MXPA00009692A - Method and plant for baking using steam - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for producing baked articles comprises the successive steps of mixing a dough, forming the dough, proofing the formed dough, and baking the proofed dough. The formed dough is heated only by steaming thereof as at least a part of at least one of the steps of proofing and baking of the dough. Thus, the steaming may be performed as a start of the proofing of the dough, as a finish of the proofing of the dough, or the whole proofing of the dough may be performed only by the steaming thereof. A plant for producing baked articles comprises a separate housing for heating the formed dough only by steaming thereof as at least a part of the proofing or the backing.

Description

METHOD AND MACHINERY FOR BAKING USING STEAM DESCRIPTIVE MEMORY This invention relates, in general, to baked goods produced by the successive steps of mixing the dough, forming dough, lightening the dough formed and baking the lightened dough. The production of baked goods such as bread, toasted bread cubes and bread crumbs on an industrial scale is still a very laborious, intensive and time-consuming process. Therefore, the main objective of this invention is to improve the prior art processes to accelerate them by decreasing the time to lighten the dough and / or time to bake. According to one aspect of the invention, this objective is achieved if the dough is heated only by vaporization for at least part of at least one of the periods used by the lightening and baking stages of the dough. Said heating of the dough during a first part of the time used for the lightening of the dough results in a considerable reduction of the lightening time, especially if the dough formed is lightened only by vaporization; that is, when normal lightening is completely eliminated. Heating the dough during the final part of the time used for lightening also results in a reduction in the lightening time due to a rapid increase in the volume of the dough. These favorable results come from the use of vaporization as the only means of providing heat for lightening, which allows lightening to be carried out at higher temperatures than those normally used, as a consequence of the high humidity generated by this form of vaporization . More specifically, high humidity provides better heat transfer to the dough and prevents the surface of the dough from drying out. Said dryness would result from the use of any other heating means and could create an incipient crust that prevents the dough from rising during lightening. The normal lightening of the yeast-containing dough is carried out at temperatures ranging from 32 ° to 42 ° C. According to the present invention, the lightening temperature can be raised to more than about 45 ° C, but less than 65 ° C, when the lightening is done only by means of vaporization. As a consequence of the elevated temperature, the lightening time can be shortened to approximately 3 minutes. When vaporization is employed during the first part of the time used for the baking step, the total baking time may be reduced as a result of an improvement in the degree of heat transfer. In addition, using steam as the sole heating means results in additional moisture retention and a smoother surface, which, in turn, prolongs shelf life and inhibits mold growth. According to the invention, various characteristics of the crust, such as brightness, uniformity, hardness, thickness and color, may be influenced by the variation of the vaporization time and temperature during vaporization. Figure 1 is a flow diagram showing the machinery for carrying out the method according to the embodiment of this invention. Figure 1 illustrates a line and the steps carried out along it to produce toasted bread cubes, where in a first stage, the dough is mixed and then cut into pieces. The pieces of dough, which have a height of 2 to 4 cm and a temperature of approximately 30 ° C, are placed on a hermetic conveyor belt and heated by means of a heater placed below the path of the conveyor belt, such so that the dough pieces are exposed to a temperature of about 180 ° C for a period of about 1 minute. Optionally, heaters placed on the sides of the mass on the conveyor belt can also be used. The heat exposure hardens the lower surface of the dough pieces, in such a way that a crust forms. This crust allows to handle the pieces of dough in the remaining procedure, without leaves or similar, and even transport them on a foraminous conveyor belt; for example, a ribbon of wire mesh or common wire that follows a helical path. Therefore, the formation of the crust allows a continuous processing of the mass. Preferably, the dough pieces are also heated from above, producing a uniform upper surface in the finally baked dough pieces, which facilitates the slicing and cutting of the pieces baked in cubes. Also, this heating produces a small volume increase in the dough pieces. Now the pieces of dough are transferred to a foraminous conveyor belt to transport them through a vaporization chamber. The vaporization chamber is heated with steam only at a temperature of approximately 65 ° C. The pieces of dough remain in the steaming chamber for approximately 2 to 4 minutes and through lightening reach an increasing volume which results in a height of 6 to 9 cm. Therefore, if the dough pieces are subjected to an atmosphere containing water vapor at saturation point or near this point at a temperature greater than about 45 ° C, the total lightening time is considerably reduced. From the vaporization chamber, the dough pieces are transferred to another foraminous conveyor belt which carries the dough through an oven along a helical path. The oven temperature is maintained at approximately 190 ° C by means of a stream of hot air and adding steam to obtain a vapor by volume of 40 to 85%. The baking time of the dough pieces in the oven is approximately 30 minutes. The baked pieces are transferred from the kiln outlet to another foraminous conveyor belt adapted to follow a helical path in a cooler, in which air is blown at a temperature of about 5 ° C at a rate of about 3 m / sec beyond of the baked pieces for approximately 60 minutes. The cold baked pieces are then transferred to a cube cutter (or a mill) and the produced cubes are finally dried for 45 minutes in a dryer by an air flow of about 1 m / sec and a temperature of 70 to 150 ° C. . However, the baked pieces can be used without performing any disintegration; that is, as common loaves of bread. The skilled person understands that various modifications of the previously described embodiment of a method and machinery for baking using steam are conceivable within the scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims. Accordingly, the vaporization can be carried out initially during baking as a separate processing step; for example, at a temperature of approximately 90 to 110 ° C. In addition, the dough can be formed as one or more continuous pieces or slices on the sealed conveyor belt or can be formed into trays or sheets. Finally, it should be noted that each of the successive stages is preferably carried out in at least one separate apparatus, such as a blender, a slicer, a cutter, a crusher, a dough lighter, a vaporizer, an oven , a cooler, a mill or cube cutter, and a dryer.

Claims (21)

NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION CLAIMS

1. - A method for producing baked goods by successive steps of mixing the dough, forming the dough, lightening the dough formed and baking the lightened dough, which consists of heating the dough formed only by vaporization for at least a part of at least one of the periods used by the stages of lightening and baking of the dough.

2. A method according to claim 1, further characterized in that the vaporization is carried out during a first part of the time used for lightening the mass.

3. A method according to claim 1, further characterized in that the vaporization is performed during the final part of the time used for the lightening of the dough.

4. A method according to claim 1, further characterized in that the formed mass is lightened only by vaporization.

5. A method according to any of claims 1 to 4, further characterized in that the vaporization is performed initially during baking as a separate processing step.

6. - A method according to any of claims 1 to 4, further characterized in that the formed mass is lightened by vaporization to more than about 45 ° C.

7. A method according to claim 5, further characterized in that the lightened mass is vaporized at approximately 90-110 ° C initially during baking.

8. A method according to claim 1, further characterized in that the vaporization for the lightening is carried out in a separate place.

9. A method according to claim 1, further characterized in that the dough is transferred through a foraminous conveyor belt through each of the stages of lightening and baking.

10. A method according to claim 9, further characterized in that the dough is formed in a hermetic conveyor belt and heated at least from below to form a crust that supports the mass in the foraminous conveyor belt in each of the stages of lightening and baking.

11. A method according to claim 10, further characterized in that the dough is formed as a continuous piece in the hermetic conveyor belt.

12. - A method according to claim 10, further characterized in that the dough is placed as separate pieces in the hermetic conveyor belt.

13. A method according to claim 10, further characterized in that each of the successive steps is carried out in at least one separate apparatus.

14. A method according to claim 9, further characterized in that the dough is formed into sheets or trays that support the dough in the foraminous conveyor belt in each of the stages of lightening and baking.

15. A method for producing baked products through the successive stages of mixing the dough, forming the dough, lightening the dough formed and baking the lightened dough, which consists in heating the dough formed only by vaporization during at least a part of the time used by the lightening stage of the dough.

16. A method according to claim 15, further characterized in that the formed mass is lightened to more than about 45 ° C by vaporization.

17. A method to produce baked products through the successive stages of mixing the dough, forming the dough, lightening the dough formed and baking the lightened dough, which consists of heating the dough formed only by vaporization during a first part of the time used by the baking stage of the dough.

18. - A method according to claim 17, further characterized in that the dough is subjected to an atmosphere containing steam at a temperature of about 90-110 ° C initially during baking.

19. A method for producing baked products through the successive steps of mixing the dough, forming dough, lightening the dough formed and baking the lightened dough, which consists in heating the dough formed only by vaporization during at least a part of at least one of the periods used by the stages of lightening and baking of the dough; wherein the formed mass is lightened to more than about 45 ° C by vaporization; wherein the vaporization is carried out initially during baking as a separate processing step; wherein the dough is subjected to an atmosphere containing water vapor at the temperature of about 90-110 ° C initially during baking; wherein the dough is transferred by means of a foraminous conveyor belt through each of the lightening and baking stages; and wherein the dough is formed on a hermetic conveyor belt and heated at least from below to form a crust that supports the dough on the foraminous conveyor belt at each of the lightening and baking stages. 20.- A machinery to produce baked products through the successive stages of mixing the dough, forming the dough, lightening the dough formed and baking the lightened dough, which consists of a separate place to heat the dough formed only by vaporization for at least a part of the time used for the lightening of the dough. 21. A machine according to claim 20, further characterized in that it consists of another separate place to heat the lightened mass only by vaporization during a first part of time for the baking of the dough.