencil. It can be applied to the fully proved dough before it is baked, or where appropriate, after part baking and before the product is frozen. The marking mixture can be applied to a product which is subsequently fully baked. In any case, a logo or distinguishing mark and/or lettering appears in the crust after final baking. The mixture incorporates edible ingredients which do not alter the composition of the bread. Preferably it is applied by a jet printer head which is not in contact with the bread surface.

The marking mixture may comprise any edible material which can be prepared in a substantially liquid form to enable it to be applied to the crust. For ink jet printing, the mixture should have a viscosity which is sufficiently low to enable it to be sprayed from a reservoir without blocking the spray heads of the printer. Most typically, the mixture will comprise a sugar, starch or protein, or a mixture thereof, carried in an aqueous or alcohol medium. Suitable choice of material permits the colour and colour intensity of the marking to be selected as desired. For example, it has been found that starch based mixtures tend to produce markings which are lighter in colour then the main part of the crust, whereas glucose mixes tend to produce markings which are darker than the main crust.

The use of ink jet printing enables markings with good definition to be applied to the crust, even for small markings down to at least 1.7 mm in height. Definition can also be adjusted by appropriate choice of marking material. For example, it has been found that an aqueous mixture of skim milk powder gives good print definition.

More than one message, logo or the like may be sprayed onto crust and for this purpose any required number of ink jet sprayers can be provided. While the spraying is more advantageously automated, it will be appreciated that the spraying may also be achieved by a hand-held spray. It will also be appreciated that the mixture may be applied by direct application, for example by brush.

Exemplary mixtures for use in the method of the invention are as follows, the proportions given referring to weight dextrose equivalent 95 dextrose equivalent 95 dextrose equivalent ratios of the components: 100 water 100 water 100 water glucose 75 glucose 100 olucose In the preparation of fully baked bread, the marking mixture is conveniently applied to the crust after the loaf forming and proving steps and prior to the baking step.

For part-baked bread, the mixture can be applied either before or after the part-baking step which itself precedes freezing.

It will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the specific details described herein and that various modifications and alterations are possible within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims (5)

1. A method of marking the crust of a baked or part-baked product, comprising applying an edible marking substance to the outer surface of the product prior to baking, then 5 baking the product for a time sufficient to develop differential crust colouration, at the position of application of the marking substance compared to the nonmarked portions.

2. A method according to claim 1 in which the marking 1 θ substance comprises sugar, carbohydrate, protein or milk powder, or combinations thereof in an aqueous or alcohol medium.

3. A method according to claim 2 in which the marking substance comprises starch, glucose or skimmed milk powder 15 or combinations thereof.

4. A method according any preceding claim in which the marking substance is applied to the product by spraying.

5. A baked or part-baked product whenever produced by a method according to any of claims 1 to 4.