Improvements in or relating to the Manufacture of Dough.
Year: 1899

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to the Manufacture of Dough.
We, WILLIAM STEPHEN CORBY and CHARLES ISRAEL CORBY, of 2305, Bright-
wood Avenue, in the City of Washington, District of Columbia, United States
of America, Bakers, and THEODORE JACOB MAYER, of 214, B Street, South-east,
in the City of Washington aforesaid, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-
It is well known that the flour of wheat differs from that of all other seeds and
grains in that a coherent dough can be made from it, due to the gluten of the
wheat, which, when combined with water forms a tenacious, elastic mass. The
gluten of wheat owes its peculiar characteristics largely to the presence of a
proteid substance known as a gliadin, and it is because of this substance and
the peculiarities of the gluten into which it enters as a constituent that wheat
flour is so peculiarly adapted for the making of fermented or leavened bread.
Owing to the coherent nature of the gluten, the dough made from wheat flour
can be made to retain within it the carbonic acid gas arising from the growth of
yeast.
In the making of a theoretically perfect dough there are several desiderata.
First, every molecule of the gluten contained in the flour should be provided
with an amount of water sufficient to perfectly hydrate it.
Second, the particles of the yeast. or other ferment employed should be
uniformly distributed throughout the dough so as to come into contact with the
materials necessary to, and under conditions favorable to, its growth, in order
that the gas generated shall be uniformly distributed throughout the dough mass;
and
Third, in a perfect dough, the gluten, fully hydrated as aforesaid, and the
starch and other materials contained in the flour, must be so related to the yeast
or other ferment as that every particle of the latter will be surrounded by a
coating of gluten, in order that the gas as developed shall be distributed with
uniformity throughout the dough mass so that the pores in the completed bread
shall be regular in distribution and size.
This invention has for one of its objects to attain all of these requirements at
one initial and complete operation; and for another object to attain an approxi-
mately perfect blending of the dough by means of a novel method of dough
manipulation or treatment, in which the dough is subject to drawing-out,
sheeting, or shredding operations, to be bereinafter described. And in order
that a better understanding of our invention may be had, and to distinguish it
from the prior art, we will first describe the process ordinarily followed in making
leavened or fermented bread.
First, the flour, and certain quantities of water, yeast, salt, and other
ingredients, are put into a receptacle, either all at one time, or at different stages
in the mixing operation, and are mixed to a certain extent, either by hand
or machine, and kneaded into a somewhat stiff, coherent dough. The dough thus
made is then put into a trough or other receptacle and allowed to stand for

page_text: several hours, when it will have become partially raised or leavened by the
development of the gas by the yeast or ferment. Up to this point, owing to the
incomplete combination of all the particles of gluten with the water, there still
remains a considerable amount of such gluten which has not been fully hydrated,
and the dough has by no means reached that glutenous, tenacious, and elastic
condition which is theoretically and practically possible, in view of the amount
of the gluten contained in the flour, and the amount of water it is possible
for such gluten to take up in its complete hydration. Owing to these conditions
the dough is not well suited at this stage of the process for baking. Further,
owing to the incomplete mixing or dissemination of the yeast throughout the
dough mass in its initial treatment, the latter is in no condition for baking, for
the reason that it is raised or leavened at certain spots only, and a large part
thereof remains still heavy and dense. In consequence of these conditions, further
operations become necessary, and
.
Second, the next step is to knead the dough mass, for the purpose of more
thoroughly disseminating the yeast, and to open out the heavy, unleavened
portions of the dough so that the yeast may be brought into contact with those
portions from which it may obtain more sugar to convert into carbonic acid gas
and thus increase the quantity of gas which causes the raising of the dough.
After this kneading operation the dough is allowed to stand for several hours
more, or until a further amount of gas is generated, and the heavy, unleavened
portions of the dough are gradually leavened.
Third, the next step is once more to subject the dough to a kneading operation,
so that, in the manner already described, the yeast may be still further dis-
seminated, after which the dough is allowed to again stand and rise. This
re-kneading is subsequently repeated as often as may be necessary, until the entire
mass of dough is brought to such a degree of lightness and strength that it may
safely be molded into loaves and baked, with a reasonable expectation that the
bread will be light and wholesome.
The process described occupies a long time-from seven to ewelve hours;
and the results attained thereby are only approximately perfect at best, as may be
seen from the irregularity in the size of the cavities left by the gas in the
bread, due to the irregular dissemination of the yeast: the incomplete develop-
ment or hydration of the gluten and the partial breaking down of the tenacious
characteristics of the gluten, incident to the length of time elapsing between
the initial mixing and the baking operations and as may be seen further by the
unduly rapid drying of the baked loaf, due to the unhydrated gluten in the
bread absorbing the moisture from the other parts thereof, and so robbing them
of the moisture they should retain for wholesomeness and palatableness.
:
In the process just described, the dough, both during the initial mixing and
kneading operation, and the subsequent re-kneading operations, is maintained in
mass condition, being pressed together, squeezed, and thumped,-operations
which have rendered the complete hydration of the gluten and the perfect dis-
semination of the yeast throughout the mass practically impossible. It is quite
evident that the attempts to reorganize the mass of dough, after it is first mixed
or formed into a coherent mass, by kneading, or treating the dough while main-
tained in mass condition, are carried out under disadvantageous conditions; and
the thorough mixing and combination of the ingredients is but imperfectly
accomplished, even with the most careful and painstaking treatment, as the
tough, tenacious and dense condition of the dough makes it impossible to sub-
divide and mix and blend it by kneading operations, wherein the dough is treated
in mass condition. The re-kneading operations which have been described,
cannot, therefore, incorporate and intermingle the already developed gas, or
uniformly mingle and distribute the imperfectly leavened portions of the dough,-
or so mingle and bring into intimate contact the water and the gluten as to
insure the perfect hydration of the latter. These re-kneading operations have
been erformed by hand and though neceskarily superficial in the results

page_text: attained, and thus imperfect, have been necessary in following the old processes,
as without them the dough could not be brought to a satisfactory condition for
baking.
It will thus be seen that the theory upon which heretofore the manipulation of
dough in its making has proceeded, in order to bring it to a condition suitable for
baking, has been that the dough must be pressed together, squeezed, thumped,
or kneaded, while maintained in a mass condition, in order to disseminate the
yeast and mix the ingredients. We have discovered, however, that decidedly
novel and advantageous results are attained by proceeding upon another theory
of dough manipulation, namely this the drawing out or sub-dividing of the
dough after the first mixing of the ingredients to form them into a coherent
mass into sheet-like or shred-like sub-masses or particles, and recombining
these with the main mass, and repeating these operations rapidly and many times
until the entire mass assumes a condition of approximately perfect homogeneity.
The long and tedious process hereinbefore described we have found to be
wholly unnecessary: while by means of our process we not only very closely
approximate theoretically perfect results, but also eliminate much of the uncer-
tainty attending the processes heretofore in vogue, and which are incident to the
individual skill and conscientious care of those carrying out such processes, while
we substitute therefor the uniformity and certainty incident to machine-work
results
Our invention consists in a process whereby we are able to secure at the
outset, and in one initial and complete operation, the results hereinbefore referred.
to as desiderata in the dough making art, that is to say, the complete hydration
of the gluten, simultaneously with the bringing of the yeast into complete
contact with the gas-producing elements, by perfectly disseminating it through-
out the dough as the latter is produced, and the complete surrounding of the yeast
particles thus disseminated by glutinous envelopes. The result of this part of
our invention is that practically every particle of the gluten-the most important
constituent of the flour-is brought into the condition required for making whole-
some bread; and this gluten, in its elastic, tenacious condition, due to perfect
hydration. is formed about each and every particle of yeast. In other words we
secure in a few minutes such a mingling of the several elements of the dough as
has never heretofore been attained, and which has only been approximated by
the slow and tedious methods heretofore followed.
Our invention consists, further, in a process of treating or manipulating dough
after it has been formed into a coherent mass, by rapidly drawing out from the
main dough mass particle by particle of such mass, and again recombining such
particles with the main mass, and continuing such operations until the drawn-
out particles assume sheet-like or shred-like forms of great tenacity, whereby
the dough is made to assume a condition of practically perfect homogeneity and
smoothness, at whatever time such treatment takes place between the first mixing
of the ingredients of the dough and the molding of the same into loaves for
baking.
And our invention further consists in a machine or apparatus for carrying
our processes into effect.
We will now describe what we consider to be the most approved method of
carrying out our invention. We place the flour, water, yeast, and other ingre
dients of the dough together, using about 38 per cent. more water than has
heretofore been customary, that is we use about 18 gallons of water for eacli
196 pounds of flour, whereas the usual practice has been to use about 13 gallons
of water for that amount of flour.
All of these ingredients, in an unmixed condition, are placed in a machine,
which preferably consists of a vessel adapted to contain the ingredients and the
dough as it is being made, and in which vessel is arranged a horizontal, rotary
shaft, carrying a series of rods, bars, or blades, parallel, or approximately parallel,
with the shaft. The shaft is so geared as to be driven at a high speed-a speed

page_text: sufficiently great to cause the dough being formed, or portions thereof, to be
carried around by the rods, bars, or blades, and to be acted on thereby in a
manner to be described.
The materials being thus placed in the machine, the shaft and bars or rods
carried thereby are revolved at a high rate of speed, and in a short time (about
a minute) the materials are mixed and form a coherent mass of moist dough,
which, however, is rough in appearance, and has but little tenacity. The rapid
rotation of the shaft, and the bars carried by it, continuing, causes a series of
rapidly-recurring cycles of agitation of the mass of dough, breaking it up and
drawing it out into minor masses which are thrown about by the centrifugal
action of the bars, and this condition continues for a short time (usually about
five or six minutes) after the starting of the apparatus.
The operation of the machine being continued, it will soon be noticed that the
minor masses of dough into which the main mass was broken up, as before
described, begin to adhere with each other and with the main mass to a greater
and greater extent, showing a rapid development of the glutenous condition of
the dough, due to the more and more perfect hydration of the gluten. At about
this stage in the process there occurs a very complete and rapid breaking up or
disintegration of the little clusters or nodules of mutually-adhering, unmixed
particles of flour, and the dough begins to become so tenacious and elastic as to
permit it to extend from bar to bar in strings, shreds, folds, sheets and membranes,
the centrifugal effect of the revolving bars causing the dough to be worked
almost wholly by the peripheral or outer sets of bars and against the walls of the
casing or vessel such walls tending to retard the movement of the dough, while
the bars, rapidly moving, draw it out into thin sheets and membranes, which
are carried around by the bars and are folded one upon another, until, accumu-
lating in sheets, these are thrown off by centrifugal force against the walls of
the vessel, to be again caught up and drawn out into shreds, sheets, and membranes
by the bars. This operation is continued for about twenty minutes from the
starting of the apparatus, at which time the dough will be found to be of a
perfectly homogeneous and smooth consistency or texture.
During the drawing-out of the dough into sheets, membranes, shreds, and fibre-
like sub-masses, and again uniting these by folding one sheet upon another, air
is enclosed between the folded sheets or membranes, and being confined by the
tenacious, glutenous condition of the dough, is worked through the entire mass,
so that the dough made according to our process, becomes thoroughly aerated
simultaneously with the mixing and blending operations.
We believe that this process or method of dough-treatment, which consists in
the drawing-out of the dough into sheets, membranes, shreds, and fibre-like
particles or sub-masses, which are re-united with the main dough mass, and these
operations repeated rapidly, again and again, is entirely novel in the art of
dough and bread making, at whatever stage in the process, relative to the first
mixing of the ingredients, it may take place. We prefer that it should take
place immediately after the initial mixing of the ingredients into a coherent
mass; such initial mixing and subsequent drawing-out operations following
each other in natural sequence as the material being treated is continuously acted
upon by the apparatus, as we have found that such method of treatment results
in a larger yield of wholesome bread (in weight) from a given quantity of flour.
The dough made by our process, as herein-before described, is preferably put
into a trough or other receptacle and allowed to stand for an hour or two for the
yeast to develop and lighten the dough, when it may be molded and baked.
The dough may, however, be allowed to stand for a considerable time longer
than two hours without injury, due to the perfect dissemination of the yeast
throughout the mass, and the complete hydration of the gluten, which conditions
prevent the injurious local over-activity of the yeast, due to imperfect dissemina-
tion thereof. There is also no portion of the dough remaining unleavened and
heavy and the shorter time required to fit the dough for being baked diminishes

page_text: the products of bacterial growth, and the formation of lactic and other acids is
kept at a minimum, and the danger of spoiling the dough and ruining the bread
is avoided.
The baked bread made from this dough is thoroughly light and uniformly
porous, and is unusually while in appearance, this latter characteristic being also
present, in a marked degree, in the dough made according to our process, which
is strikingly whiter than the doughs made according to the usual methods.
Another characteristic of our dough is its great strength, incident, of course, to
the perfect development of the gluten, which enables it, even when made very
soft, to retain its shape when sub-divided, and when molded, which characteristic
is of great importance, as tending to facilitate the making of uniformly- and
well-shaped loaves.
A striking result of our process is that no less than twenty or thirty more
loaves of bread, of pound weight, are secured from one barrel, of 196 pounds of
flour, than is possible under the old methods of procedure. This is due to the
fact that there is practically no unhydrated gluten left in the dough and bread,
all having entered into chemical union with water, supplied at the initial mixing
of the ingredients. This does not mean that water is injected into the dough or.
added thereto, as an adulterant-which would make a sloppy dough difficult or
impossible to properly handle, if proceeding according to the old methods
since it, the water, has, as such, disappeared, and is chemically united with the
gluten.
It is a well-known fact that there is a considerable loss in the valuable and
nutritive elements of flour during its fermentation when made into dough,
according to the usual methods of procedure, and that this loss is especially large
in the nitrogenous parts of the flour. It is also well known that the longer the
period of fermentation, the greater, proportionately, is the loss. By our novel
process, where the period of fermentation is reduced to a marked degree-being
only from one third to one tenth as long as when proceeding according to usual
methods there is a great saving in the valuable properties of the flour, as there
is little, if any, breaking down or decomposition of the nitrogenous elements of
the flour so shortly after the initial mixing of the dough.
Dated this 26th day of April 1899.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicants.
Improvements in or relating to the Manufacture of Dough.
We, WILLIAM STEPHEN CORBY and CHARLES ISRAEL CORBY, of 2305, Bright-
wood Avenue, in the City of Washington, District of Columbia, United States
of America, Bakers, and THEODORE JACOB MAYER, of 214, B Street, South-east,
in the City of Washington aforesaid, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:―
It is well known that the flour of wheat differs from that of all other seeds
and grains in that a dough made therefrom is coherent to a greater degree than
a dough made from any other flour, and this is due to the gluten of the wheat
which, when combined with water, forms a tenacious, elastic mass. The gluten
of wheat owes its peculiar characteristics largely to the presence of two proteid
substances, known as gliadin and glutenin, and it is believed by us to be because
of these substances, and the peculiarities of the gluten into which they enter as

page_text: constituents, that wheat flour is so peculiarly adapted for the making of leavened
or fermented bread. Owing to the coherent nature of the gluten, the dough
formed from wheat flour can be made to retain within it the carbonic acid gas
arising from the growth of yeast, and also bodies of air to assist in the proper
action of the dough ingredients.
In the making of a theoretically perfect dough there are several desiderata.
First Every molecule of the gluten-forming constituents contained in the
flour should be provided with an amount of water sufficient to perfectly hydrate
it, and thereby develop the strength of the dough.
Second: The particles of the yeast, or other ferment employed, should be
uniformly distributed throughout the dough, and be brought into contact with
the materials necessary to, and under conditions favorable to, its growth, in order
that the action of the yeast upon the flour shall be facilitated, and that the
gas generated shall be uniformly distributed throughout the dough mass; and
Third: In a perfect dough, the gluten, fully hydrated as aforesaid, the starch,
and other materials contained in the flour, must be so related to the yeast or
other ferment as that practically every particle of the latter will be surrounded
with a coating of gluten, in order that the gas developed shall be distributed
with uniformity throughout the dough mass, so that there may be uniformity
in the distribution and size of the pores of the completed bread.
The present invention relates to the attaining of the above-described desiderata
by means of a series of steps which insure that they (the desired thorough com-
mingling of the ingredients, and bring them mutually, particle by particle, into
advantageous juxtaposition) are reached at a stage anterior to any material break-
ing down or disintegration of the more valuable ingredients of the dough, such as
the proteids, and particularly the gluten masses; and among the objects of the
invention are to obtain an approximately perfect blending of the dough ingre-
dients by a novel manner of dough manipulation or treatment, in which it is
subjected to drawing out, sheeting, or shredding operations; and, second, to
provide a method by which all of the above-described desiderata or requirements
can be attained at one initial and complete operation, whenever the materials and
conditions permit.
In order to insure a better understanding of our invention, and to distinguish
it from the prior art, we will first describe the steps which have heretofore
commonly been followed in the manufacture of dough for leavened bread.
First The flour, and certain quantities of water, yeast, salt, and other ingre-
dients, are put into a receptacle-either all at one time, as, for instance, in making
what are known as straight doughs; or at different stages of the mixing opera-
tions, as, for instance, in making what are known as sponge doughs and these
ingredients are mixed to a certain extent, either by hand or machine, and are
kneaded into a somewhat stiff, coherent dough. The dough thus made is then
put into a trough or other receptacle, and allowed to stand for several hours,
when it will have become partially raised or leavened by the development of the
gas under the action of the yeast or other ferment. Up to this point, owing
to the incomplete combination of the particles of gluten, or gluten-forming
bodies, with water, there still remains a considerable amount of gluten-forming
bodies, or gluten, which has not been fully hydrated, and the mass has by no
means reached that glutenous, tenacious, and elastic condition, which is
theoretically and practically possible, in view of the amount of gluten-forming
bodies contained in the flour, and the amount of water which it is possible for
such bodies to take up in their complete hydration. Owing to these conditions,
the dough is not in the best condition for baking. Further, owing to the incom-
plete mixing or dissemination of the yeast throughout the dough mass in its
initial treatment, the latter is as yet in no condition for baking, for the reason
that it is raised or leavened at certain spots only, and a large part thereof still
remains heavy and dense. In consequence of these conditions, further operations
become necessary; and

page_text: Second: The next step in the dough making operation is to knead over the
mass for the purpose of increasing the strength of the dough, more completely
disseminating the yeast throughout the mass, and opening out the heavy,
unleavened portions, so that the yeast may be brought into contact with those
portions, from which it can obtain more sugar to convert into carbonic acid gas,
and thus increase the quantity of gas which causes the raising of the dough
After this operation, the dough is allowed to stand for several hours more, or
until a further amount of gas is generated, and until the heavy, unleavened
portions of the dough are gradually leavened.
Third: The next step is to once more subject the dough to a kneading process.
so that, in the manner already described, the leaven may be still further dis-
seminated, and the strength of the dough further developed, after which the
dough is again allowed to stand and rise. This re-kneading is subsequently
repeated as often as may be necessary, until the entire mass of dough is brought
to such a degree of lightness and strength that it may be safely divided into loaves
and baked, with the expectation that the bread will be light and wholesome.
The process just described occupies a long time-from seven to twelve hours-
and the results attained thereby are only approximately perfect at best, as may be
seen from the irregularities in the size of the cavities left by the gas in the
bread, due to the irregular dissemination of the yeast throughout the dough, the
incomplete development or hydration of the gluten, and the partial breaking down
of the tenacious characteristics of the gluten, incident to the length of time
elapsing between the initial mixing and the baking operation; and as may be
further seen from the unduly rapid drying of the baked loaf, due, we believe, to
the unhydrated gluten in the bread absorbing the moisture from the other
parts thereof, and so robbing them of the moisture that they should retain for
wholesomeness and palatability.
In the process just described, the dough, both during the initial mixing and
kneading operation, and the subsequent re-kneading operations, is maintained,
during the manipulations to which it is subjected, in mass condition, which
method of treatment renders the complete hydration of the gluten or gluten-
forming bodies, and the perfect dissemination of the yeast or ferment throughout
the mass practically impossible as is uniformly recognized by the trade, and
by those who have made a careful study of the bread-making art.
It is quite
evident that the attempts to reorganize the mass of dough, after it is first mixed
or formed into a coherent mass, by kneading or treating the dough while main-
tained in mass condition, and the thorough mixing and combination of the
ingredients, is but imperfectly accomplished, even with the most careful and
painstaking treatment, as the tough and tenacious condition of the dough makes
it impossible to sub-divide and mix or blend it by such kneading operations,
which operate to press together, or squeeze, the dough in mass. The re-kneading
operations which have been described cannot, therefore, uniformly mingle and
distribute the imperfectly leavened portions of the dough, or mingle and bring
into such intimate contact as to permit union, the gluten and gluten-forming
ingredients and the water, so as to insure complete hydration of such materials.
The re-kneading operations described have been, and under practical conditions
must be, performed by hand, and, though necessarily superficial in the results
attained, and thus imperfect, have been necessary in following the old process, as
without them the dough cannot be brought to even the ordinary condition for
baking.
It will thus be seen that the theory upon which, heretofore, the manipulation
of dough has proceeded, in order to bring it to a condition suitable for baking,
has been that the dough must be manipulated while it is maintained in mass
condition, in order to mix the ingredients and disseminate the yeast. We have
discovered, however, that decidedly novel and advantageous results are attained
by proceeding upon another theory of dough manipulation, namely this, the
drawing-out or sub-dividing of the dough-after the first mixing of the ingredients

page_text: to form them into a coherent mass-into sheet-like, or shred-like sub-masses or
particles, and recombining these with the main mass, and repeating these opera-
tions rapidly and many times, until the entire mass assumes a condition of
approximately perfect homogeneity.
We have discovered that the long and laborious processes heretofore in vogue
are wholly unnecessary; and that the results obtained from them-while giving
a more or less satisfactory sort of bread, accordingly as care and skill are
exercised in carrying out the processes-have never been such as are theoretically
and practically possible. By our process we not only very closely approximate
theoretically perfect results, but we also eliminate much of the uncertainty
attending the processes heretofore in vogue, and which are incident to the
individual skill and conscientious care of those carrying out such processes; and
we substitute therefor the uniformity and certainty incident to machine-work
results.
One part of our invention consists in a process whereby we are able to secure at
the outset, and in one initial and complete operation, the results hereinbefore
referred to, that is to say, the complete hydration of the gluten, simultaneously
with the bringing of the yeast into contact with the gas-producing elements by
perfectly mixing or disseminating it throughout the dough as the latter is
produced, and the complete surrounding of the yeast particles thus disseminated
by the glutenous envelopes. The result is that practically every particle of the
gluten the most important constituent of the flour--is brought into the condition
required for making wholesome bread, and this gluten, in its tenacious, elastic
condition, due to perfect hydration, is formed about each and every particle of
yeast. In other words, we secure in a few minutes such a mingling of the
several elements of the dough as has heretofore never been attained, and which has
only been approximated by the slow and tedious methods heretofore followed.
Another part of our invention consists in a process of treating and manipulating
dough at whatever time and stage in the process of manufacture, after the ingre-
dients of the dough have been formed into a moist, coherent mass, such manipu-
lation is caused to take place whereby particle after particle of the dough mass
is drawn out from the main mass, to be again quickly united with the main
mass, and such operations being repeated and continuing until the drawn-out
particles assume sheet-like or shred-like forms of great tenacity, and by which
treatment the dough is caused to assume conditions of practically perfect homo-
geneity and smoothness. Another part of our invention consists in a process of
treating and manipulating dough and at the same time subjecting it to the action
of air which is supplied in abundant quantities, whereby the dough being formed
is thoroughly aerated, and is also maintained at the proper temperature, it having
been found that dough, when made according to our process, becomes heated to
an undesirable extent unless abundant quantities of air are supplied during the
mixing operation. And our invention further consists in improved apparatus by
means of which our improved process or method of procedure may be practically
and successfully carried into effect.
We will now describe what we consider to be the most approved manner of
carrying our invention into effect, first, as applied to a dough in which all of the
ingredients are mixed together at the out-set, and, next, as applied to a dough in
which a portion of the flour and liquid employed, and all, or nearly all, of the
ferment are mixed to form a "sponge," to which is added, after it has become
light, the balance of the ingredients of the dough.
We place the flour, yeast, or other ferment, fat, salt, and other desired ingre-
dients, together, and add thereto a sufficient quantity of liquid, as water, or water
and milk. We find that it is advantageous to use a considerably larger quantity
of liquid than has heretofore been customary using approximately 87 parts, by
weight, of liquid, to 100 parts, by weight, of flour. All of the dough ingredients,
in an unmixed condition, are placed in a machine, such, for instance, as that

page_text: illustrated in the drawings, and which comprises a vessel adapted to hold the
ingredients and the dough, and in which vessel is arranged a horizontal, rotary,
beater or agitator, having a series of beater bars or blades. The beater is so geared
as to be driven at a high speed, a speed sufficiently great to cause the dough
being formed to be carried around by the arms or bars of the beater, and to be
acted on thereby in a manner to be described. The materials being placed in
the machine, and the beater run at a high speed, in a short time, (about a
minute) the materials are so mixed as to produce a moist dough, which, however,
has very little tenacity, and is rough in appearance. The rotation of the beater
continuing, causes a series of rapidly-recurring cycles of agitation in the dough
mass, which is broken into minor masses, these masses being thrown about by
the centrifugal action of the beater; and this continues for a number of
minutes. It will soon be noticed that the minor masses of dough, into which the
main mass is broken up, begin to adhere with one another and with the main
mass, to a greater and greater extent, and with increased tenacity, showing a
rapid development of the glutenous condition of the dough. At about this stage
in the process there occurs a very complete and rapid breaking up or disintegra-
tion of the little clusters or nodules of mutually-adhering, unmixed, and
unhydrated particles of flour, which, being broken up, rapidly unite with the
liquid of the dough mass. The dough now begins to become so tenacious and
elastic that it extends from bar to bar of the beater in strings, folds, sheets, and
membranes, the centrifugal effect of the beater causing the dough to be worked
almost wholly by the peripheral or outer bars of the beater and against the walls
of the casing or vessel. Such walls tend to retard or hold back the dough, while
the beater bars draw it into thin sheets and membranes, which are carried around
by the beater, and folded one upon another, until, accumulating in sheets, these
are thrown off by centrifugal action against the walls of the vessel, to be again
caught up and sheeted or shredded by the blades. This operation is continued
for about twenty or thirty minutes from the time of starting of the apparatus, at
which time the dough is of an extremely smooth, and perfectly homogeneous
texture, the yeast or ferment is uniformly distributed, and every gluten-forming
particle of the flour is hydrated or united with the proper amount of water to
form the gluten.
In making a dough in which a part of the flour and liquid, and practically all
of the ferment, are first mixed together to form a sponge," this sponge is allowed
to rise and become light, and to it are then added the balance of the ingredients
of the dough. This entire dough mass may then be subjected to a series of
manipulations such as we have described.
During the drawing out of the dough into sheets, membranes, shreds, and
fibre-like sub-masses, and again uniting these by folding one sheet upon another,
air is enclosed between the folded sheets or membranes, and, being confined by
the tenacious, glutenous conditions of the dough, is worked through the entire
mass, so that the dough formed by our process becomes thoroughly aerated
simultaneously with the mixing operations."
The dough made by our process, as herein before-described, is preferably put
into a trough or receptacle and allowed to stand for an hour or a little more for
the yeast to develop, when it may be molded and baked.
The dough may, however, be permitted to stand for a considerable length of
time without injury. due to the perfect dissemination of the yeast throughout
the mass, and the complete hydration of the gluten, so that each particle of
yeast is surrounded by a tenacious, glutenous envelope, which causes a uniform
pressure of the expanding gas throughout the entire mass, with no excessive
pressure at any point due to a local over-activity of the ferment, and to an
insufficiently tenacious gluten wall. to confine the gas. There is also no portion
of the dough remaining unleavened and heavy; and the shorter time required for
raising the dough diminishes the products of bacterial growth, and the formation

page_text: of acids is kept at a minimum, and the danger of spoiling the dough and ruining
the bread is avoided.
The baked bread from this dough is thoroughly light and uniformly porous, and
is unusually white in appearance, as compared with breads made by the common
processes, particularly when made from the higher grades of wheat flour, this
latter characteristic being also present in a marked degree in the dough made
according to our process, which is strikingly whiter than the doughs made accord-
ing to the usual method (reference again being made particularly to doughs made
from good wheat flour). Another characteristic of our dough is its great strength,
incident, of course, to the perfect development of the gluten, which enables it,
even when made very soft, to retain its shape when sub-divided, and when molded,
which characteristic is of great importance, as tending to facilitate the making
of uniformly- and well-shaped loaves.
7
Another, and a striking result of our process is the increased out-
put of bread which can be made from a given amount of flour,
which amounts, when using certain grades of flour, to no less than
from ten (10) to fifteen (15) more pound loaves of bread from one
hundred (100) pounds of flour than is possible to obtain according to the old
method of procedure. This is due to the fact that there is practically no
unhydrated gluten left in the dough and bread, all having entered into union
with the water supplied at the mixing of the ingredients. This does not mean
that water is injected into the dough, or added thereto, as an adulterant-which
would make a sloppy dough, difficult or impossible to handle, if proceeding
according to the old methods-since it, the water, has, as such, disappeared, and
is united with the gluten or other ingredients of the dough.
According to some authorities there is a considerable loss in the valuable and
nutritive elements of the flour during its fermentation, according to the usual
methods of procedure, and this loss is especially large in the nitrogenous parts
of the flour; and the longer the period of fermentation, the greater the loss.
By our process, herein-before described, where the period of fermentation may be
reduced to a marked degree-only from a third to a tenth as much time being
required as when proceeding according to the usual methods-there is a great
saving in the valuable properties of the flour, as there is little, if any, breaking
down or decomposition in the nitrogenous elements of the flour taking place so
shortly after the initial mixing of the dough.
As has been heretofore intimated, the peculiar method of dough treatment
.or manipulation which we have described, whereby the dough is drawn out
and sheeted and shredded, may take place at the time of the initial mixing of the
ingredients (this being the method of procedure which we have usually followed,
and prefer); or at the time the "sponge" is mixed with the balance of the dough
ingredients; or at a later stage in the process, as after the complete dough has
had opportunity to rise under the influence of the ferment. At whatever stage
this treatment takes place, it results in improving the quality of the dough,
rendering it smooth and homogeneous, light in color, and thoroughly aerated;
and at the same time completing the hydration of the gluten and the dissemina-
tion of the ferment, and increasing the vigor and activity of the latter.
While we do not wish our invention, so far as it relates to the process or art
of making dough, to be limited to any one particular form of machine or
apparatus, yet we have found that an apparatus such as that illustrated in the
drawings is well adapted to the carrying out of our process, and has features of
superiority over any other machine or apparatus of which we have knowledge.
Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the mixing machine
with the cover removed. Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view of the apparatus and
Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of part of the beater.
In the drawings A represents the casing or receptacle in which the dough
ingredients are placed and wherein the dough is made. In this casing, is mounted

page_text: a beater, consisting of a pair of spiders C and a series of longitudinal bars D
extending between the spiders. These bars may be of the shape in cross section
indicated in the drawings, or round, as desired. The spiders consist of a number
of arms c which are preferably radial to the axis of rotation of the beater. The
spider arms, which may be of different lengths as shown in the drawings, are
arranged to run close to the end walls of the casing and their forward edges are
arranged so as to scrape or remove the dough from the ends of the casing, the
parts of the arms in rear of such edges being adapted to force the dough inward
or slightly away from the casing ends in order to bring it into the area of action
of the beater bars. In order to assist in still further carrying the material inward
and into the path of the beaters, we prefer that the beater bars 1) should be
bent rearward as represented at d, near their ends where they unite with the
spider arms, the beater bars when angular or flat in cross section being pre-
ferably twisted as well as bent at d as indicated in the drawings. This construc-
tion of beater insures that the dough material shall not be allowed to collect
between the end walls of the casing and the beater; where, should it be allowed to
collect it would escape the action of the beater and would interfere with the
easy working of the apparatus.
The beater is represented as being provided with trunnions J which are mounted
in suitable bearings carried by the casing and provided with gear wheels E
through which the desired motion is communicated to the beater.
a indicates the cover of the apparatus, it being represented only in Fig. 2,
there partly broken away; and Q indicates an air pipe leading into the upper
part of the casing through which air might be supplied to the apparatus.
By the terms "hydrate" and "hydration," as used in this specification, we refer
to that union which takes place between water and the constituent parts of the
flour, whether such union be mechanical and physical in its nature or chemical,
the term being employed by us herein to refer to the union of water or equivalent
liquid particularly with those constituents of the flour which, when united with
the liquid, form gluten.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that
what we claim is:-
1. In the art of making dough for fermented bread, the herein-described
process, which consists in intermingling the constituents of the dough to form a
moist dough mass, and, after such mass has been formed, rapidly drawing out
or separating from the dough mass portion after portion of such mass, and
combining such portions with the main mass, and continuing such operations
until the drawn-out portions assume sheet-like and shred-like forms of great
tenacity, at whatever stage in the process after the ingredients are formed into
a moist mass of dough such drawing-out operation takes place, substantially as
set forth.
2. In the art of making dough for fermented bread, the herein-described process
which consists in completing the combination of substantially every particle of the
gluten-forming constituents of the flour with the liquid. prior to any substantial
breaking down or deleterious action taking place in the dough, and simultaneously
disseminating the ferment, whereby there is effected a practically complete
hydration of the gluten and dissemination of the ferment, while the gluten retains
its strength, substantially as set forth.
3. In the art of making dough for fermented bread, the herein-described
process, which consists in mechanically bringing into contact with the liquid
employed all of the gluten-particles of the flour, thereby completing the hydra-
tion of the gluten, and simultaneously disseminating the yeast within the said
hydrated gluten, at one initial operation and prior to the dough being allowed to
stand and rise under the influence of the ferment, substantially as set forth.
4. In the art of making dough for fermented or leavened bread, the herein-

page_text: described method of mixing the dough ingredients and hydrating substantially
all of the glutenous constituents of the flour simultaneously and at one initial
operation, prior to the dough being allowed to stand and rise under the influence
of the yeast or ferment, which consists in repeatedly shredding or drawing out
into shred sheet, or membranous forms of extreme thinness, the mass of dough, and
recombining the portions thus shredded or sheeted, substantially as set forth.
5. In the art of making dough for fermented bread, the herein-described
process of treating the dough, which consists in repeatedly drawing out or
shredding the mass of dough into sheets or membranes, and, when these sheets
become highly tenacious, folding them one upon another, thereby confining air
between them, and recombining them with the main dough mass, whereby the
entire mass becomes aerated, substantially as set forth.
6. The herein-described method of dough treatment, which consists, first, in
mingling the ingredients to form a moist dough mass, second, in rapidly moving
such mass, or portions thereof, successively, around an axis of rotation with a
centrifugal speed, until sheet-like or shred-like sub-masses are formed, third, in
recombining such sub-masses into the general dough mass, and, fourth, con-
tinuing said sheeting and shredding and recombining operations rapidly to
completely and quickly distribute the ferment and hydrate the gluten, sub-
stantially as set forth."
7. In the art of making dough, the herein-described process, consisting, first, in
mingling together the ingredients of the dough and partially hydrating the
gluten, forming a coherent dough mass, and then causing the said mass, or
portions thereof, to move rapidly around an axis of rotation with a centrifugal
speed, and throwing off, by centrifugal force, masses or portions of dough, recom-
bining these into the general dough mass, and repeating said operations to
complete the hydration of the gluten, substantially as set forth.
8. In the art of making dough for fermented or leavened bread, the herein-
described process, which consists in mixing the flour and water, with the other
ingredients of the dough, in the proportions of 100 parts by weight, of flour, to
approximately 87 parts, by weight of water, and then, after they have become a
coherent mass, completing the hydration of substantially all the gluten and
simultaneously disseminating the yeast or ferment within this hydrated gluten
at one initial and continuous operation, and prior to the dough being allowed to
rise under the influence of the yeast or ferment, substantially as set forth.
9. In the art of making dough for fermented or leavened bread, the herein-
described process, which consists in mechanically completing the intermingling
of substantially all of the gluten of the flour with water, thereby completing
the hydration of the gluten, and simultaneously disseminating the yeast or
ferment within the said hydrated gluten, at one initial operation, and prior to
the dough being allowed to rise under the influence of the yeast or ferment, then
permitting the dough so made to rise, and then sub-dividing and baking the same
before any breaking down or decomposition of the nitrogenous elements of the
flour takes place under the action of the ferment, substantially as set forth.
10. In a machine for making dough, the combination of the enclosing vessel
or casing, a rotary beater mounted therein, means for removing the dough from
the ends of the casing, and means for forcing the material so removed toward the
center of the casing or vessel, substantially as set forth.
11. A machine for treating dough characterized by a rotary beater mounted
within a vessel or casing, and having spider arms arranged to move close to the
ends of the casing and to remove therefrom the dough which may adhere to such
ends and force it toward the center of the machine, and having also bars extend-
ing between the opposite spider arms, the bars being bent near their ends where
they connect with the spider arms to assist in forcing the dough into the path
of the beater arms, substantially as set forth.
12. In a machine for making dough, the combination of an enclosing vessel
and a single high-speed, centrifugal beater mounted upon horizontal axis within

page_text: the vessel, such beater being formed with beater bars substantially parallel with
its axis, said bars being arranged in sets, the outermost bar of each set being
successively further from the axis of the beater than the one preceding it.
Dated this 23rd day of January 1900.
BOULT, WADE & KILBURN,
Agents for the Applicants.