FR2762190A1 - Chilling uncooked dough parts - Google Patents

Abstract

Chilling uncooked dough parts comprises preparing portions of chilled fresh dough and packing them individually in an automated process. The kneaded dough is carried from stage to stage on a conveyor belt and rolled out to the desired thickness, cut into shapes and packed. The dough (10) is chilled before packing by controlled deposition of a layer of dry ice (37) onto its surface as it is carried along by the conveyor (5). The dough is chilled again after packaging to bring it to its storage temperature. Chilling of the dough by dry ice is preferably carried out before or after cutting the dough into shapes. A strip of dough (10) is carried on a conveyor (5) beneath the chiller unit (13) where it receives a layer of dry ice (37) to harden the dough without freezing it. Liquid carbon dioxide is supplied from a reservoir (21) and divided between depressurisation nozzles (23), each with its own supply valve (25). The nozzles are contained within a casing (29) connected by a duct (33) to an extraction fan (35) which prevents release of excess gaseous carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. A control unit (27) attached to the casing monitors the presence and temperature of the dough and controls the supply of carbon dioxide and extraction fan as required.

Description

 The invention relates to a process for manufacturing fresh dough and applies more particularly to the production of fresh spread dough ready for use, such as pizza dough.

 To produce pizza dough portions, the freshly kneaded dough is spread and then cut. The cut dough portions are placed on an individual baking paper, rolled up with their baking paper, individually vacuum-packed with gas re-injection, and finally packaged in batches.

 These pastes are fresh products and are therefore very bacteriologically sensitive.

 This is why the production rooms are temperature controlled, the production chain is as short as possible, handling and contacts are limited, and the products are vacuum-packed with gas re-injection. The temperature of the dough must also be controlled during its manufacture.

 The control of the temperature of the ingredients and the cryogenic cold make it possible to control the temperature of the kneader. However, too low a kneader temperature does not allow good spreading of the dough, and this kneader is therefore generally kept around 180 C.

 The use of mechanical refrigeration devices or cryogenic tunnels has many drawbacks. On the one hand, these expensive devices lengthen the production chain, and on the other hand they lead to an inhomogeneous cooling of the dough, ineffective with weakening of the edges by freezing which hinders and limits the subsequent handling of packaging.

 For spread dough, such as pizza dough, such cooling therefore necessarily occurs in the last stages of packaging, after winding, and the individual baking papers further limit the yield of this operation.

 Days of storage in a cold room after packaging are then necessary to bring the fresh dough to its storage temperature of around 40 C.

 The object of the invention is to provide a solution to the problems mentioned above and, in particular, to provide a process for producing portions of fresh dough, requiring reduced investment, ensuring good bacteriological safety of the dough and good cooling in line thereof which, on the one hand, facilitates its conditioning and, on the other hand, limits the cooling needs after conditioning.

To this end, the invention relates to a process for manufacturing portions of fresh dough, characterized in that it comprises
mechanical treatments of the previously kneaded dough, comprising at least shaping the dough, cutting the dough into portions and at least packaging the cut dough
- in-line cooling before packaging ensured by controlled deposition of dry ice on the dough; and eventually
- final cooling of the conditioned dough to bring it to its storage temperature.

According to particular embodiments, the manufacturing process includes one or more of the following characteristics
- in-line cooling before packaging is ensured by depositing a substantially homogeneous layer of dry ice on the shaped dough, and the thickness of the substantially homogeneous layer of dry ice is determined to obtain, by complete sublimation of the snow before conditioning the dough, cooling ensuring moderate hardening of the dough without freezing
- The dough is shaped until it has a spread out shape, and the thickness of the substantially homogeneous layer of dry ice is determined to limit as much as possible the need for cold for the final cooling.
- in-line cooling before packaging takes place before cutting the dough.

 The invention also relates to an installation for manufacturing portions of fresh dough, for the implementation of a method as defined above, characterized in that it comprises, arranged along a line for conveying dough on the one hand, mechanical dough processing stations comprising at least one shaping station, a station for cutting the dough into portions and at least one station for conditioning the cut dough; and on the other hand a device for the controlled deposition of dry ice on the dough, arranged upstream of the first conditioning station, and possibly means for final cooling of the conditioned dough to its storage temperature.

According to particular embodiments, the installation for producing fresh dough comprises one or more of the following characteristics
the device for the controlled deposition of carbon dioxide snow on the pulp comprises devices for expansion of liquid CO2 and for the projection of carbon dioxide snow oriented towards the pulp conveyor line, intended to be connected to a source of liquid CO2 under pressure by the via a manifold fitted with distribution valves associated with each device, and a unit for controlling the opening of the distribution valves
- the device for depositing carbon dioxide snow on the dough comprises a protective cover, part of which is adapted to channel the flow of carbon dioxide snow from the devices for expansion of liquid CO2 and projection of carbon dioxide snow
- the device for the controlled deposit of dry ice is located upstream of the cutting station
the device for the controlled deposition of carbon dioxide snow is arranged downstream of the cutting station, and the devices for expansion of liquid CO 2 and for projection of carbon dioxide snow are oriented towards points regularly distributed over an area of the conveyor line having substantially the same shape as the cut dough portions
- the device for the controlled deposit of dry ice is located downstream of the pulp cutting station, and the control unit for the opening of the distribution valves is connected to a detector of pieces of cut pulp to be covered with snow
- the device for the controlled deposition of dry ice includes a cover for protecting and channeling the gaseous CO2 formed during the expansion of the liquid CO2
- the device for depositing carbon dioxide snow comprises means for evacuating the gaseous CO2 formed during the expansion of the liquid CO2, possibly connected to the cover
the means for evacuating the gaseous CO2 are adapted to be actuated automatically when the distribution valves are opened.

 The invention finally relates to a device for depositing carbon dioxide snow for an installation as defined above.

The invention will be better understood on reading the description which follows, given solely by way of example, and made with reference to the appended drawings in which
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an installation for producing portions of fresh dough according to the invention,
FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view, with parts broken away, of the device for the controlled deposition of dry ice of the installation of FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of another installation for producing fresh dough according to the invention,
FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic side view, with cutaway, of the device for the controlled deposit of dry ice of the installation of FIG. 3,
- Figure 5 is a schematic view of another installation for producing fresh dough according to the invention.

 FIG. 1 schematically represents an installation for producing pizza dough making it possible to transform dough into kneading machine 1 into pieces or portions of dough individually conditioned 3 before packaging in batches and, if necessary, cooling in a cold room. These latter operations, known per se, are not shown in FIG. 1.

 This installation comprises, arranged along a conveyor line 5, mechanical pulp treatment stations. The dough successively encounters, during its movement, the direction of which is materialized by an arrow, a station 7 for shaping the dough by spreading, a station 9 for cutting into pieces the spread dough 10, and a station 11 for individual packaging of the pieces 12 of cut dough.

 The installation further comprises a device 13 for the controlled deposition of dry ice on the spread dough 10, disposed above the conveyor line 5 between the shaping station 7 and the cutting station 9.

 The shaping station 7 makes it possible, by spreading, to obtain dough of determined fine thickness which is substantially constant, typically 1 centimeter for pizza dough, and the cutting station 9 makes it possible to obtain pieces of cut dough of predetermined shape, typically circular with a diameter of about 30 cm for pizza dough.

 The conditioning station 11, ensures for each piece 12 of cut dough, the placement on an individual baking film, the winding with the baking film, and the individual vacuum packaging with gas reinjection, for example in cylindrical packages .

The device 13 for depositing carbon dioxide snow comprises four devices 15 for relaxing the
Liquid CO2 and carbon dioxide snow projection, connected via a collector 17 preceded by a degassing pot 19 to a source 21 of liquid CO2 under pressure.

 The devices 15 for expansion of liquid CO 2 and for producing carbon dioxide snow each comprise a calibrated orifice, not visible in the drawings, opening into an outlet blunder 23 of cylindrical shape with a vertical axis. These outlet blobs 23 are arranged in a transverse row perpendicular to the conveying line 5, the orifices of the outlet blobs facing the conveying face. Each device 15 is connected to the collector 17 via a solenoid valve 25 connected to a common control unit 27.

 A protective cover 29 of generally parallelepiped shape with a long axis substantially perpendicular to the conveyor line, surrounds the devices 15 for expansion of liquid CO2 and projection of carbon dioxide snow, as well as a part of the collector 17. The underside of the cover protective cover 29 is open and the lower parts of the two large transverse faces of the latter are provided with runners 31 to accommodate a drawer not shown in FIG. 2.

 The protective cover 29 is connected by means of a gas sheath 33 to an extractor 35.

The control unit 27 is mounted on a lateral face of the protective cover 29, and it is connected to a sensor for the speed of conveying the spread out dough 10, not shown, and to the extractor 35.

 In operation, the control unit 27 triggers the opening of the solenoid valves 25, and therefore the expansion of liquid CO2 and the projection of carbon dioxide snow onto the spread paste 10. The extractor 35 is started automatically by the unit 27 control during the operation of the solenoid valves 25. The extractor 35 then ensures the extraction of gaseous CO2, formed during the expansion of liquid CO2 and channeled by the protective cover 29. Suction devices can also be provided under the conveyor line 5 and along it.

 The aforementioned drawer is designed to be housed in the slides 31 and thus seal the underside of the protective cover 29 when the installation is stopped. This drawer then makes it possible in particular to collect the water flows resulting from such stops.

 The degassing pot 19 makes it possible to supply the devices 15 for expansion of liquid CO 2 and for the projection of dry ice with hard liquid.

 This contributes, with the dimension of the calibrated orifices, the dimensioning of the outlet blobs and their arrangement, to the deposition of a layer 37 of homogeneous dry ice and of substantially constant thickness by fine spraying and without lumps. The sublimation of the dry ice ensures the progressive cooling of the dough on the conveyor line 5.

 The thickness of the layer 37 of dry ice can be controlled by varying the opening of each solenoid valve 25 and therefore the flow of expanded liquid CO2. Adequate adjustment makes it possible to obtain the optimum thickness of the layer 37 of dry ice which, in combination with the thin thickness of the pieces 12 of cut dough, provides uniform cooling of the dough facilitating its winding by stiffening it, but without freezing, while limiting as much as possible and possibly eliminating the need for storage in a cold room. Such cooling before cutting overcomes the constriction caused by cooling after cutting. The thickness of the layer 37 of dry ice is also chosen such that the layer 37 is completely sublimated before the pieces 12 of cut dough wound in their individual packages are placed to avoid all the drawbacks associated with swelling.

 Typically the installation described makes it possible, before packaging in batches, to obtain dough at a temperature between 40 ° C. and 80 ° C., which limits the days of storage in a cold room to reach the storage temperature.

 In addition, the installation in FIG. 1 makes it possible to increase the bacteriological safety of the dough manufacturing process, on the one hand since the dough is cooled as soon as possible on the production line and, on the other hand thanks to to the bacteriostatic properties of CO2.

 Finally, a device for depositing carbon dioxide snow according to the invention is much less expensive than a cryogenic tunnel or a mechanical cooling device, and the introduction of such a device for depositing carbon dioxide snow does not lengthen the chain. of production.

 The installation for producing pieces of fresh dough illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 differs from the installation previously described by the following.

 The device 13 for depositing carbon dioxide snow is positioned between the cutting station 9 and the conditioning station 11.

 The device 13 comprises three devices 15 for expansion of liquid CO2 and for the projection of dry ice arranged in a triangle above the conveyor line 5 and oriented towards points regularly distributed on a fictitious, static disc, of approximately 30 cm in diameter on the conveying face, crossed by the pieces 12 conveyed. The protective cover 29 is extended towards the conveyor line by a protective sleeve 29 of generally frustoconical shape converging towards said fictitious disc.

 A presence sensor 39, for example a capacitive sensor, is placed above the conveyor line on the protective cover 29 upstream of the device 13 for depositing carbon dioxide snow on the dough.

 This sensor 39 is arranged so as not to be disturbed by the gaseous CO2 formed during the projection of dry ice. The sensor 39 is also connected to the control unit 27.

 In operation, the detection of a piece of cut dough 12 by the sensor 39 triggers the opening of the distribution valves 25 of the devices 15 for expansion of liquid CO2 and projection of dry ice, at the moment when the cut piece of dough 12 detected is opposite the output bloats 23, that is to say is merged with the fictitious disc on the conveyor line 5. The extractor 35 is started automatically, by the control unit 27, when the opening of the solenoid valves 25, thus ensuring the extraction of the gaseous CO2 formed during the expansion of the liquid CO2.

 The arrangement of the outlet blisters 23 contributes to the deposition of a homogeneous layer 37 of dry ice of substantially constant and controlled thickness on each piece of cut dough 12.

 FIG. 5 illustrates another installation for manufacturing pieces of fresh dough according to the invention, producing from knead dough 1 parallelepipedal blocks 41 of packaged dough, commonly called "block dough". The installation differs from the previous installation in that the shaping station 7 is adapted to produce a shaped dough 10 of substantial thickness, typically about 4 cm, in that the cutting station 9 is adapted for cutting the shaped dough 10 into parallelepipedic blocks, and in that the conditioning station 11 is adapted to individually package these parallelepipedic blocks.

 This installation comprises a device 13 for the controlled deposit of dry ice between the cutting station 9 and the conditioning station 11. This device 13 for depositing carbon dioxide snow makes it possible to deposit a layer 37 of carbon dioxide snow of substantially constant thickness on each block of dough 47 passing beneath it. Adequate adjustment of the thickness of the layer 37 of carbon dioxide snow thus deposited makes it possible to cool, by sublimation before packaging, only the upper face of each block, causing sufficient local hardening to facilitate the packaging operations and limiting the storage time. after conditioning.

Claims (14)

 1. Method for manufacturing portions of fresh dough, characterized in that it comprises  - mechanical treatments of the previously kneaded dough (1), comprising at least one shaping of the dough (in 7), a cutting of the dough into portions (in 9) and at least one conditioning of the cut dough  - in-line cooling before packaging ensured by controlled deposition of dry ice (in 13) on the dough; and eventually  - final cooling of the conditioned dough to bring it to its storage temperature.  2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the cooling (in 13) in line before packaging is ensured by depositing a layer (37) of substantially homogeneous dry ice on the shaped dough, and in that the The thickness of the substantially homogeneous layer of dry ice is determined to obtain, by complete sublimation of the snow before conditioning the dough, cooling ensuring moderate hardening of the dough without freezing.  3. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the dough is shaped (in 7) until it has a spread shape, and in that the thickness of the substantially homogeneous layer of carbon dioxide snow is determined to minimize the need for cooling of the final cooling.  4. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the in-line cooling before packaging takes place before cutting the dough (in 7).  5. Installation for manufacturing portions of fresh dough, for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it comprises, arranged along a conveying line (5) of dough, on the one hand from the mechanical dough treatment stations comprising at least one shaping station (7), a station (9) for cutting the dough into portions, and at least one conditioning station (11) cut dough; and on the other hand a device (13) for the controlled deposition of carbon dioxide snow on the dough, arranged upstream of the first conditioning station (11), and possibly means for final cooling of the conditioned dough to its temperature of conservation.  6. Installation according to claim 5, characterized in that the device (13) for the controlled deposition of carbon dioxide snow on the dough comprises devices (15) for expansion of liquid CO2 and for projection of carbon dioxide snow oriented towards the conveyor line ( 5) of paste, intended to be connected to a source (21) of liquid CO2 under pressure via a manifold (17) provided with distribution valves (25) associated with each device, and a unit (27) for controlling the opening of the distribution valves (25).  7. Installation according to claim 6, characterized in that the device (13) for the controlled deposition of carbon dioxide snow on the dough comprises a protective cover (29), a part of which is adapted to channel the flow of carbon dioxide snow from the arranged tifs (15) expansion of liquid CO2 and projection of carbon dioxide snow.  8. Installation according to any one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the device (13) for controlled deposition of dry ice is located upstream of the cutting station (9).  9. Installation according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the device (13) for the controlled deposition of dry ice is arranged downstream of the cutting station (9), and in that the devices for expansion of liquid CO2 and of carbon dioxide snow projection are oriented towards points regularly distributed over an area of the conveyor line (5) having substantially the same shape as the portions (12) of cut dough.  10. Installation according to any one of claims 6, 7 and 9, characterized in that the device (13) for controlled deposition of dry ice is located downstream of the station (9) for cutting the dough, and in that that the unit (27) for controlling the opening of the distribution valves is connected to a detector (39) of pieces (12) of cut dough to be covered with snow.  11. Installation according to any one of claims 6 to 10, characterized in that the device (13) for the controlled deposition of dry ice comprises a cover (29) for protecting and channeling the gaseous CO2 formed during the expansion of the CO2 liquid.  12. Installation according to any one of claims 6 to 11, characterized in that the device (13) for the controlled deposition of carbon dioxide snow comprises means (33, 35) for evacuating the gaseous CO2 formed during the expansion of the CO2 liquid, possibly connected to the cover (29).  13. Installation according to claim 12, characterized in that the means for removing the gaseous CO2 are adapted to be actuated automatically when the distribution valves (25) are opened.  14. Device for the controlled deposition of dry ice for an installation according to any one of claims 5 to 13.