Patent Application
20120017774
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The present invention relates to an apparatus for grilling or searing the inner surfaces of baked bread products, such as buns, in order to enhance the flavor of the product and to mitigate the migration of liquids, e.g. juices, sauces, etc., into the body of the bread product.
Sandwiches, burgers and the like are frequently served on toasted buns. Toasting enhances the texture and flavor provided by the bun. Buns are commonly toasted by means of a toaster, or by placement on a barbeque griddle. However, the toasting process may dry out the bun, which may be undesirable to the taste of some.
Buns can be partially toasted or seared by briefly placing the split bread product on a flat heated surface, e.g. a griddle. Such partial toasting or searing may be effective to caramelize the inner surfaces of the bun, while allowing the body portions of the bun to remain bakery fresh in texture, flavor and appearance. In addition to providing flavor and texture to the taste of the bun, the caramelization may also be effective to mitigate the migration of juices and sauces from the burger, vegetables, etc., into the body of the bun, keeping the bun from quickly becoming soggy as the burger or sandwich awaits consumption.
However, some bread products, such as buns and rolls, have been found to have a somewhat arcuate inner surface after splitting. As such, simply placing the bun or roll on a flat heated surface may well result in caramelizing only the outer edges of the bun or roll, leaving the inner surfaces substantially un-caramelized. In such a case, the cut surfaces of the bun do not have a caramelized flavor or texture, and meat and vegetable juices can more readily migrate into the body of the bun or roll, making it soggy.
In some cases a press or weight is placed on the bun to urge the cut surface of the bun into contact with the heated surface, caramelizing the inner surface of the bread product. However, the process typically distorts the visual appearance of the bun, and distorts the texture of the bun so the body is not longer bakery fresh in taste.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,736,051 to Franz et al discloses a Floating Clamshell Griddle Toaster which allows for toasting a bun or roll on a flat heated surface. The disclosed device includes a series of vertically translatable pins, which apply slight weight onto the bun to urge the inner surface into contact with the heated flat surface, without distorting or compressing the product to significant levels. The apparatus disclosed in the patent is effective to form a caramelized layer across the inner surface of the bun while maintaining the delicate shape and texture of the bun. However, the mechanical complexity of the device and the need for properly sizing and mating the pin plate to the griddle surface are factors limiting its practical use.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method effective to caramelize the inner surfaces of split bread products in a manner that is readily usable on a variety of different cooking surfaces.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an apparatus and method for caramelizing the inner surfaces of split bread products without distorting the appearance or texture of the body of the product.
It a further object of the invention to provide such an apparatus and method which is readily adaptable to different sizes and shapes of bread products.
An apparatus for caramelizing a cut surface of a split bread product is provided. The apparatus comprises a substantially flat heatable surface and at least one raised, bun toasting surface portion in heat transfer communication with the flat surface, and extending upwardly therefrom. The raised surface portion defines an upper contact surface for receiving and supporting the split bread product. The contact surface is formed to conform to the contour of the cut surface of the split bread product, to apply heat directly to the cut surface to caramelize the inner surface.
In a preferred embodiment the contact surface defines an arcuate surface. In alternate embodiments the contact surface may be formed to be less arcuate, or substantially flat.
The raised surface portion may be formed in different shapes to conform to the bread product being caramelized, e.g. a circular bun, a square bun, or an elongated roll.
The upper contact surface may be sized and shaped to be slightly smaller than the perimeter of the bun, so that the bun edge portion extends beyond the raised surface portion. In alternate embodiments, the raised surface portion may be co-extensive with or slightly less than the cut surface of the split bread product.
The raised surface portion may define an outer perimeter having a curved edge extending thereabout to facilitate receipt and engagement of the split bread product on the raised surface portion.
Because the top and bottom surfaces of the split bread product may define different contours after splitting, the raised surface portions may be formed differently to caramelize top and bottom surfaces of a bun or other product. For example, the contact surface for receiving a bun top portion is preferably more arcuate than the contact surface formed to engage a bun bottom portion. In some cases the contact surface for receiving a bun bottom portion may be formed to be substantially flat.
The raised surface portions may be formed integral with the heated surface, from a single piece of material. Alternatively, the raised surface portions may be formed as separate elements which are in heat transfer communication with the heated surface.
These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which:
a is a top view of a heated surface including exemplary raised surface portions for caramelizing round buns or rolls;
b is a top view of a heated surface including alternate raised surface portions for caramelizing square buns or rolls;
c is a top view of a heated surface including alternate raised surface portions for caramelizing elliptically shaped buns or rolls;
The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devise various other embodiments that are within the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed herein. Further, the various features of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments.
The raised surface portions 15, 17, are shaped to provide abutting support to the bun, along the cut surfaces of the bun.
As previously noted, efforts to toast or sear the inside surface of buns by simply placing the product on a flat heated surface have generally produced less than desirable results. Most commonly, the edge portions of the bun become toasted while the inside surface remains soft and non-caramelized. From experimentation, it appears that the cut surface of the bun may contract after the product is split, whereas the edge portions either do not contract, or contract to a lesser degree. Presumably edge portions of the bun resist contraction due to the crustier nature of the outer surface, which may be attributed to the Maillard reaction which occurs when the bread product is baked. This contraction appears more pronounced in the top portion of the bun, which is typically less dense. The bottom portion of the bun is typically more dense and the bottom cut surface appears to typically exhibit less contraction along the cut line.
As a result of contraction of the body of the bun top portion, the top cut surface of the bun commonly becomes slightly arcuate along the cut line. While the extent of the arcuate profile is limited, it may be sufficient to make it difficult to caramelize the cut surface of the bun top portion without distorting the appearance and texture of the bun. The present invention is directed to an apparatus and method to reliably caramelize the inner surfaces of buns without the penalties associated with forcing the bun to lie flat on a griddle surface.
Raised surface portions 15, 17 define upper contact surfaces 43, 47, and body portions 45, 49, respectively. In the presently preferred embodiment the raised surface portions 15, 17, are formed to be approximately 3.7 inches wide (diameter) and extend approximately 0.38 inches above the griddle upper surface 16. The arcuate contact surface 43 has a vertical rise of approximately 0.19 inches (radius approximately 9.71 inches). The upper contact surface 47 is shown as substantially flat. However, as described below, the contact surface 47 may also be formed to include an arcuate surface portion similar to that shown at
As shown in
While
Moreover, insofar as the split surface 53 of the bun lower portion 20b tends to be less arcuate or flat, the contact surface 47 may be substantially coextensive with the bun cut surface 53, where the bun edge portions are not so raised as to space the cut surface 53 from the contact surface 47. However, it is to be understood that the contact surface 47 may alternately be longer or shorter than the length of the bun cut surface 53. Edges 37, 39 of the raised surface portion 17 are preferably curved as shown, and separated by vertical side wall 41.
In practice, the bun top and/or bottom portions may be seated on the raised surface portions 15, 17 using slight downward pressure, by hand, along with a twisting motion. Such a practice has been found to be useful to ensure that the bun cut surface abuts against the contact surface of the raised surface portions 15, 17. In some cases a user may prefer that the outer perimeter of the bun extends over and engages the edges of the raised surface portion, to more securely maintain the bun in place. However, the process of manually seating the bun on the raised surface portions has been found to require little pressure, which may be localized around the perimeter of the bun. The pressure is released before toasting, and has not been found to distort the appearance or texture of the bun.
The invention allows for the raised surface portions 15, 17 to be shaped and sized in accordance with the shape, size and characteristics of the product to be toasted. Insofar as in commercial usage the shape of the bread products used are typically consistent and limited, the permanent or semi-permanent nature of the shapes of the raised surface portions 15, 17 does not appear to be significantly limiting in commercial application. Further, it is anticipated that users, such as fast food restaurants, may specify particular shapes, heights and procedures for seating the buns which are tailored to their particular bread products, their food production techniques, and the preferred food product characteristics that they wish to achieve.
b shows an alternate implementation wherein the raised surface portion 21, 23 are formed to have a substantially square shape. Such construction may be useful for square buns, bread and other products.
c illustrates another embodiment wherein the raised surface portions 25, 27 are formed in the shape of an elongated roll, as may be consistent with the shape of hot dog rolls, hoagie rolls, French bread, etc. Where the top and bottom portions of the elongated roll may contract differently upon splitting, one of the raised surface portions, e.g. portion 25, may be formed to have a more arcuate shape than raised surface portion 27, as previously described in connection with
Accordingly, as indicated above, the present invention is amenable to various modifications and enhancements that allow for toasting of the split surfaces of various bread products. The raised surface portions may be formed to conform to the size and contour of the split bread product in use. Further, the desired degree of caramelization may be varied by adjusting temperature of the griddle and by the manner in which the bread product is seated on the raised surface portions. These and other objects and advantages may be accomplished while preserving the fresh from the bakery flavor of the body of the toasted bread product, even where the meat or vegetables have significant moisture content.
