IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU- FACTURE OF BREAD, & IN APPARATUS APPLICABLE FOR THE SAME
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Davis, of 48, Bankside, in the County of
Surrey, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF BREAD, & IN APPARATUS APPLICABLE FOR THE SAME."
Sealed the 10th August, 1860, and dated the 14th February 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Davis at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
14th February 1860.
I, WILLIAM DAVIS, of 48; Bankside, in the County of Surrey, Gentleman,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF BREAD, & IN APPARATUS APPLICABLE FOR THE SAME," to be as
follows:-
My improvements in the manufacture of bread relates, first, to the pre-
paration of the dough. In effecting this I prepare about one-fifth part of the
whole amount to be treated, and induce in it fermentation, all much in the
ordinary way. The remaining four-fifths to be treated I render vesicular;
before inducing in it any fermentation. For this purpose I mix the dough;
in an apparatus, to be herein-after described, adding with the water necessary
a proportion of muriatic acid, mixing also a suitable quantity of carbonate
of soda with the flour. The mixture of acidulated water with the soda in the
flour generates carbonate acid in the dough produced, which renders it spongy.:
The leaven or fermented part of the dough is then mixed with the vesicular or

page_text: spongy dough, and fermentation of the whole thereby induced. A sufficient
time is allowed for the fermentation; the dough is then formed into loaves.
By this means much time is saved in the fermentation, and consequently much
deterioration of the flour prevented.
The apparatus I employ is, first, the mixing apparatus before mentioned,
which consists of a horizontal cylinder, furnished with a central shaft having
radial tines or prongs; another bar or shaft, parallel with the first named,
moves round within the periphery of the cylinder, having also tines or prongs
directed towards the central shaft. These two series of prongs move round
in opposite directions, and stir up and mix the dough, as required.
My further improvements consist in the application of moulds to form the
loaves of the same shape as hand-made loaves. These moulds I form to
divide & separate, so that the loaves can be readily removed from them. I
fill these moulds with the dough, by expressing and forcing it into them by a
screw or piston chamber in the manner of expressing and moulding plastic
materials generally.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Davis in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
14th August 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
DAVIS, of 48, Bankside, in the County of Surrey, Gentlemen, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Davis, Her special licence that I, the said William
Davis, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Davis, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BREAD, AND IN APPARATUS APPLICABLE FOR THE
SAME," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Davis,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascer-

page_text: tain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to
be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar monthis next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Davis, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the sanic is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hercunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
My improvements in the manufacture of bread relate, first, to the pre-
paration of the dough. In effecting this I prepare about one-third or fourth
part of the whole amount to be treated, and induce in it fermentation in the
ordinary way. The remaining portion to be operated on I render vesicular
before inducing in it any fermentation. For this purpose I mix the dough in
an apparatus, to be herein-after described, adding with the water necessary a
proportion of muriatic acid, mixing also a suitable quantity of carbonate of
soda with the flour. The mixture of the acidulated water with the soda in
the flour generates carbonic acid in the dough formed, which renders it
spongy. The leaven or fermented part of the dough is then mixed with the
vesicular and spongy dough, and fermentation of the whole thereby induced.
A sufficient time is allowed for the fermentation; the dough is then formed
into loaves. By this means much time is saved in the fermentation, and
consequently much deterioration of the flour prevented.
The apparatus I employ is, first, the mixing apparatus before mentioned,
which consists of a horizontal cylinder furnished with a central shaft, having
radial tines or prongs. Another bar or shaft, parallel with the first, moves
round within the periphery of the cylinder, having also tines or prongs directed
towards the central shaft. These two series of prongs move round in opposite
directions, and stir up and mix the dough, as required.
My further improvements relate to the application of moulds to form the
loaves of the same shape as band-made loaves, in which the dough is. forced
by suitable apparatus. These moulds I form to divide and separate, so that
the loaves can be readily removed from them. I fill these moulds with the
dough by expressing and forcing it into them by a screw or piston chamber,
in the manner of expressing and moulding plastic materials generally.
In the manufacture of bread it is necessary that the dough of which it is
composed should be rendered spongy and porous by fermentation, or other-
wise. The fermentation usually resorted to by bakers is produced by the
admixture of yeast, which partly decomposes the dough, thereby generating

page_text: of
carbonic acid. The yeast, or leaven formed with the yeast, being intimately
mixed with the dough, the gas is generated in small particles throughout the
whole mass, which is thereby rendered vesicular, as required. The process
fermentation as usually practised is very slow, consequently occupies much
time in attaining the required result, besides destroying a good portion of the
dough itself. I am aware that it has been proposed to render dough spongy
and less dense, introducing the gas, and mixing it with the dough under
pressure, which, if properly mixed, has that effect; but in this case it is
difficult, nay almost impossible, to keep the dough in its lightened and spongy
state for any length of time after the pressure has been removed from it,
consequently the subsequent treatment of the dough is difficult of performance,
while at the same time retaining the sponginess produced by the gas.
Now, according to my Invention, I produce gas in lough by the admixture
of chemical matters, which act on each other for that purpose, but which
matters do not deteriorate or destroy any portion of the dough, or only in a
very minute degree. This treatment produces all the sponginess desired, and
in order that it shall retain that sponginess for a sufficient. length of time to
admit of the subsequent treatment necessary to form loaves of bread and even
to increase that sponginess during the process of forming into loaves, I mix
with this aerated dough a leaven formed either of part of the flour dough itself,
or it may be of potatoes and flour, or other matters mixed with about one-
fourth the quantity of yeast, this would be used for the whole amount of
dough in ordinary, which leaven I mix with the dough lightened and rendered
spongy by the production of gas therein, as described. This mixture of leaven
quickly produces fermentation in the whole mass, but this being already suffi-
ciently lightened and spongy, loaves may be formed almost immediately of
such dough. By reason of the small amount of yeast used, and the short time
it is allowed to act, little or no destruction of the dough takes place, and com-
paratively a great saving results by the production of a greater number of
loaves from a sack of Hour than it is possible to produce by the ordinary
means; besides which the whole operation occupies only about one-sixth part
of the time occupied in the manufacture of bread by fermentation in the ordi-
nary way. Thus, according to my process, I combine two actions for effecting
the lightening or aeration of the dough, the one by generating gas by the
mutual decomposition of chemical matters introduced in the dough for that
purpose, and the action of fermentation by the leaven, whereby to maintain
and augment the aeration or spongy property of the dough, as required. There
are numerous matters that may be introduced into the dough for the produc-
tion of the carbonic acid, but I prefer to use hydrochloric acid and carbonate.

page_text: of soda as the mutual decomposition of those materials results in commoni
salt with no other residuum, salt being an ingredient essentially necessary in
the manufacture of bread. In all cases care must be taken that too niuch of
the acid and soda is not introduced, as the bread would be to salt. Other
known processes may be adopted for aerating the dough, but, for reasons above
given, I prefer the use of hydrochloric acid and soda. In carrying out this
manufacture I use hydrochloric acid (the muriatic acid of commerce) and car-
bonate of soda in the proportions of about three pounds of the hydrochloric
acid and about two and a half pounds of the carbonate of soda to every sack
of flour; the acid being mixed with the water that is to form the dough
while the soda is previously mixed intimately with the flour.
For the purpose of mixing the water and flour so impregnated witu acid
and soda, I employ a machine, according to my Invention, which is represented
at Figs. 1 and 2 of the Sheet of Drawings annexed, Fig. 1 being an end
view, and Fig. 2 a longitudinal section. It consists of a metal cylinder A
niounted on two standards B, B; the cylinder ends which are fixtures thereto
are furnished with gudgeons a fitted in bearings in the standards B, so that it
may turn round therein. A frame C; C, having numerous projecting prongs or
tines b, b, is moninted within the cylinder A on the hollow axis c fitted within
the gudgeons a; this axis is prolonged at one end through the gudgeon and
has a spur wheel'd attached to it, by whicli it is driven from the motive shaft,
D by spur wheel k: There is also a central shaft E passing within the hollow,
axis c, which shaft has mounted on it numerous arms e carrying prongs similar
to those of C, but which receive motion in a contrary direction to that of frame
C; the motion being transmitted from same shaft D; in this case it is through
an intermediate stud wheel f, which gears with and conimunicates motion from
wheel g fixed on shaft D to wheel h fixed on axis E. The cylinder A is fur-
nished with a door L occupying a section of the cylinder, and opening nearly.
the whole length. thereof. This door is binged and furnished with. suitable
fastenings to close and fix it sufficiently tight for the purposes of the operation.
The cylinder itself is fixed during the operation. In commencing, the cylinder
is turned with the door at the upper part, which is then opened. The flour to
to be operated upon is then placed in the cylinder, a small portion being kept
back for the purpose of mixing with the proper quantity of carbonate of soda,
which being suitably mixed by hand is then distributed uniformly on the top:
of the flour previously placed in the cylinder. A few turns is now given to the
rotators b, e, which mixes the soda intimately with the bulk of the flour. The
proper proportion of hydrochloric acid is at the same time diluted with a.
quantity of water, such as will render the dough of the consistence used.by

page_text: bakers. The acid so diluted is then introduced amongst the flour in the
cylinder A and the door L closed. The agitators E, C, are now put in motion,
which is continued until the whole is intimately mixed. The chemical com-
bination of the acid with the soda commences to generate carbonic acid
simultaneously with the formation of the dough in small portions intimately
interspersed in the dough, which rapidly becomes thoroughly vesicular, as re-
quired, having allowed sufficient time for the mixing of the dough and the
aeration required; the dough so aerated is then to be mixed with the leaven,
before mentioned. This leaven I prepare, it may be of about of a third or
fourth part of the whole amount of flour used, or it may be with a mixture of
flour and potatoes in about the same quantity, this I mix into a dough with
about one-half the quantity of yeast that would be used in ordinary for the
whole amount of flour used. This leaven is prepared previously by producing
and aërating the dough in the cylinder, and is allowed to remain about an
hour to ferment, when so fermented and the aërated dough mixed, as before
described, I open the door of cylinder A and introduce the leaven or fermented
dough. The agitators C & E are again set in motion and the whole mass
thereby intimately mixed. Having stirred the mass for a few minutes it is left
for about half an hour to ferment, the whole mass is then ready to be moulded
into loaves. The cylinder A is now turned on its axis to bring the door of the
cylinder A to the lower part, when it is opened and the fermented and aërated
dough allowed to fall out into any suitable receptacle to be afterwards moulded
by hand, or it may be into a moulding machine and moulded according to the
third part of my Invention. I may here remark that although it may require
from an hour to an hour and a half to produce the fermented aërated dough
suitable for moulding into loaves, much time may be saved in producing a
second charge or batch by preparing at first double the quantity of leaven
required for one charge of the cylinder, and after discharging the first batch
from the cylinder, re-charging it with flour, acid, and soda, as before, which
occupies only a few minutes, and a second batch of aërated dough will be pro-
duced ready to be used with the second part of the leaven. In this way two,
three, or four batches or charges of cylinder A may be quickly produced in a
state suitable for moulding into loaves. Figs. 3, 4, & 5, represent the appa-
ratus for moulding loaves according to my Invention; 7 represents in section
the channel and orifice of a machine, such as used for expressing plastic
materials, it may be a chamber having a piston by which the plastic material
is discharged, or it may be a screw or other analogous means, and as well
understood with reference to expressing and moulding clay. The orifice of
this chamber is furnished with a slide m, by which the discharge of the dough

page_text: may be cut off at any time when the mould is full, n being a band lever
mounted on a fixed fulcrum at p for moving the slide m; r, r¹, is the mould
formed in two parts, and so as to separate near the middle. This mould is
formed as near as possible to give the shape of hand-made loaves to the loaves
so moulded, the exterior line being the exterior of the metal or other material
of which the moulds are composed, while the dotted lines which run some-
what parallel thereto show the interior and moulding surface thereof. The
two parts of this mould r & r', are jointed together at s at the one end, while
at the other end a projecting dovetail t is formed, which dovetail fits into a
dovetailed recess at the expressing orifice in such manner that the opening
v to the mould coincides with that orifice. The dovetail t, and similar socket
u keeps the parts of the moulds together and at same time in position, as
shown at Fig. 3. So soon as the mould is full of dough, which may be indi-
cated by its exuding at some small aperture therein, the slide m is closed and
the mould removed from socket u, the parts 7, 7, are then separated and the
moulded loaf removed, the operation is again repeated, and so on. Fig. 3
shows the escaping orifice of the expressing machine in vertical section,
showing also the bottom or top of the loaf mould, it being on its side; Fig. 4
shows the side view of the mould, and Fig. 5, an end view of the same, with
the orifice v. The expressing chamber may be disposed so that the dough
may be dropped from the mixing cylinder into it, or it may be otherwise dis-
posed, and the dough otherwise introduced. The moulds may and indeed
would require to be numerous, and fitting on to one, two, three, or more
expressing orifices of the same machine. In case of using a piston to exert
the expressing force a sufficient escape should be provided around the piston
if driven by steam power, so as act as a safety valve in case all the slides m are
shut. The loaves when so moulded are baked in the ordinary manner.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Davis, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
117M DAVIS
UZM DAVIS
VIS. (L.S.)