Microwave heating of baked dough products with simultaneous heat and moisture transfer

Abstract By using the Crank-Nicolson finite-difference method, a computer model to predict temperatures and moisture contents during microwave heating was developed. In this model, variable thermal and moisture-transfer properties were allowed. The model could apply to microwave heating with continuous and on-off power and to the cooling stage after microwave heating. A method to estimate the electric-field strength of a microwave oven was outlined and verified experimentally. Bread was chosen as the test material. The model predicted temperatures very well during microwave heating and the cooling stage. It also predicted the average moisture content closely to experimental values up to 30 seconds of heating (within 2% error) with an electric-field strength of 42·5 V/cm.