Flat breads qualities and attributes — ovens design, energy consumption, and environmental conservation: A review

Flat bread is considered a staple food worldwide and especially balady bread in Egypt and the Middle East region. The most common flat bread types produced all over the world, contents, used leavening agents, properties, and countries were reviewed. Also, balady bread ingredients, formula, preparation, dough rheology, baking conditions, as well as physical characteristics, color attributes, sensory evaluation, and freshness or staling retardation of loaves were presented. Flat bread (balady bread) is processed from attened dough of wheat our, sodium chloride, water, and yeast and is often served freshly baked and produced in both bakeries and homes. The main features of a balady bread oven, such as composition, construction, dimensions, fuels, emissions, and its effect on the environment and energy consumption, were also mentioned. The common specifications and general design of a balady bread industry oven in Egypt on a commercial scale were presented as follows: Oven length could be more or less than 600 cm depending on available space in the baking building. Also, oven width could be more or less than 90 cm, depending on the needed productivity of bread per hour. To “keep the environment, minimize heat losses, maximize quantity and quality of production, and assure economic visibility,” the determination of oven dimensions, selecting construction materials and transmission systems must be done by oven designers using the oven general model.

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