Stretch and bake food item tray

Abstract

The present invention relates to a consumer-friendly, ready-to-bake food item containment product ( 100 ) containing a food item ( 104 ) disposed on a planar sheet ( 102 ) of ovenable material, wherein the sheet has a compact configuration for shipping and storage that is capable of being transformed to an expanded configuration in which the food item portions are arranged in spaced locations on the sheet in position for baking into the individual baked food item products. The present invention also relates to a method for preparing individual food item portions for baking wherein a plurality of food item portions are disposed on a planar sheet of ovenable material capable of being transformed from the compact configuration to a flat planar configuration and changing the sheet from the compact configuration to the flat planar configuration to arrange the food item portions on the sheet for baking. The food items may include appetizers, entrees, or dessert type items, including sweet doughs.

1 . A ready-to-bake food item containment product comprising:
 a plurality of food item portions each containing a sufficient amount of dough to form an individual baked food item product;   a planar sheet of ovenable material initially arranged in a compact configuration for shipment and storage but capable of expanding to an expanded configuration for baking with the compact configuration having a perimeter that is smaller than that of the sheet in the expanded configuration, with the compact configuration including boundaries defining a plurality of locations with each location configured and dimensioned for receiving a single food item portion; and   the sheet is capable of easily being transformed from the compact configuration to the expanded configuration in which the food item portions are arranged in spaced locations in position for baking into the individual baked food item products without a user having to touch the food item.   
     
     
         2 . The product of  claim 1 , wherein the food item portions are dough portions. 
     
     
         3 . The product of  claim 2 , wherein the dough portions are rectangular and the boundaries of the planar sheet in the compact configuration have a height that is at least half the-a height of the rectangular dough portions. 
     
     
         4 . The product of  claim 1 , wherein the boundaries of the planar sheet are provided by folding or pleating of the sheet and the expanded configuration is obtained by unfolding or unpleating the sheet without removal of the food item portions from the locations they occupy on the sheet. 
     
     
         5 . The product of  claim 4 , wherein folding or pleating is provided along longitudinal and latitudinal planes to form uniformly configured locations for the food item portions such that when the sheet is in the expanded configuration the food item portions are substantially evenly spaced. 
     
     
         6 . The product of  claim 1 , wherein the sheet comprises a material selected from the group consisting of paper, paperboard, laminate, parchment, aluminum foil, a polymer, or a combination and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         7 . The product of  claim 1 , comprising a susceptor. 
     
     
         8 . The product of  claim 1 , wherein the sheet has a characteristic selected from the group consisting of perforated, scored, etched, and marked linearly to allow a user to remove portions of the sheet and food item portions for baking. 
     
     
         9 . The product of  claim 1 , wherein the boundaries form cavities each of which retain an individual food item portion therein both in the compact and expanded configurations. 
     
     
         10 . The product of  claim 9 , wherein the boundaries of the cavities have heights that are greater than a height of the food item portions in the cavities. 
     
     
         11 . The product of  claim 2 , wherein the dough portions are formulated as a sweet dough for making a product selected from the group consisting of cookies, brownies and muffins, and comprises flour, sugar, a leavening agent and fat. 
     
     
         12 . The product of  claim 11 , wherein the sweet dough further comprises an ingredient selected from the group consisting of chocolate, cereal flakes, nuts, oats, raisins, candy pieces, and marshmallows. 
     
     
         13 . The product of  claim 1 , comprising a package for retaining the compact configured sheet and food item portions. 
     
     
         14 . A method for preparing individual food item portions for baking comprising:
 providing a plurality of food item portions each containing a sufficient amount of food item to form an individual baked food item product;   providing a planar sheet of ovenable material initially arranged in a compact configuration that has a perimeter that is smaller than that of the sheet in a flat planar shape, with the compact configuration including boundaries defining a plurality of locations on the sheet with each location configured and dimensioned for receiving a food item portion; the sheet is capable of being transformed from the compact configuration to a flat planar configuration in which the food item portions are arranged in spaced locations on the sheet in position for baking into the individual baked food item products; and   changing the sheet from the compact configuration to the flat planar configuration to arrange the food item portions on the sheet for baking without a user having to touch the food item.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the food item portions are dough portions. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the dough portions comprise flour, sugar, a leavening agent and fat. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the flour is present in an amount from about 10% to about 60% by weight, the sugar is present in an amount of from about 10% to about 50% by weight, the leavening agent is present in an amount of from about 0.1% to about 3% by weight, and the fat is present in an amount of from about 5% to about 35% by weight. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the dough portions are formulated as a sweet dough for making cookies or brownies. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the sweet dough further comprises an ingredient selected from the group consisting of chocolate, cereal flakes, nuts, oats, raisins, candy pieces, and marshmallows. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the dough is in a form selected from the group consisting of a parallelpipedal, cylinder, dollop, dough ball, square block, prismatic block and polygon having a thickness of from about 0.5 to about 5 centimeters. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the dough is deposited on the planar sheet in the compact configuration by extrusion and/or pressing onto the sheet in a quantity sufficient to form an individual baked dough product. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein, when fresh baked food item products are desired, a consumer places the sheet in a baking pan, changes the sheet from the compact configuration to the flat planar configuration to increase a distance between the food item portions; and places the baking pan, sheet, and food item portions into an oven heated to a baking temperature for a sufficient time to prepare a baked food item product. 
     
     
         23 . A method for making a ready-to-bake dough containment product comprising:
 providing a plurality of dough portions each containing a sufficient amount of dough to form an individual baked dough product;   initially configuring a planar sheet in a compact configuration;   transforming the compact configuration to an expanded configuration for baking of the dough portions;   the compact configuration has a perimeter that is smaller than that of the sheet in the expanded configuration, with the compact configuration including boundaries defining a plurality of locations on the sheet with each location configured and dimensioned for receiving a single dough portion; and   in the expanded configuration the dough portions are arranged in spaced locations on the sheet in position for baking into the individual baked dough products.   
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein initially configuring the planar sheet into the compact configuration comprises folding or pleating the sheet. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the folding or pleating of the sheet forms the boundaries of the planar sheet in the compact configuration. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the boundaries are formed into cavities for each retaining an individual dough portion therein both in the compact and expanded configurations. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein pressing the sheet into a mold forms the boundaries of the planar sheet in the compact configuration. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 23 , comprising performing a step selected from the group consisting of perforating, scoring, etching, linearly marking, and combinations thereof, the planar sheet to allow a user to remove portions of the sheet and dough portions for baking. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the sheet comprises a material selected from the group consisting of paper, paperboard, laminate, parchment, aluminum foil, a polymer, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 23 , comprising providing a susceptor. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 23 , comprising providing a package for retaining the compact shape sheet and dough portions. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31 , comprising flow wrapping the compact shape sheet and dough portions. 
     
     
         33 . A method for holding and baking individual food item portions comprising using a planar sheet that is initially arranged in a compact configuration for shipment and storage but is capable of expanding to an expanded configuration for baking with the compact configuration having a perimeter that is smaller than that of the sheet in the expanded configuration, with the compact configuration including boundaries defining a plurality of locations with each location configured and dimensioned for receiving a single food item portion; transforming the sheet from the compact configuration to the expanded configuration in which the food item portions are arranged in spaced locations in position for baking into the individual baked food item products.