Improvements in or relating to Methods of Preserving Bread.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 11th July, 1899 -Accepted, 26th Aug., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Methods of Preserving Bread.
I, HENRI ALFRED SÉVIGNÉ, of No. 15, Berwick Park, Boston, County of
Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, United States of America, Baker, do hereby
declare the nature of my invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
This invention has for its object the provision of an improvement in the art
of preserving bread whereby the same may be accomplished expeditiously and
economically, and yet efficaciously preserve or protect it against microbes or
other germs, as well as from being soiled or defouled by frequent handling or in
coming in contact with objectionable things.
To this end the invention consists in the art of preserving bread embracing
the steps of baking it in an oven in which the heat is sufficient to kill all bacteria
and germs which might exist in the dough, allowing the bread to cool until it
is at a temperature of about 90 degrees Fahrenheit, then wrapping each loaf in
a flexible practically germ-proof and water-proof wrapper or covering when the
bread is at the temperature aforesaid.
The invention also consists, as a new article of manufacture, of a loaf of bread
baked in an oven in which the temperature is sufficient to destroy microbes and
bacteria of all the different sorts cooled to a temperature of about 90 degrees
Fahrenheit, and then enclosed within a practically germ-proof and water-proof
wrapper, all as I shall now proceed to describe in detail and then point out in
the claims.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters and
figures marked thereon, forming a part of this specification, the same letters
designating the same parts or features, as the case may be, wherever they occur.
Of the drawings--
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a loaf of bread enclosed in a wrapper in
accordance with my process.
Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view thereof.
In carrying out my improved process, the dough for the bread is mixed in
the ordinary way during which time it is liable to be impregnated with germs
of various sorts which are injurious to the human body. After the dough has
been sufficiently mixed, the loaves are placed in an oven which is heated to a
temperature sufficient to bake the bread and at the same time destroy all of
the germs and bacteria, and after the bread has been baked, it is withdrawn
from the oven and allowed to cool until it is at a temperature of 90 to 100
degrees Fahrenheit. Then it is immediately, while at that temperature,
enclosed within a wrapper of waxed or paraffined paper or other suitable and
practically germ-proof and water-proof substance b, which is wrapped about it
in any desired manner. may smooth down the lapping edges c if the wrapper
be of waxed paper, melting the wax at this point, and practically sealing the
wrapper on the loaf.
In practice, I tie a cord d about the loaf as represented in Figure 1, to
prevent the wrapper from being displaced or becoming loosened.

page_text: One of the greatest objections to the use of bakers' bread has been due to
the fact that it has to be handled by several persons whose hands are not apt
to be clean, and especially by the driver who handles the reins and other
portions of the harness of the horse, by means of which the delivery wagon is
drawn, so that the bread not only becomes defouled but also becomes filled with
injurious microbes and bacteria.
By this means the bread frequently becomes a medium of transmitting
disease, especially during the time when various insects are likely to deposit
their eggs upon it. Whereas, by employing my improved method of preserving
the bread, I so enclose the latter while it is in its warm state that those chemical
changes which take place during the cooling of the bread are retarded and the
bread remains in a "fresh" state for many days beyond what it would, without
the outer covering. The bread is thoroughly protected from germs and insects
and against being defouled or damaged by handling with unclean hands, or
coming into contact with objectionable and unclean objects.
It has heretofore been proposed to wrap confectionery, such as caramels,"
molasses candy, etc., in paraffined or wax wrappers, but I lay no claim to a wax
or paraffined wrapper for use in wrapping candy. My invention is designed to
accomplish a result heretofore not attained, and that is the preserving of the
purity and the freshness of bread. Bread becomes "stale" by reason of the
union of the moisture therein with the albuminous constituents, and it becomes
hard and inedible. When covered by a practically water-tight wrapping, the
moisture is retained in the bread, and at the same time oxygen is admitted in
sufficient quantities to arrest the union of the moisture with the albuminous
constituents.
It has been proposed to seal some substances against the entrance of air by
dipping them in melted wax or paraffin, but it will be readily seen that bread
could not be subjected to that process, inasmuch as the melted wax would enter
the pores of the bread and render it unfit for use.
Waxed or paraffined paper not only protects the bread, but is transparent
sufficiently to see what kind of bread is enclosed within the wrapper, and also
to enable a person to read a label inserted between the wrapper and the bread.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. The improvement in the art of preserving bread consisting in baking it in
an oven heated to a high temperature, removing the bread therefrom and allow-
ing it to cool until it is at a temperature of about 90 degrees Fahrenheit, then
wrapping each loaf in a practically germ-proof and water-proof wrapper before
the temperature of the bread is reduced to the normal temperature of the
atmosphere, lapping the edges of the wrapper therearound, and securing it upon
the bread, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
2. As a new article of manufacture, a loaf of bread enclosed in a flexible,
sealed germ-proof and water-proof wrapper, said wrapper being sufficiently trans-
parent to enable the contents to be identified.
Dated this
uay UI June 1099.
uay UI June 1099.
HENRI ALFRED SÉVIGNÉ.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.