Crustless Bread Surface Hardening for Uniform Slicing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for producing crustless sandwich bread face challenges in achieving consistent slice thickness and stability due to the bread's sticky and soft crumb, leading to irregular slicing, deformation, and production line stoppages.
Innovation Solution
The method involves cooling the crustless sandwich bread to a lower temperature to harden its surface, creating an artificial crust, which enhances mechanical strength and facilitates slicing by using a secondary cooling process in an enclosure at varying temperatures, from 2 to -90°C, to achieve a stable surface temperature before slicing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the sandwich bread is cooled to a higher temperature after baking, then the bread remains soft and easy to handle, but the crumb becomes sticky and causes deformation during slicing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a temperature gradient within the bread loaf, where only the surface is rapidly cooled to form a hardened crust while the interior remains at a higher temperature. This is achieved through spray cooling or immersion in cold water/ice, which selectively hardens the external layer without freezing the core, providing structural support exactly where needed for slicing while maintaining operational ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs preliminary action by pre-hardening the bread surface through controlled cooling before the slicing operation occurs. This preparatory step creates an artificial crust that prevents deformation during slicing, solving the problem of sticky soft crumb before the slicing challenge arises.
2Ease of manufacture
If the crust is removed from the sandwich bread, then the bread has a softer texture and is more appealing, but the bread loses rigidity and becomes difficult to slice
Solution Approach 1:
The patent restores rigidity locally by re-hardening only the surface layer of the crustless bread through rapid cooling. This creates an artificial crust that provides the necessary structural support for slicing while maintaining the crustless soft texture throughout the interior, thus preserving product appeal while solving the rigidity problem.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the temperature parameter of the bread surface from a higher state (after initial cooling) to a lower state (through rapid cooling), which transforms the physical properties of the crumb from soft and sticky to firm and sliceable, effectively creating an artificial crust without adding material.
3Productivity
If the bread is sliced immediately after initial cooling, then the production line moves quickly, but the slices are irregular in thickness and the slicer jams frequently
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by implementing a rapid surface cooling step before slicing to pre-harden the bread surface. This preparation prevents slicing irregularities and jamming, enabling smooth high-speed slicing operations with uniform thickness while maintaining high productivity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach allows for regular slices of consistent thickness to be produced without deformation or jamming, reducing product losses and ensuring safe, high-quality crustless sandwich bread production.
Implementation Method 1
cooling the surface of the crustless sandwich bread before slicing it, so as to harden it locally by creating an artificial crust
Implementation Method 2
the invention proposes cooling the surface of the crustless sandwich bread before slicing it
Data Source
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AI summary
The method involves cooling a baked batch bread (1) at a specific temperature, and eliminating a lateral crust from the cooled batch bread. The batch bread without the crust is cooled at temperature that is lower than the former cooling temperature, in a ventilated enclosure (12) for hardening the surfaces of the batch bread, where the enclosure is cooled by a cryogenics while utilizing the liquid nitrogen or liquid carbon dioxide. The hardened batch bread is transversally sliced.