An oven appliance includes a housing defining a discharge vent, a cooking chamber positioned within the housing, an exhaust duct providing fluid communication between the cooking chamber and the discharge vent, an air handler operably coupled with the exhaust duct for urging a flow of heated air from the cooking chamber, through the exhaust duct, and out of the discharge vent, and a catalytic converter assembly. The catalytic converter assembly includes a catalytic element positioned within the exhaust duct for lowering volatile organic compounds from the flow of heated air and a catalyst heater positioned upstream of the catalytic element for selectively heating the flow of heated air.

An automated pizza making system, comprising: a computer-based controller; an ordering system; automated food handling devices; racks; toppings stations; ovens; cutting stations, and packaging stations. Conveyors and/or automated food handling devices move the pizzas between the racks, the topping stations, the ovens, the cutting stations, and the packaging stations, such that made to order pizzas are created without being handled by human hands. The toppings stations may comprise sauce stations, cheese stations, and meat/veggie topping stations. The ordering system may be configured to allow a plurality of customer orders and the computer-based controller is configured to process the orders, such that the automated pizza ordering system produces made to order pizzas that are picked up or delivered.

An automated pizza making system, comprising: a computer-based controller; an ordering system; automated food handling devices; racks; toppings stations; ovens; cutting stations, and packaging stations. Conveyors and/or automated food handling devices move the pizzas between the racks, the topping stations, the ovens, the cutting stations, and the packaging stations, such that made to order pizzas are created without being handled by human hands. The toppings stations may comprise sauce stations, cheese stations, and meat/veggie topping stations. The ordering system may be configured to allow a plurality of customer orders and the computer-based controller is configured to process the orders, such that the automated pizza ordering system produces made to order pizzas that are picked up or delivered.

Disclosed is a hand-shook pizza oven, including: an oven body, a baking tray, a burner assembly, and a hand-shook driving structure. The oven body is provided with a cooking chamber. The baking tray is arranged in the cooking chamber along an axis extending in an up-down direction. The burner assembly includes a burning portion extendable into the cooking chamber. The hand-shook driving structure includes a rocker rotatable around an axis extending in a horizontal direction, a driving portion rotatably provided along the axis extending in the up-down direction, and a transmission structure provided between the rocker and the driving portion, at least part of the driving portion can be extendable into the cooking chamber to connect to and drive the baking tray.

Disclosed is a hand-shook pizza oven, including: an oven body, a baking tray, a burner assembly, and a hand-shook driving structure. The oven body is provided with a cooking chamber. The baking tray is arranged in the cooking chamber along an axis extending in an up-down direction. The burner assembly includes a burning portion extendable into the cooking chamber. The hand-shook driving structure includes a rocker rotatable around an axis extending in a horizontal direction, a driving portion rotatably provided along the axis extending in the up-down direction, and a transmission structure provided between the rocker and the driving portion, at least part of the driving portion can be extendable into the cooking chamber to connect to and drive the baking tray.

Embodiments described herein provide a pie preparation apparatus and methods of using which includes a dimensioned non-stick baking pan having a plurality of laterally spaced triangular baking pockets along the top surface and at least one set of hexagon-shaped apertures. The apparatus further includes a hand-held crimping tool having a handle at the top and first and second hexagon-shaped male fitting at the first and second ends of the bottom end which are configured to be releasably inserted into the at least one set of hexagon-shaped apertures and provided a trimmed and crimped edge to a pie crust dough which is molded within the baking pockets and top surface. Once prepared, the dimensioned baking pan may be placed in at toaster oven for a desired period of time.

Embodiments described herein provide a pie preparation apparatus and methods of using which includes a dimensioned non-stick baking pan having a plurality of laterally spaced triangular baking pockets along the top surface and at least one set of hexagon-shaped apertures. The apparatus further includes a hand-held crimping tool having a handle at the top and first and second hexagon-shaped male fitting at the first and second ends of the bottom end which are configured to be releasably inserted into the at least one set of hexagon-shaped apertures and provided a trimmed and crimped edge to a pie crust dough which is molded within the baking pockets and top surface. Once prepared, the dimensioned baking pan may be placed in at toaster oven for a desired period of time.

A method for operating an oven appliance includes working an upper heating element and a lower heating element of the oven appliance during a normal operating mode in order to heat a cooking chamber of the oven appliance. The upper heating element is positioned at a top portion of the cooking chamber. The lower heating element is positioned below a baking stone at a bottom portion of the cooking chamber. The method also includes deactivating the upper heating element and working the lower heating element in order to heat the baking stone during a user selected standby operating mode.

A production system for moisture and texture detection and control in tortilla and tortilla chip production includes a production line, including a cooker/grinder, a sheeter/cutter, an oven, an equalizer, a fryer, and a cooler/packaging machine; and a production control unit, including a processor, non-transitory memory, an input/output component, a moisture controller, a temperature controller, a belt speed controller, a masa moisture sensor, a chip moisture sensor, laser sensors for measuring surface texture of baked and fried chips, a laser controller, a texture classifier, a feedback controller. Also disclosed is a method for production control, including controlling moisture content, measuring masa moisture, controlling oven, measuring baked surfaces, measuring fried surfaces, classifying baked surfaces, classifying fried surfaces, optimizing oven temperature, optimizing oven belt speed, storing and characterizing historical records.

A scooped out bagel dough product, bagel mold halves, and an apparatus using the bagel mold halves for making a scooped out bagel product. The scooped out bagel product is a baked bagel product half having: a crunchy blistered outer shell with a substantially reduced amount of doughy inner chamber that provides its unique flavor. This scooped out bagel product utilizes a predesigned custom mold that creates stalactites, i.e., flavor spikes, and holes or flavor pit formations that each encapsulate the soft doughy inner contents within a boiled and baked blister shell and increases a surface area of dough on an inner surface thereof. The product is a scooped out half bagel crunchy on its outer surface but filled with the flavor spikes, and flavor pits in which substantially reduced amounts of dough are encased relative to a comparable sized whole bagel.