The present invention relates generally to croissants and pastries and to their methods of manufacture and more specifically relates to croissants and pastries which are baked and then frozen as part of the manufacturing process.
Many food products that are made from dough are most appetizing immediately after the product has been baked in an oven. Such products give off aromas and have a texture and moistness that generally lasts only a relatively short time after taking even when the product has been stored in an optimum manner after baking. In order to retain as much of this flavor as possible, it is common to freeze dough products such as croissants shortly after baking and to maintain these fully baked, frozen croissants at a temperature well below freezing during shipment and storage. However, fully baked croissants which have been frozen have a soft texture after thawing unless they are rewarmed. Unfortunately, the rewarming of croissants tends to dry out the croissants.
For these reasons, it is desirable for stores which sell croissants and pastries, for restaurants and for cooks at home to prefer to bake such products themselves, immediately before being sold or eaten. In many situations, however, it is impractical or undesirable to prepare such food products entirely on the premises.
Croissants typically use yeast as a leavening agent and must be proofed (i.e., allowed to rise) before baking. Proofing allows the yeast to metabolize the sugar in the dough to release carbon dioxide gas and ethyl alcohol. The release of the gas causes the dough to expand as the gas fills and enlarges air cells created during mixing and kneading. The proofing step in making dough products can require hours to perform properly and is best carried out in a moist environment at a temperature and relative humidity which has been carefully controlled.
In the case of commercial preparation of croissants, specially constructed proofing cabinets are typically used because of the importance associated with proper proofing. Croissants which have been proofed in such cabinets generally have a better and more uniform appearance and texture than those which have been proofed in an uncontrolled atmosphere.
Croissants that are to be made from frozen dough (dough that has not yet been proofed) typically still require more than three hours of preparation before the croissants are ready to be baked. These three hours include about 45 minutes to one hour to thaw the frozen dough and then about two hours or so to proof the thawed dough.
It is desirable to enable the proofing step to have been performed in advance since then the time needed from freezer to baking will be significantly decreased or eliminated. In addition, many end users do not have adequate proofing boxes and may be untrained in proofing croissants as well. The proofing of dough by an end user which is not a commercial bakery is sufficiently important and difficult to achieve that oftentimes the resulting final product is significantly reduced in quality in comparison with a croissant that has been commercially proofed.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide croissants in a manner which permits them to be baked immediately before serving yet which minimizes the time and expense involved in the preparation of the croissant prior to baking.
One approach for achieving such an arrangement in dough products including bread is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,450,177 of Larson et al. and involves the step of freezing the dough after preparation but before baking. Such dough, however, still requires at least about one hour to fully bake a loaf of bread which has been frozen. During the process of baking the product expands by about 50% but does not need to be "proofed" prior to baking.
Another approach involves the partial baking of dough products such as a loaf of bread and then freezing the product prior to shipment. The product has been proofed prior to the partial baking and has only been baked for a portion of the time necessary to complete the baking process. After the partial baking, the product is allowed to cool and then is frozen, typically in a mechanical freezer. When desired, the food product is then placed in an oven (with or without an intermediate step of defrosting) and is baked sufficiently long to obtain the color and temperature desired. Such an approach has the advantage that thawing and proofing are completely unnecessary. In addition, since the product is partially baked by the manufacturer, the baking time needed by the end user is significantly reduced.
Unfortunately, this process is suitable for some but not for all dough products For example, bread, rolls, buns and the like have a relatively fine internal structure which is formed by a relatively uniform distribution of small holes or bubbles. These small holes are formed by the gases given off by the yeast during proofing and during the initial portion of baking and cause the volume of the dough product to expand. Because of the relatively fine internal structure, these dough products can be partially baked, removed from the oven and allowed to cool without collapsing and without a significant change in their appearance or configuration. Subsequently these partially baked dough products can be frozen and stored for weeks or even months before the baking process is completed as discussed above.
Certain dough products such as croissants and puff pastry, however, are unsuitable for such a partial baking, cooling and freezing process. These dough products are formed from a laminated dough in which thin layers of dough are separated from one another by thin layers of fat such as butter or margarine. These laminations cause the dough to have relatively large holes or layers internally when the product has been proofed and baked. These layers give such dough products their distinctive texture and result in a product which is flaky (such as a croissant) rather than spongy (like white bread).
If a croissant or a puff pastry which is formed from a laminated dough is partially baked, allowed to cool and is then frozen, the croissant or puff pastry will collapse. The internal structure of such dough products is unable to maintain the expanded structure unless the product has been baked to completion. After full baking, the internal layers (together with the outside surface) have achieved a sufficient stiffness and rigidity to support the expanded configuration of the product even after cooling.
The need remains therefore for laminated dough products such as croissants and pastries which have been only partially baked and then frozen without collapsing.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide partially baked and frozen croissants and pastries which retain a fully expanded configuration.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacture of partially baked and frozen croissants and pastries which retain a fully expanded configuration.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a laminated dough product which has been proofed and partially baked and then immediately frozen and which can be stored while frozen and then baked to completion.
Yet still another object of the present invention is to provide a method of making a laminated dough product which has been proofed and partially baked and then immediately frozen and which can be stored while frozen and then baked to completion.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a laminated dough product which has been proofed and partially baked to a fully expanded configuration and which can be stored while frozen without collapse and then baked to completion.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method of making a laminated dough product which has been proofed and partially baked to a fully expanded configuration and which can be stored while frozen without collapse and then baked to completion.
These and other objects of the present invention are achieved by the method of the present invention wherein a laminated dough product such as a croissant or puff pastry has been partially baked to an internal temperature of between about 200.degree. F. to about 210.degree. F. and is then immediately frozen. In the preferred embodiment, the laminated dough product is partially baked in a tunnel air impingement oven and the product is then immediately frozen in a co-current liquid nitrogen tunnel freezer.
The present invention also includes laminated dough products which are made according to the method of the present invention and wherein the laminated dough products are croissants and pastries.