Baking process for bakery products and combination cooking apparatus

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for baking baked goods (20) in a combination baking appliance (10) comprising a baking chamber (16) and a microwave source (22). The baking chamber (16) is loaded with the baked goods (20) to be baked, in a layer thickness of a predetermined thickness. A baking process is started with a predetermined baking time. The microwave source (22) is activated during the ongoing baking process after a defined waiting time that depends on the predetermined baking time and / or the layer thickness of the baked goods (20). A combination baking appliance (10) is further described. The microwave source (22) is activated with a microwave profile that exhibits power levels and ensures that the output power of the microwave source (22) varies. The duration of the respective power levels is capable of being dynamically adjusted during the baking process. Figure 1

Description

Title of the invention: Method for cooking bakery products and mixed cooking apparatus

[0001] The invention relates to a method for baking bakery products in a mixed baking appliance. The invention further relates to a mixed baking appliance for baking bakery products.

[0002] The state of the art discloses mixed cooking appliances which are used in large kitchens or professional kitchens, for example in canteens or restaurants. These mixed cooking appliances are characterized by the fact that unlike domestic ovens, they have in addition to a heating device at least one energy source which provides energy for cooking products to be cooked.

[0003] The mixed cooking appliances known from the state of the art are usually used for the most different types of products to be cooked. In such a mixed cooking appliance, it is for example possible to cook meat dishes, pizzas, fish as well as bakery products, the different types of products to be cooked having different requirements with regard to the cooking process, i.e. the cooking time, the energy input and the power profile(s) of the energy source(s). These different requirements are represented in a cooking program which is specific to the product to be cooked and thus depends on the product.

[0004] It has been found that mixed cooking appliances which have a microwave source as an additional energy source do not allow the bakery products to be obtained in the desired manner with regard to the quality of the product at the end of the baking process. Therefore, it has been planned so far to bake the bakery products only with energy supplied by a heating device, i.e. thermal energy.

[0005] Since until now it has only been possible to use one energy source to obtain the desired product quality, the cooking process takes correspondingly longer.

[0006] Document US 3,569,656 A discloses a combination cooking appliance in which a fixed power microwave source is activated at the end of a cooking process, the microwave power being provided by microwave pulses.

[0007] The aim of the invention is to provide an improved method for baking bakery products with a combination baking appliance, as well as a corresponding combination baking appliance for baking the bakery products as efficiently as possible and at the same time achieving the desired product quality.

[0008] According to the invention, the aim is achieved by a method for baking bakery products with a mixed cooking appliance which has a cooking space and a microwave source. The method comprises the following steps: - loading the baking space with the bakery product to be baked with a layer thickness, - starting a cooking process with a predetermined cooking time, and - activating the microwave source during the ongoing baking process after a defined waiting time which depends on the predetermined baking time and / or the layer thickness of the baked product. The microwave source is activated with a microwave profile which has power levels and ensures that an output power of the microwave source varies. The duration of the respective power levels is able to be dynamically adapted during the baking process.

[0009] According to the invention, the aim is further achieved by a combination cooking appliance for cooking bakery products, comprising a cooking space, a microwave source and a control. The control is arranged to start a cooking process with a predetermined cooking time and to activate a microwave source during the ongoing cooking process after a defined waiting time which depends on the defined cooking time and / or the layer thickness of the bakery product. The control is arranged to activate the microwave source with a microwave profile which has power levels and ensures that an output power of the microwave source varies, and the control is arranged to adapt the duration of the respective power levels dynamically during the cooking process.

[0010] The basic idea of ​​the invention is to activate the microwave source only after the defined waiting time has elapsed, the waiting time depending on the baking time or the layer thickness of the bakery product. This means that the microwave source is not activated directly after loading the baking space with the bakery product to be baked, but only after the defined waiting time has elapsed, i.e. after a determined baking time which represents a part of the predetermined baking time. It has been found that bakery products with different layer thicknesses have different requirements with regard to the microwave energy. The time at which the microwave source is activated depends on the predetermined total baking time of the respective bakery product, which in turn depends on the specific bakery product, in particular its typical layer thickness.For example, the higher the layer thickness of the baked product, the longer the set waiting time until the source is activated. microwave. The layer thickness also influences the predetermined cooking time, as a thicker layer typically results in a longer cooking time. Ultimately, however, this depends on the specific baked good being cooked.

[0011] Due to the waiting time after which the microwave source is activated, the bakery product usually gets enough time during the baking process to form a first structure, for example a crust on the surface. Only then is the microwave source activated to supply energy to the interior of the bakery product, i.e. to a central area of ​​the bakery product.

[0012] The microwave source can be activated with a microwave profile. The microwave profile ensures that the output power of the microwave source varies.

[0013] Each type of product to be cooked, i.e. each type of bakery product, can be associated with a microwave profile having different power levels. The length of the different power levels, i.e. their respective duration, can be variable. The respective length can be dynamically adapted during the cooking process. The respective length can also be a function of the quantity.

[0014] The microwave energy to be supplied by each power level can be defined by the duration of the respective power level.

[0015] Since a first power level has a power that is three times that of a second power level, this means that both power levels provide the same microwave energy when the duration of the second power level is three times the length of the first power level.

[0016] The microwave profile provides, for example, that the microwave source is activated with a maximum microwave power for the cooking process, which is reduced in stages. The maximum microwave power for the cooking process may also depend on the type of product to be cooked, i.e. the type of bakery product.

[0017] The microwave energy to be supplied in total can be defined, i.e., the integral of the microwave power as a function of time, the microwave power being supplied at different power levels.

[0018] The different power levels of the microwave profile thus each have a duration which is capable of being dynamically adapted during the cooking process. The different power levels of the microwave profile also have different powers.

[0019] It is thus possible to adapt the microwave energy supplied at each power level by adapting the duration of the different power levels of the microwave profile. Care must then be taken not to exceed the total microwave energy to be supplied.

[0020] The power of the microwave source can generally be adjusted by pulse width modulation (PWM), particularly in the case of a magnetron as a microwave source. This means that a power level has a defined pulse width to provide the power associated with the power level. The idle time between two microwave pulses therefore does not represent a power level but serves to achieve the power level, since otherwise the microwave source would always operate at 100% power.

[0021] In other words, a power level always has a power other than zero.

[0022] The waiting time in a baking program or baking path is generally variable since it depends on the thickness of the layer or the baking time of the bakery product. It is thus possible to adapt individually to the type of bakery product, even when the same baking program or baking path has been chosen for the different types of bakery product.

[0023] One aspect provides that the microwave source is activated only when the bakery product to be baked has risen. The waiting time can thus be chosen to be such a length that the bakery product to be baked has already risen and thus changed considerably in height.

[0024] A check whether the bakery product has actually risen can be carried out by means of a sensor system, for example a camera, to ensure that the product has actually risen.

[0025] The waiting time corresponds in particular to at least 10% of the baking time, preferably at least 13%, for example 22%. In other words, the microwave source is activated when the quotient of a current operating time of the baking process by the predetermined baking time is greater than 0.1 or greater than 0.13, for example 0.22. It has been found that this ratio is sufficiently long to ensure that the bakery product to be baked has risen. Therefore, it is possible to activate the microwave source when the above-mentioned quotient is reached to supply microwave energy into the bakery product to be baked.

[0026] It may further be provided that the waiting time is less than 40% of the cooking time, preferably 30% at most, for example 22%. In other words, the microwave source is activated when the quotient of an operating time current cooking process by the predetermined cooking time is less than 0.4 or less than 0.3, for example 0.22.

[0027] In other words, the waiting time is between 10% and 40% of the cooking time, in particular between 13% and 30% of the cooking time, for example exactly 22% of the cooking time.

[0028] The layer thickness generally already has an influence on the predetermined baking time, since a higher layer thickness typically results in an extension of the predefined baking time. The layer thickness therefore has an indirect effect on the defined waiting time, insofar as this depends exclusively and directly on the predefined baking time.

[0029] According to another aspect, the combination cooking appliance has a heating device which is (already) activated when the cooking process is started. The heating device is a conventional heating device which ensures the cooking space temperature in the cooking space. Thermal energy is generally supplied for this purpose.

[0030] Another aspect provides that a preheating phase takes place before loading the cooking space in order to achieve a cooking space temperature intended for the cooking process in the cooking space. The cooking space is thus preheated accordingly, the heating device being used for this purpose. Appropriate preheating of the combination cooking appliance is thus ensured, i.e. the cooking space temperature intended for the cooking process is reached.

[0031] When loading the cooking space, the cooking space temperature inevitably drops for a short time due to the opening of a cooking space door. However, due to the defined waiting time, it is ensured that the cooking space temperature intended for the cooking process is reached when the microwave source is activated.

[0032] Therefore, the microwave source can only be activated when the cooking space temperature intended for the cooking process has been reached in the cooking space. The loading of the cooking space also has no influence on this, since the microwave source is only activated after the defined waiting time, i.e. when the cooking space temperature intended for the cooking process is reached again.

[0033] Alternatively, it is also possible to provide that the microwave source is activated before a cooking space temperature intended for the cooking process is reached in the cooking space. This is the case, for example, when the cooking space of the cooking appliance is fully loaded, since under these circumstances it may take longer before the cooking space temperature intended for the cooking process is actually reached. In other words, the proportion of the total cooking time is reduced when the cooking space is completely filled or loaded, compared to a low cooking space load, so that the cooking space temperature intended for the cooking process has possibly been reached after the waiting time has elapsed. The microwave source, which is activated after the waiting time has elapsed, is therefore in this case activated before the cooking space temperature intended for the cooking process has been reached.

[0034] The thickness of the layer of the baked product is the height of a batter in a cake pan. A different pan is used depending on the baked product to be baked. For example, a pound cake is baked in a loaf pan, while a sponge cake is baked in a flat pan, such as a baking sheet. Therefore, the type of baked product to be baked has an influence on the pan to be used, which in turn influences the thickness of the layer, even if the amount of batter is the same. Therefore, it is not necessarily the amount of batter that matters, but the thickness of the layer.

[0035] The quantity of product to be cooked, however, generally also has an influence, since a double quantity, for example, results in a longer cooking time than a single quantity, even if the cooking time does not necessarily have to be doubled. This is also explained by the fact that part of the additional energy required due to the higher quantity of product to be cooked is made available by microwave energy, i.e. after activation of the microwave source.

[0036] The bakery product to be baked is, for example, a cake or a sponge cake. These are typical bakery products that have a defined layer thickness in a mold. The respective layer thicknesses, however, differ from each other.

[0037] The baking program or baking path intended for bakery products is therefore also called the "cake / sponge" baking program or baking path.

[0038] Since these are bakery products, the baking process corresponds to an oven baking process.

[0039] Other advantages and characteristics of the invention will emerge from the following description and from the drawings to which reference is made and in which:

[0040] - [Fig.l] shows a schematic view of a mixed cooking appliance according to the invention, and

[0041] - [Fig.2] shows a time curve illustrating the cooking process of products bakery according to the invention.

[0042] [Fig.l] shows a mixed cooking appliance 10 for cooking bakery products, which has a housing 12 which surrounds a technical space 14 as well as a cooking space 16.

[0043] The combination cooking appliance 10 has a heating device 18, which can also be designated as a heat source. The heating device 18 makes it possible to set a cooking space temperature in the cooking space 16 in order to cook a bakery product 20 present in the cooking space 16 by means of thermal energy ("heat energy").

[0044] The mixed cooking appliance 10 may further have a steam generator 19 and / or a fan in order to regulate a cooking space atmosphere in the cooking space 16.

[0045] In the embodiment shown, the cooking appliance 10 further comprises a microwave source 22 which is arranged to bring microwave radiation, i.e. microwave energy, into the cooking space 16 via antennas 23 in order to supply the bakery product 20 to be cooked additionally with energy in the form of microwave energy.

[0046] The bakery product 20 is thus supplied with energy by the thermal heating device 18 as well as by the microwave source 22, which supplies microwave energy into the bakery product 20 by the introduced microwave radiation.

[0047] The mixed cooking appliance 10 further has a control 24 which is connected both to the microwave source 22 and to the heating device 18, so that the control 24 is capable of controlling the heating device 18 as well as the microwave source 22.

[0048] The heating device 18, the microwave source 22 and the control 24 are housed in the technical space 14, at least the heating device 16 and the microwave source 22 being associated with the cooking space 16, so that the bakery product 20 arranged in the cooking space 16 is exposed to the thermal energy supplied by the heating device 18 and to the microwave energy supplied by the microwave source 22.

[0049] The control 24 is used in principle to control a baking process taking place in the baking space 16, i.e. to execute a baking program or a baking path, in order to bake the bakery product 20, i.e. to bake it.

[0050] In a first step, the baking space 16 is loaded with the bakery product 20 to be baked with a layer thickness. The layer thickness corresponds to the height of a dough in a mold. The bakery product 20 to be baked is, for example, a cake placed in a cake mold. Alternatively, the bakery product 20 to be baked may be a sponge cake placed in a sponge mold.

[0051] In a second step, a baking process is started with a predefined baking time, so that the bakery product 20 to be baked is baked, i.e. baked, due to the thermal energy supplied by the heating device 18.

[0052] Due to the thermal energy to which the bakery product 20 is exposed, it is ensured that the bakery product 20 to be baked can form a first structure, for example a crust on the surface. This also results in the bakery product 20 to be baked swelling.

[0053] After a defined waiting time, the microwave source 22 is activated by the control 24 during the elapsed cooking process. Thus, the bakery product 20 to be cooked is simultaneously exposed to both the thermal energy of the heating device 18 and the microwave energy of the microwave source 22.

[0054] The defined waiting time after which the microwave source 22 is activated depends on the predetermined cooking time of the cooking process and / or the thickness of the layer of the bakery product 22. The thickness of the layer of the bakery product 22 also has an influence on the predetermined cooking time of the cooking process.

[0055] The waiting time is typically chosen so that the bakery product 20 to be baked has already risen. In other words, the microwave source 22 is activated only when the bakery product 20 to be baked has already risen.

[0056] This can be achieved by the waiting time being at least 10% of the cooking time, in particular at least 13%, for example 22%.

[0057] This also ensures that a drop in the cooking space temperature when loading the cooking space 16 is again compensated for, so that the microwave source 22 is only activated when the cooking space temperature intended for the cooking process actually prevails in the cooking space 16.

[0058] The baking space temperature intended for the baking process is reached when the baking space 16 is loaded with the bakery product 16 to be baked. This can be achieved by carrying out a preheating phase before loading the baking space 16 in order to obtain the corresponding baking space temperature.

[0059] During the preheating phase, only thermal energy is introduced into the cooking space 16 via the heating device 18, in particular exclusively via the heating device 18, in order to obtain the corresponding cooking space temperature.

[0060] Optionally, it may be provided that the steam device and / or the fan of the combination cooking appliance 10 is or are also operated during the preheating phase in order to obtain a desired cooking space atmosphere in the cooking space 16.

[0061] In this scenario, the microwave source 22 is then deactivated during the preheating phase.

[0062] Alternatively, however, it can be provided, in particular when the cooking space 16 is fully loaded, that the microwave source is activated during the preheating phase, i.e. even before the cooking space temperature intended for the cooking process actually prevails in the cooking space 16. This can ultimately be explained by the fact that the cooking space temperature increases more slowly when the cooking space 16 is fully loaded, whereby the cooking space temperature is only reached at a time when the waiting time has already elapsed.

[0063] [Fig. 2] schematically represents in a diagram the behavior of the microwave source 22 which is ensured by the control 24. It is clear that the microwave source 22 is only activated after the waiting time has elapsed, which is for example one minute for a first cooking time, which is short compared to a second cooking time, for which the waiting time is three minutes.

[0064] The first baking time corresponds to a baking process of a thin sponge cake which has a low layer thickness, while the second baking time is intended for a baking process of a pound cake in a cake tin, which has a correspondingly high layer thickness.

[0065] It is further apparent from [Fig. 2] that the microwave source 22 is controlled by the controller 24 during the cooking process in such a way that there is a microwave profile in which the microwave power via the microwave source 22 is reduced gradually, in particular in stages, during the cooking process.

[0066] In other words, the microwave source 22 is activated with a maximum microwave power depending on the cooking process or the type of bakery product 20 after the defined waiting time has elapsed. Then, the microwave power is reduced in stages during the cooking process until the microwave source 22 is completely switched off, i.e. no microwave power is introduced.

[0067] The different power levels can vary in length or duration, depending on the predefined baking time and / or the layer thickness of the bakery product 20. In particular, the respective length or duration of the different power levels can be dynamically adapted during the ongoing baking process, to ensure that the bakery product 20 achieves the desired baking result.

[0068] The mixed cooking appliance 10 may further comprise a sensor system 26, for example an optical sensor such as a camera, the sensor system 26 checking whether the bakery product 20 to be baked has risen. The sensor system 26 may also be based on the evaluation of electromagnetic signals, for example on the evaluation of microwave signals.

[0069] If the sensor system 26 recognizes that the bakery product 20 has not yet risen, it can optionally be provided that the microwave source 22 is not yet activated, i.e. the defined waiting time is extended. This ensures that the microwave source 22 is only activated in any case when the bakery product 20 to be baked has actually risen.

[0070] If this is already the case before the defined waiting time has elapsed, the defined waiting time is still waited before activating the microwave source 22 to introduce additional microwave energy into the bakery product 20 to be baked.

[0071] The defined waiting time thus corresponds to a minimum time which must elapse before the activation of the microwave source 22.

[0072] The microwave source 22 can in principle be a magnetron or a semiconductor component, also called "Solid-State Cooking" (SSC)

Claims

Claims

1. Method for baking bakery products (20) in a combination cooking appliance (10) which has a cooking space (16) and a microwave source (22), the method comprising the following steps: - loading the cooking space (16) with the bakery product (20) to be baked with a layer thickness, - starting a baking process with a predetermined baking time, and - activating the microwave source (22) during the ongoing baking process after a defined waiting time which depends on the predetermined baking time and / or the layer thickness of the bakery product (20), wherein the microwave source (22) is activated with a microwave profile which has power levels and ensures that an output power of the microwave source (22) varies, wherein the duration of the respective power levels is able to be dynamically adapted during the baking process.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the microwave source (22) is only activated when the bakery product (20) to be baked has risen.

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the waiting time represents at least 10% of the cooking time, in particular at least 13%, for example 22%.

4. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the combination cooking appliance (10) has a heating device (18) which is switched on when the cooking process starts.

5. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a preheating phase is carried out before loading the cooking space (16) in order to achieve, in the cooking space (16), a cooking space temperature intended for the cooking process, the microwave source (22) in particular being activated only when the cooking space temperature intended for the cooking process has been reached in the cooking space (16).

6. Method according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the microwave source (22) is activated before a cooking space temperature intended for the cooking process has been reached in the cooking space (16).

7. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the thickness of the layer of bakery product (20) corresponds to the height of a dough in a cake mold.

8. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bakery product (20) to be baked is a cake or a sponge cake.

9. Combination cooking appliance (10) for cooking bakery products (20), comprising a cooking space (16), a microwave source (22) and a control (24), the control (24) being arranged to start a cooking process with a predetermined cooking time and to activate a microwave source (22) during the ongoing cooking process after a defined waiting time which depends on the predetermined cooking time and / or the layer thickness of the bakery product (20), the control (24) being arranged to activate the microwave source (22) with a microwave profile which has power levels and ensures that a power of the microwave source (22) varies, and the control (24) being arranged to adapt the duration of the respective power levels dynamically during the cooking process.

10. A mixed cooking appliance (10) according to claim 9, characterized in that the mixed cooking appliance (10) has a heating device (18) in addition to the microwave source (22).

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