Ovens and slicers

Done by
Fahima Firdouse-19pef002
M.E-l
Introduction:
Bakery oven for a continuous baking process which
includes a baking chamber provided with a charging
opening and a discharging opening, and containing a
spiral conveying device provided with a helicoidal path for
conveying the bakery products arranged on trays, plates,
racks or the like from the charging opening to the
discharging opening. This bakery oven is provided with
frames ensuring the individual picking-up of the plates,
trays, racks or the like outside the baking chamber to
convey them by means of the spiral conveying device, and
the spiral conveying device includes a mechanism for
individually conveying and guiding the frames along the
helicoidal path.
Types of heat transfer in oven

Ovens are designed to optimise the heat transfer to the

dough pieces in different ways. We can group the basic
designs into the following:
Radiant heating – direct gas fired ovens, electric ovens
and indirect radiant (“cyclotherm”) ovens
Conduction heat transfer – ovens with pre-heated
heavy mesh bands and steel bands
“Convection” baking – direct and indirect convection
ovens transfer the heat by blowing hot air jets onto the
products. Also “Re-circ” ovens which combine
convection and radiant heat transfer.
1. Radiant heating
Direct Gas Fired Ovens
Direct gas fired ovens are very widely used throughout the biscuit
baking industry. They offer versatility to bake all types of biscuits,
cookies and crackers.
Baker Pacific Direct gas Fired oven
Baker Pacific Direct gas Fired oven
The direct gas fired oven has a simple baking chamber of box
section with the oven band supported through the middle of the
chamber. Above and below the band are ribbon gas burners. A
gas/air mixture is supplied to the burner tubes and this is ignited by
a spark electrode and burns on a strip or ribbon across the width of
the oven conveyor band
The heat transfer in a direct gas fired oven is primarily by radiation
from the gas flames and from the oven top, base and walls of the
baking chamber.
Electric ovens
Electric ovens are constructed in a similar way to direct gas
fired ovens, but use electric heating elements in place of the
gas burners. These ovens have been widely used in the baking
industry in some countries where industry had adequate
electricity supply, but lacked gas, for example China. However
most countries, including China, now use gas predominantly in
the baking industry, which is invariably substantially cheaper
than electricity.
Electrical heating has also been used in the first zones of ovens
which required high heat inputs at the start of the baking
process and where diesel oil with an indirect heating system
was the preferred fuel for the main part of the oven.
Indirect oven
The indirect radiant ovens (also known as “cyclotherm” ovens)
are constructed in separate zones. Each zone is typically 10 –
20m long and it has a single burner, heat exchanger and
circulation system for the hot gases from the burner.
Each zone has a burner firing into a burner tube. The hot burnt
gases are drawn from the burner tube through ducts to rows of
steel tubes, or ducts, at the top and bottom of the baking
chamber. These radiant tubes, or ducts, run the whole length of
the zone. The hot gases travel through the tubes or ducts which
then radiate heat to the products from above and below. At the
end of the zone, the hot gases are collected in a return duct
through which they travel back to the circulating fan and from
there to the burner tube to be re-circulated. It is essentially a
closed, circulating system with a single burner, circulating fan
and radiant tubes to heat the products from above and below.
• This baking system bakes by radiation with a high
heat mass providing stable baking conditions. It is
versatile, capable of baking all types of biscuit,
cookies and some crackers. High rate crackers
require a first zone of direct heating. The system is
favoured by many bakers for producing a high
quality of biscuit structure, texture and colour. It is
an ideal system for achieving colour contrasts on
rotary moulded and cracker products.
• 2. Conduction heat transfer
• As noted above, steel baking bands and heavy mesh bands
conduct heat rapidly into the base of the dough pieces. These
types of band can be used in any of the tunnel oven designs,
direct gas fired, indirect radiant ovens and convection ovens.
• Steel bands are made of carbon steel, usually 1.2 mm thick. They
are principally used for the baking of cookies with high sugar and
fat contents, which flow on the oven band in the first part of the
oven. Traditionally steel bands are also used for the baking of
“Marie"
• Heavy mesh baking bands, mainly Ashworth type CB5, are woven
with a tight “herring bone” pattern providing a solid, thick, heavy
mesh. These bands are pre-heated to 120°C – 150°C and they
conduct heat immediately into the base of the dough piece as
soon as it is deposited on the band. This is a major baking
method, being used throughout the industry for the baking of
soda crackers and saltines. These bands are also versatile and can
be used for a wide range of crackers, hard sweet and rotary
moulded products.
Cookies deposited directly onto a steel band
• These bands are pre-heated to 120°C – 150°C and
they conduct heat immediately into the base of the
dough piece as soon as it is deposited on the band.
This is a major baking method, being used
throughout the industry for the baking of soda
crackers and saltines. These bands are also versatile
and can be used for a wide range of crackers, hard
sweet and rotary moulded products.
• 3. Convection baking
• “Convection” ovens are constructed in zones, each
zone having a single burner and circulation fan.
• The fan blows the air around the burner tube, where it
is heated and then through ducts along the length of
the zone. These ducts, located above and below the
baking band, have slots or nozzles through which jets of
hot air are blown onto the products and the oven band.
Hot air from the baking chamber is drawn back to the
fan to be re-circulated through the system. Each zone
has an extraction fan and flue to remove moisture from
the baking chamber and this system will also extract
the hot air from the heating system.
• Dielectric baking
• Dielectric dryers have been manufactured by the
Strayfield Company in UK and used in the biscuit
baking industry for almost 50 years. These are very
effective in reducing moisture content and in
achieving very even moisture contents across the
width of the oven band. They are particularly
effective on hard sweet biscuits which are prone to
checking (cracking after baking due to stresses
created by moisture gradient between the outer
surface and the centre of the biscuit).
• Microwave Oven
• Microwave ovens are a type of electric oven that
heat food using electromagnetic waves. These
vibrate food particles, and the friction causes the
food to heat up. While microwaves are known
mostly as tools for reheating food, nowadays they
can do much more. Microwave ovens are very
quick and energy efficient. However, for tasks such
as roasting or browning, they may struggle.
• Roaster Oven
• A roaster oven is designed to roast, steam or
slow cook. They're particularly useful during
the holidays when oven space is limited.
Many designate a roaster oven for their
meat, freeing up their main oven for all the
side dishes. While not an alternative to an
oven, a roaster can be a valuable addition.
• Toaster Oven
• A toaster oven is almost like a portable grill. As the
name suggests, they're ideal for making toast but
can also be used for pizzas and other such items.
Again, these aren't alternatives to a full oven, but
having one can be very useful, particularly for large
families
Tunnel Oven

This is the modern type of bakery oven employcd in most of the

bakery plants of high capacity. Loading at one end and unloading at
the other which is salient feature of these types of ovens offers
many layout advantages when production requirements are large.
The product to be baked is put in trays and fed to the one end door
from wherc it is taken in by a belt conveyor through the different
temperature zones before it comesout as baked from the other
end. The high accuracy and consistency in temperature control at
the various points of the tunnel oven offers great uniformity in bake
and flexibility in top and bottom heat control.
The long continuous hearth of the tunnel oven has
unlimited flexibility with respect to pan sizes. The
mechanism are simple and long lasting. The only
drawback is the high initial cost and large space
requirements of these high production tunnel ovens
Slicing Equipment
Slicing is the process of reducing a loaf of bread into spall
well finished pieces without crushing of the bread loaf.
Various types of slicers used in bakery industry are :
1.Circular blade slicer.
2.Straight blade sslicer.
3.Slicer having continuous bend blades.
The first type of slicer is employed for buns, rolls and simiar
products while other two types are for pan bread. Both of
thetypes are equally popular in bakery trade. Basically two
systems are employed in the slicer for the cutting of bread
viz. reciprocating and band slicers.
Reciprocating Slicers
These slicers are widely used for slicing raisin breads or any
product with a soft and sticky crumb and also for slicing
hard crust breads such as French bread, iced loaves and the
breads.These machines are more versatile in operation but
are less efficient than band slicers. The machine has a
number of blades held out by the force exerted by a heavy
spring.
In the slicer blades or knife frames are tilted towards the
top crust of the loaf to provide angle cutting and to
accommodate the natural flow of bread through the knives.
The up and down force is transmitted from the rotor to the
blade frame by a crankshaft and the levers although
vibration is the main problem of the reciprocating
machines. The modern machines are constructed so as to
minimise the noise and vibration through various design
improvements.
Blade Slicer
For slicing uniform loaves of white and soft variety of bread at high
rate band slicer is the equipment employed these days.
The distinct advantages of these machines over reciprocating one is
no vibration, greater cutting specd, continuously variable slice
thickness, within limits and the less frequent neced for blade
sharpening.
Every band slicer has three essential components (1) two drums, (2)
required number of blades and (3) four guides per blade. The
endless blades are placed around steel cylinders andcrossed in the
centre. The bread contact area is at the point where the blades
cross. Since the blades must pass over the drums in a flat position
and yet must present their serrated edges to the bread, it is
necessary to turn them through a 90° angle between the time they
leave the drum surface and the time they meet the bread. This
turning function is performed by hardened steel guides located
above and below the line of travel of the bread.