Segmented Baked Good with Partial Grooves for Filling Containment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pre-baked baked goods with fillings, such as herb baguettes, face issues where the filling can escape during baking, making them difficult to portion and messy to handle.
Innovation Solution
A baked good with indentations across its width in the longitudinal direction, which divides it into segments without reaching the bottom, allowing for easy portioning and maintaining the filling inside, using a method that involves forming the dough with a cutting/embossing device and applying a sprinkle to prevent segments from rejoining during baking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the baked good is divided into segments by cuts reaching the bottom, then portioning is made easier, but the filling is exposed and consumers get their fingers dirty
Solution Approach 1:
The baked good is divided into segments by indentations that extend approximately 80-95% of the way through the thickness, creating visual segmentation without complete separation. This allows the product to be easily portioned while keeping the filling contained within each segment, resolving the contradiction between portioning ease and filling exposure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies a sprinkle coating to the surface of the baked good before baking. This preliminary action creates a barrier layer that prevents the filling from escaping through the indentations during baking, thereby preventing the harmful effect of filling exposure while maintaining the segmented structure.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the filling is introduced into incisions on the surface, then the product can be offered as filled baked good, but the filling can escape through the cut surface during baking
Solution Approach 1:
The sprinkle coating is applied to the surface before baking, creating a protective barrier that prevents filling escape. This preliminary protective action allows the filling to be introduced into incisions while ensuring it remains contained during the baking process, resolving the contradiction between product versatility and filling containment reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The indentations are formed and the sprinkle coating is applied before the filling is introduced and before baking. This preliminary preparation ensures that the structural framework and protective barrier are in place before the filling is added, preventing escape during the subsequent baking process.
3Ease of operation
If the indentations extend through the entire thickness of the dough, then segments are completely separated, but the filling becomes exposed on the cut surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The indentations create visual and structural segmentation of the baked good into portions, but they extend only 80-95% of the way through the thickness rather than completely through. This partial segmentation provides easy portioning while maintaining enough structural connection to prevent filling exposure, resolving the contradiction between segment separation and filling protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different properties to different parts of the structure: the indentations provide separation where needed (at the surfaces) while the remaining 5-20% thickness maintains structural integrity and filling containment in the critical interior region. The sprinkle coating provides localized protection at the surface level.
Data Source
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AI summary
Baked product comprises at least partially baked bread, and grooves over its entire width at two or more positions of its longitudinal direction, which subdivide the baked product into segments, where the grooves recognizable from the outside extend in the interior of the baked product as an interruption of the dough structure, which does not reach to the lower side of the baked product. Independent claims are also included for: (1) preparing the baked product, comprising (a) providing dough pieces, (b) applying a sanding material on top of the dough pieces, (c) forming the grooves across the entire width of the dough piece at two or more positions of its longitudinal direction to subdivide the dough pieces into multiple segments, and (d) at least partially baking the dough pieces, where the dough pieces optionally after step (a) or (b), or during step (c) is portioned into a dough having a predetermined shape; (2) the baked product obtainable by the above mentioned method; and (3) a cutting or embossing device (10) for preparing the above mentioned baked product, comprising at least one cutting or embossing-group (12) having at least one cutting element (14) and at least one embossing element, where at least one cutting element and at least one embossing element are successively arranged in a dough strand-conveying direction, and at least one cutting element and at least one embossing element are movable for cutting/embossing in an operating direction with respect to the dough strand conveyed in the dough strand-conveying direction.