EDIBLE BAKED PRODUCT AND BAKING APPARATUS FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] THIS INVENTION relates to an edible baked bread product, a baking tray assembly for the product and in particular but not limited to a cup-shaped product able to hold cold cuts, salads, deserts as well as relatively dry to relatively more liquid hot food products. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Edible baked cup shaped products are known from the prior art. Examples are contained in US Patent No. 3,296,956 to Turner and US Patent No. 5,226,352 to Savage. Turner describes a baking tray made from pressed aluminum sheeting whereby the baking tray is arranged so that dough forming the cup shaped product may prove in the tray using a proving gauge inserted through an opening in the top of the mould. According to Turner distribution of air during the baking process is critical to ensure proper cooking with a crust and relatively crumbly interior. He achieves this by the combined effect of proving prior to and during baking. Turner utilises partial proving prior to cooking up to about three quarters of an inch from the top of the cooking chamber. Further proving occurs during cooking whereby a chemical leavening agent is used to augment gas generation during the baking step. The agent takes over from the yeast action as the latter is exhausted and killed by the increased temperature. Turner sees the combination of proving prior to baking and during the baking step as giving rise to predictable gas structure within the product, and a relatively crisp interior and exterior crust and a relatively softer crumb between the crusts. [0003] According to Turner this provides an effective result. However it would be desirable to provide a cup shaped product which is baked utilising more traditional techniques and does not necessarily require the chemical leavening agent nor partial proving prior to baking and further proving during baking 2 which adds an element of complexity to the production of a product. Furthermore a crisp crust is not considered by applicant to be the ideal surface finish for ease of consumption. Thus according to the present invention the baking process is simplified and a different product obtained as will be apparent from the following description. [0004] Savage utilises male and female moulds similar to those utilised by Turner, he refers to Turner in the background of the invention noting in particular that Turner utilises means to allow the escape of gas but of course this has the added deficiency that dough may also escape through the openings provided for the gas. In Savage he places dough in the female mould and places the male mould in position and optionally allows the dough to prove in the mould before cooking. Savage utilises clamps to hold the two portions of the mould together and those clamps are designed to allow release of steam from the mould as the bread is being baked. Savage is mainly concerned with cookie dough and does not specifically deal with the process by which bread dough is baked in the mould. He does utilise a heat differential across the mould of approximately 30 to 60 percent of the heat transfer rate within the lower mould to achieve a uniformly baked "cookie" with satisfactory texture. Thus heat transfer is less in the upper mould than in the lower mould. It does not provide a direction in relation to any heat transfer relationship in the case as leavened dough such as bread dough. The cookie mix is filled with cold products whereas the bread mix may be utilised for hot products and according to Savage is capable of holding hot water for approximately 30 minutes without leaking. In both cases Turner and Savage utilise thin aluminium baking trays for the purpose of baking the bread product and it is not clear what the final form of the bread product is in terms of crust and interior. [0005] The applicant's bread product is quite different in so far as the crust is softer and thus the product is self supporting in the sense that it stands upright like a cup but has the texture of a traditional soft bread roll for ease of 3 consumption with a clean bite rather than a crisp structure that might fracture or be hard on the mouth. [0006] In relation to bread mixtures utilising yeast as the leavening agent a cup shaped product according to the present invention does not bake uniformly utilising the teachings of Savage or Turner and consequently is an object of the present invention to provide a simple and straight forward approach able to be used by bakers generally without any particular additional skill or knowledge. [00071 Thus compared with Savage or Turner there is no special preparation or the pre-preparation or proving of the bread, or temperature differentials in the moulds to achieve a repeatable and satisfactory result. OUTLINE OF THE INVENTION [0008] In relation to the present invention it is an object of the invention to provide an overall soft bread consistency without any firm crust but providing thin inner and outer layers which are typical of a soft bread roll consistency. [0009] Consequently it is an object of the present invention to provide a product which is easy to eat (no tough crust to chew through) and which is easy to bake. [0010] in one aspect therefore the present invention resides in a mould assembly for producing an open topped edible bread product with a soft crust, the bread product being a container having a side wall and a base, the mould assembly comprising a first female mould member adapted to receive a portion of dough placed in the mould prior to proving and proved in the mould prior to baking, and a male mould member adapted to be located within the female mould member and spaced therefrom defining a cavity corresponding to the cup shaped edible bread product whereby the cavity comprises a side wall cavity portion and a base cavity portion corresponding to the side wall and base respectively, the mould being closed while the dough is proving and free 4 of openings that might allow escape of dough and at least the male mould member is of a relatively thick high heat transfer metal to enable delivery of heat along the male mould member to the base portion of the cavity sufficient to complete baking of the base of the bread product at the same time as the side wall. (0011] The mould is closed and dough proved blind in the mould using a separate visual or timed proving technique, the blind proving is required due to the need to bake closed so that the desirable soft chewy surface may be accomplished. "Blind" herein means the dough is contained so that moisture is retained to prevent the surface of the bread product from crusting to a crunchy crust. [0012] The male member preferably comprises a relatively thick-walled aluminium alloy tray or the like in order to efficiently transfer heat to the interior of the mould in order to effectively and evenly bake the interior and base of the product so that even baking is achieved. The baking surfaces of the tray are coated with a slip-coat, such as TEFLON@ to assist depanning. Thus the dimensions, heat conductivity of the material chosen and the relationship between the female mould member and the male mould member creates an improved heat conductivity into the male mould member so that it cooks quicker than in the case of a thin aluminium tray. When multiple moulds are ganged together in a production tray it is found to be considerably advantageous to provide openings in the tray between moulds to facilitate as much airflow whilst baking as possible, This also assists in the even heating and baking of the product. [0013] Where multiple moulds are ganged together in a production tray assembly comprising a multiple female mould member tray and a multiple male member tray, each tray may have a tray surface surrounding the male and female mould members and means to hold the tray surfaces apart forming an air circulation space between the trays, there being spaced air flow through openings in at least one of the tray surfaces to facilitate airflow through the tray 5 surface and into the air flow space. Preferably, the air flow through passages comprises openings in the female mould member tray. More preferably, the openings are distributed around each of the female mould members. [0014] Typically where multiple moulds are ganged together in a production tray assembly and it comprises a multiple female mould member tray and a multiple male member tray, the trays having co-operating abutments surrounding each of the respective male and female mould members such that the abutments rest against each other when the trays are assembled, a tray surface surrounding the male and female mould members and there being openings in the tray surface of at least one of the trays to facilitate airflow proximal each mould. Preferably each abutment comprises a thickened margin around the members, typically an annular ring and the ring serves to hold the tray surfaces in spaced apart relation to enable circulation of air between the tray surfaces. In this embodiment the male mould members include an upper region exposed to air flow in the air flow space between the trays. [0015] Thus the male mould member sits atop the female mould member and air circulates up through the openings in the tray surface of the female mould member against the tray surface of the male mould member and around the exposed upper region of the male mould members. [0016] Preferably the male mould members are made from aluminium alloy or equivalent about 4 mm thick. More preferably, the trays are of aluminium alloy or equivalent and being of uniform thickness of about 4 mm. [0017] In its preferred form the cavity retains a substantial proportion of moisture due to the cavity being closed and by reason of the abutments providing a boundary between the cavity and the outside, the boundary so formed permitting minimal egress of air and moisture across the boundary during the cooking process so that the retention of moisture inhibits crustiness providing a relatively soft chewy outer surface in the finished product 6 [0018] Preferably, the cavity is cup shaped and the side wall portion is relatively thick over a major portion of the side wall portion and has a rim region tapering out to a relatively thin peripheral lip. [0019] In another aspect the invention resides in a method of baking a cup shaped edible bread product comprising the following steps: I. Mix the dough to recipe including sufficient water and oil to improve flowability; 2. Place predetermined weight of dough in each female mould member (care is to be taken not to trap air under the dough ball since the trapped air changes the rate of flow during the proving phase); 3. Place tray top of male members onto the tray base of female members (it is usual to provide guides to ensure that the male mould members of the tray top are centred over the dough balls to ensure even distribution of the dough around the male mould members as the dough proves); 4. The assembled tray with dough inside is placed aside for the dough to prove; 5. In a separate measuring vessel another equal dough ball as to that placed in the mould is placed in the same condition as the trays and allowed to prove to a desired level indicative of completion of the proving in the trays (once this is achieved under set conditions, the proving may be timed); 6. Place the tray in oven to bake. When complete, invert onto a bench and remove female mould member from male mould member, allow to stand for product to cool and set. Twist and remove bread product from male mould members. {00201 In a preferred embodiment, a bread product is produced using a recipe where dough has flowability sufficient to prove and fill a mould cavity before baking, the cavity forming a hollow open topped bread product being substantially cone shaped with a flat base and a side wall, the product being generally cup sized arid being longer than it is wide and having a rim, the rim 7 comprising a tapered upper edge of the product, the bread product having an outer soft crust produced from a dough comprising the following in kilograms: Bakers Flour about 1.000; Salt about .020; Yeast (compressed) about .030; Improver about .010; Shortening(fat) about .040; and water about .600. Each bread product is produced from about 100 grams of dough baked at 255 degrees C for about 20 minutes. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [00211 In order that the present invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention wherein: [0022] Figures 1 and 2 are drawings illustrating two cup shaped bread products according to the invention being a regular size and a large size; [0023] Figures 3 and 4 are sections taken through a central plane of the bread products of Figures 1 and 2 respectively; [0024] Figure 5 is a drawing illustrating cross section of a typical mould inserted to a baking tray of the type illustrated in Figure 6. [0025] Figures 7 and 8 illustrate a further embodiment of a baking tray according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0026] Referring to the drawings and initially to Figures 1 to 4 there is illustrated respective cup shaped edible bread containers 10 and 11 shown to actual size each having respective wails 12 and 13 of uniform thickness 8 around the major portion of the side wall and tapering to an upper lip 14 and 15 in each case. [0027] It will be appreciated that the cup shaped bread product may function in the usual way as would be a cup of similar shape, it may be stackable and configured to fit into standard cardboard carrying trays as might be used at sporting events or the like. [0028] A baking tray suitable for producing the bread products of the foregoing Figures 1 to 4 is illustrated schematically in Figures 5 and 6 and also in Figures 7 and 8. [00291 The baking tray 16 comprises a series of female mould members 17 and hollow male mould members 18 which have over lying flanges 19 and 20 so that when the moulds are secured together by the weight of the male mould portion, or alternatively by clips 21. The flanges close off a cavity between the moulds. The flanges 19 are located above the tray surface 22 so that air may circulate through holes 23 thus assisting in the delivery of heat to the male mould members 18. {0030] The hollow male mould members 18 at least are made from a thick wall mould material made of high heat conveying material in the illustrated embodiment that mould material is cast aluminium alloy of a thickness of about 4mm. A suitable material and cast tray utilising the teachings of Australian Patent 2003100485 and Australian Patent Application 2003200355 both to Caspan Pty Ltd, the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference. [0031] The applicant has found that its arrangement for baking has the following advantages compared to the prior art. The present invention utilises substantially normal bread dough, the applicant has found that due to the shape of the container being baked it is preferable to improve flow during the proving process by increasing water and oil content over that normally used in bread products.
9 Example Recipe [0032] The following is a typical dough mix found suitable: Ingredients Bakers % Amount kg Amount kg Bakers flour 100 .500 1.000 Salt 2 .010 .020 Yeast 3 .015 .030 (compressed) Improver 1 .005 .010 Shortening(fat) 4 .202 .040 Water 64 .320 .640 [0033] Scaling weight 100 grams of dough is used for each cup-shaped bread product. [0034] We have found that the baked bread will expand and grow through any hole in the top of the tray, expanding to lock the tray halves together or at least leading to the product being damaged upon depaning. Since there are no holes in the mould this problem is eliminated. The absence of holes in the baking tray results in the hot dry air not being in direct contact with the dough thus eliminating a hard crust adjacent at least the top of the container such crusts not being desirable in an edible container.
10 [0035} The present invention results in a lighter softer crust, the use of a thicker mould with high heat transmission properties into the male mould member results in even cooking. The applicant has found that control over recipe, portioning, and proving with no holes in the top tray, the bread product with improved characteristics is produced by the following preferred process. [00361 Example Proving and Cooking Process Measure 100 gram dough balls and place those, one in the bottom of each cone in the female mould sections, taking care not to have trapped air pockets. Fit the male part of the cone tray to the bottom of the tray being careful to place the spike centrally in the dough ball, fit the tray clips; Also place a 100 gram dough ball in the bottom of a measuring cylinder in store or under the same proving conditions preferable 300C and 85 percent humidity; - Once the dough has proved by checking the measuring cylinder so that the dough has risen to a predetermined height measurement the tray is placed in the oven and baked at 2550C for 23 minutes same position to ensure even heat flow; - Open the cone trays, the bread product will stick to the male mould members where they should be left to cool and set; - The bread product may be twisted and removed from the male members and placed on a cooling rack and nested for packaging, storage and shipment. It is found that containers may be frozen at minus 180C and stored for up to 90 days. [00371 Applicant has found the following particular advantages: the product provides an edible container of soft bread roll consistency that me be easily chewed while consuming the contents in a single handed manner; 11 this frees up the user's second hand for other activities eg holding a drink: a hand rail; a support while travelling writing: continuing work while eating etc this is a considerable advantage over other alternatives eg hamburgers, pies, cartons of chips etc [0030] Whilst the above has been given by way of illustrative example of the present invention many variations and modifications thereto will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the broad ambit and scope of the invention as herein set out in the appended claims.