Industrial-scale baking research
Date: 30 June 2003
Developing new products, improving existing processes
An innovative research oven for studying industrial-scale baking processes in detail, developed by Baker Perkins, is being exploited to help food companies develop new products and improve existing processes.
Research conclusions from the Thermal Performance Research oven (TPRO) will contribute to the creation of a new generation of energy-efficient ovens to bake bread, buns, biscuits, cake and pizza.
Dr Francois Pierrel, a Research Associate (Post Doc.) for Heriot Watt University (Edinburgh) has led the research programme as part of his MSc and PhD research projects in thermal energy processes.
The leading research objective was to examine increased rates of heat transfer in baking, mainly by means of the TPRO. Substantial work was conducted to enable the TPRO to replicate zone temperature changes as they appear in full-scale multi-zone ovens. An energy balance was derived from measured results of the entire process and this was generated to depict in real time the energy distribution in the various components of the oven.
A unique computer-aided control system was developed for the TPRO and this provides a platform for developing and analysing heat-transfer enhancement and for baking a wide variety of food products. These tests aided understanding of how the different modes of heat transfer can be used to improve oven performance and to optimise baking profiles.
A baking comfort zone concept (similar to 'thermal comfort' concept in buildings) was developed as an approach to baking optimisation analysis. The baking comfort zone for a given product provides a useful visual indicator, which can be related to a similar indicator of product responses to improve understanding of the baking process.
Additionally, provided adequate instrumentation is available, the baking comfort zone can be utilised by an oven operator at the process control interface to ensure that an appropriate heating profile is being achieved in practice; and also to replicate products in different ovens.
The TPRO is located in the Baker Perkins Innovation Centre at Peterborough. Customers use this facility to develop new products and processes, produce samples for test marketing, and conduct feasibility trials. Total confidentiality is assured, working with or without the help of Baker Perkins' experienced food technologists.
The Innovation Centre contains a wide range of production and laboratory scale equipment in separate bays dedicated to the bakery, biscuit, confectionery, snack and cereal sectors
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