Cereal Chem 68:151-155   |  VIEW ARTICLE

A Critical Look at the Electric Resistance Oven.

H. He and R. C. Hoseney. Copyright 1991 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

An electric resistance oven (ERO) was used to study the properties and electric resistance of dough at increasing temperatures. In this study, a modified ERO was used to improve the flow of CO2 released from the dough to the detector. The results showed that heating methods not only determined the profile of dough temperature but also affected the expansion, CO2 release patterns, and electrical resistance of dough. The resistance of dough containing yeast was three times higher than that of dough without yeast. To obtain a fully baked loaf, input power needed to be sufficient to raise the dough temperature to 100 C and to compensate for the heat loss to the atmosphere. Baking with the ERO at room temperature resulted in temperature gradients from the center to the outer layer of the dough, with the greatest gradient near the top of the dough. This probably was caused by dissipation of heat to the environment and by the lack of electrical heating in the crown area of the dough.