The moisture in the product really becomes the heat source. A very new technology, still in the early stages of acceptance, uses an electrostatic phenomenon. Recognizing that various heat transfer systems all have different properties for different products, the current thinking is that if multiple technologies were linked together in a reduced-size, flexible system, one could have optimum baking with the greatest production flexibility. This approach allows the larger, regional wholesale bakery to have a closer quality match to in-store bakeries. Hybrid oven technologies allow for this flexibility and versatility, but are still in the early development stages.
Work continues to select the best combination of heating systems for the products being produced.
A smaller, hybrid oven would allow for smaller plants, shorter product runs, and optimum quality. What has slowed the progress in this exciting new area is the general lack of basic information on the electrical properties of food and their relationship to heating properties. For faster market penetration to occur, a new focus is required on the interdisciplinary problems involved. There are great opportunities in the whole process of cooking foods, not only here on earth, but in the space programs as well.