FI92277B - Method for producing thin, pre-baked or deep-frozen dough bases, such as pizza bases - Google Patents

Description

92277

Method for making thin, pre-baked or raw frozen dough bases such as pizza bases

The invention relates to a process for preparing thin, pre-baked or raw frozen dough bases, such as pizza bases. In the method of the invention, the dough is prepared by mixing the dough ingredients together, the dough is fed to a thin rolling mill to form a thin dough mat, the dough mat is passed to a cutting machine where it is cut into products of the desired shape and size

In the bakery and food industry, two ways of making pizza bases are now known. In one of these known methods, the dough is first prepared, the dough is cut into pieces, the dough pieces are pressed into a mold, raised in a separate raising oven or cabinet, baked or raw frozen and packaged. This known method is not suitable for the production of thin pizza bases (dough thickness less than 1.0 mm), since such a thin pizza base cannot withstand the handling of the raising step of this known method. In addition, the investment costs of the cutting machine, the lifting equipment and the facilities required for these are; 25 very large. The cutting machine and lifting equipment also need operating personnel and auxiliary equipment.

Another known method involves preparing the dough, rolling the dough into a sheet (thickness about 2-3 mm), cutting the products from the sheet, raising in a separate raising oven or cabinet, baking or raw freezing, and finally packaging. In this known method, the products are directed to the lifting step without molds, which requires the product to remain in the desired shape during industrial processing. The known method thus does not allow the production of thin pizza bases (dough thickness less than 1.0 mm).

2 92277 EP patent application 0 056 346 discloses a continuous method and apparatus for making flat, pre-baked industrial baking products, such as pizza bases. In this known method, the pre-raised dough is rolled in a rolling mill into a thin strip (thickness about 0.5 to 3 mm), which is then fed to a cutting machine where the products are cut to the desired shape, followed by a rising tunnel, a pre-baking oven, a pre-packing unit and a sterilization tunnel.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,046,920 discloses a method for making dough bases, such as pizza bases, in which a moving dough strip is first raised, the raised dough strip being formed into dough bases of a desired shape, followed by a rest period. In this method, special attention is also paid to the utilization of the extra dough pieces formed during the cutting step by re-mixing them with the dough strip.

The method according to the invention is characterized in that the thin rolling of the dough is started immediately after the production of the dough, in which the dough mat is rolled to a dough thickness of less than 1 mm in the thin rolling equipment, and that the dough is cut into the desired shape and size immediately after thin rolling or pre-baking. is carried out immediately after the cutting step, whereby the residence time of the dough in the cutting equipment is substantially equal to that in the thin rolling equipment.

In the method of the invention, the residence time of the dough in the thin rolling equipment (preferably about 45 seconds to 30 hours) is substantially equal to that in the cutting equipment (preferably about 45 seconds). In the production of pre-baked products, the total residence time of the dough in the thin rolling mill and the cutting equipment is essentially

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3 92277 equal to the residence time of the dough in the pre-baking machine (about 90 seconds). Since it is a continuously moving production line, a residence time of 45 seconds and 90 seconds, respectively, means that a certain point of dough fed to a thin-5 rolling mill or cutting machine comes out of the machine after 45 seconds and a certain point of dough fed to a pre-baking machine comes out of the machine after 90 seconds.

In the thin rolling step, the dough mat is rolled to a dough thickness of less than 1.0 mm, preferably about 0.3 to 0.4 mm. By dough strength is meant here the thickness of the dough mat. The method does not require separate lifting equipment, as the dough rises (very fast rise) 15 in connection with the cutting stage, whereby the dough rises to a thickness of about 1.0 to 1.5 mm. The thin rolling stage and the cutting / raising stage are combined so that the ore bases do not rise too much. The thickness of the final, pre-baked product is about 2.0 to 3.0 mm. In the case of raw frozen products, the final rise of the dough only takes place when the product is prepared by the consumer, whereby the dough base rises to a thickness of about 2.0 to 3.0 mm when baked.

The method according to the invention enables the industrial production of very thin pizza bases in a fast and efficient manner and avoids the disadvantages associated with known methods. Separate lifting and chopping equipment is not required, in which case the method eliminates the need to move the dough base from one device to another. In this case, less operating personnel are also needed. There are no restrictions on the size and shape of the product. The product speed varies depending on the width of the dough mat and the size of the product to be cut.

The process according to the invention differs from said process according to EP patent application 0 056 346 in that, according to the EP, the dough is pre-set (typically for 4-12 minutes at an elevated temperature of 90-150 ° C) before the thin rolling step and furthermore, that the process according to EP includes an additional lifting step (typically 15-25 minutes at 35-50 ° C-5) before the pre-frying step. The total process time of the method according to the EP publication is thus necessarily longer and requires more complex equipment than the method according to the invention.

The method according to said U.S. Pat. No. 4,046,920 also includes, as an integral part, raising the dough before the cutting step of the dough mat and the rest period of the dough after the cutting step. These are not required in the method according to the invention.

In the method of the invention, the rise of the dough can be controlled as desired, the thin rolling can be carried out quickly (about 45 seconds), and the baking time is fast (about 90 seconds). The baking temperature is about 280 ° C. The thickness (thickness) of the rolled dough is less than 1.0 mm.

The method according to the invention can be used to prepare both pre-fried and raw frozen products. However, the trend is currently for pre-fried products, as these are cooked faster. In the preparation of pre-baked products, pizza bases or the like cut to the desired size and shape are fed • 25 from the cutting equipment immediately to the pre-baked oven and then to the cooling and packaging stage. When making raw frozen products, the pizza bases cut to the desired size and shape are fed directly to the freezer. Pre-fried products are also usually sold in frozen form, so the preparation of these also usually involves a freezing step after pre-fried. It only takes a few minutes to thaw such a frozen, pre-baked pizza base.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG.

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5 92277 pre-baked pizza bases. The figure is only intended to clarify, but not limit, the invention.

In the apparatus according to the figure, 5 pizza base doughs are first prepared in a dough machine 1 by mixing the dough ingredients together. Dough ingredients typically include water, yeast, soda, sugar, salt, rapeseed oil and flour. Immediately after the mixing is complete, the dough is fed to the thin rolling mill 2 either manually or using a so-called dough machine. a tipping boiler, whereby the boiler of the dough machine is mechanically lifted onto a thin rolling machine and the dough is poured from the boiler into the dough hopper of the thin rolling machine. It is essential that the dough does not rest at this point.

15 The thin rolling mill consists of three pairs of rollers. The first pair of rollers (eccentric roller at the top + smooth cylinder at the bottom) spreads the dough mat and adjusts its basic width and base thickness, the second pair of rollers (2 smooth cylinders) smooths the dough mat to approximately ha-20 and the third pair of rollers The speed of each roller is infinitely adjustable independently of each other. In addition, the processing flour is fed to the rolls to adhere the dough. 25 to prevent. The residence time of the dough in the thin rolling mill is 45 seconds.

The dough mat leaves the thin rolling mill with a thickness of about 0.8 mm. At this stage, the dough mat is further perforated to prevent the formation of a raised shell in the pre-baking stage. From the thin rolling mill, a thin dough mat is fed to a lifting / cutting conveyor 3 comprising a movable lifting platform and a cutting apparatus arranged above it, comprising a rotary cutter. With this, the dough mat is cut into pizza bases of the desired shape. 35 The residence time of the dough on the raising / cutting conveyor is 45 92277

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seconds. During this time, the dough rises to a thickness of 1.0 to 1.5 mm. The lifting / cutting conveyor speed is infinitely adjustable.

The lifting / cutting conveyor transfers the dough directly 5 to the pre-baking oven 5 by means of a transfer conveyor 8 and a transfer grate 4, where the dough is baked for 90 seconds at 280 ° C. The pre-baking oven is of the rotary kiln type. During pre-baking, a thin protective crust forms on the pizza bases. The thickness of the pre-baked pizza bases is about 2.5 mm.

10 From the pre-baking oven, the dough is transferred by means of a transfer conveyor 6 to the cooling levels 7, 9 and 10 and from there to the packaging machine 11. At the cooling levels, the pizza bases are cooled by means of air. The cooling air can be outdoor air, in which case the cooling air blowing power is adjusted when the supply air temperature varies. The products are packaged in a packaging machine in a film (antifreeze-resistant propylene film) and then in sales packaging.

With the apparatus according to the invention, a product speed of 2000 pizza bases / hour is reached when using a 620 mm le-20 dough mat, whereby round pizza bases with a diameter of 300 mm are cut from the dough mat.

The figure and the related description are only intended to illustrate the present invention. The details (e.g. with regard to the equipment used) • The method according to the invention may vary within the scope defined by the appended claims.

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Claims (5)

1. A fast-paced process for making thin, pre-baked or deep-frozen dough bottoms, such as pizza bottoms, in which method one (1) produces a dough by mixing the dough ingredients with one another, (2) guiding the dough into a thin rolling device to form a thin dough mat, (3) directs the dough mat into a cutting device where it is cut into products of the desired shape and size, (4) the products lead to a grating device or a deep freezing device for forming the pre-baked or deep-frozen dough bottoms, characterized therein. , that the thin rolling of the dough begins immediately after the preparation of the dough, wherein the dough mat in the thin rolling device is rolled to a dough thickness below 1 mm, and that the cutting of the dough into products of the desired shape and size is carried out immediately after the thin rolling and that the baking and deep freezing are carried out immediately. after the cutting step, the dough being maintained llstid the cutting device is substantially equal to the small rolling apparatus. 2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the dough's holding time in the thin rolling device is about 45 seconds and in the cutting device about 45 seconds. 3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that when preparing baked products, the total holding time of the dough in the thin rolling device and in the cutting device is substantially equal to the dough's holding time in the baking device. 4. A method according to claim 3, characterized in that the dough's holding time in the thin rolling device is about 45 seconds, in the cutting device about 45 seconds and in the grating device about 90 seconds. 5. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the dough mat in the thin rolling step is rolled to a dough thickness of about 0.3 - 0.4 mm. II