An Investigation of Bread-Baking Process in a Pilot-Scale Electrical Heating Oven Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed for bread-baking process in a pilot-scale baking
oven to find out the effect of hot air distribution and placement of bread on temperature and starch gelatinization index of
bread. In this study, product (bread) simulation was carried out with different placements of bread. Simulation results were
validated with experimental measurements of bread temperature. This study showed that nonuniform air flow pattern
inside the oven cavity leads to uneven temperature distribution. The study with respect to placement of bread showed
that baking of bread in upper trays required shorter baking time and gelatinization index compared to those in the bottom
tray. The upper tray bread center reached 100 ◦C at 1200 s, whereas starch gelatinization completed within 900 s, which
was the minimum baking index. Moreover, the heat penetration and starch gelatinization were higher along the sides of
the bread as compared to the top and bottom portions of the bread.