IES64448B2 - A bread bun production process - Google Patents

Abstract

Ingredient materials are mixed at high speed in a mixer (10) to form dough, a cooling jacket on the mixer cooling the dough as it is being mixed to keep the dough temperatue low. The dough is cut into dough pieces in a divider (13), balled and delivered to an initial prover (18). The dough pieces are rolled flat and dropped onto trays having circular cups for reception of dough pieces. Excess flour is removed in a cleaner (22). Each dough piece is centred in its circular cup on the tray by shaking the tray on a shaker (24). The trays pass through a final prover (26) and then an oven (27) to bake the dough. Downstream of the oven (27) the baked buns are removed from the trays at a depanning station (28) and delivered to a cooler (32) prior to packing.

Description

A Bread Bun Production Process The invention relates to a bread bun production process, in particular for the production of a hamburger bun.

The invention is particularly concerned with the production of a high quality bread bun of consistent shape, having good resilience and an ability to caramelise on toasting to form a surface skin which is resistant to impregnation by fillings such as sauces used with the bun.

According to the invention, there is provided a bread bun production process comprising steps: weighing preset quantities of selected ingredient materials; delivering the ingredient materials to a mixing machine, mixing the ingredient materials at high speed in the mixing machine to produce a smooth homogenous dough, cooling the ingredient materials during mixing for maintaining a low dough temperature; dividing the dough into dough pieces of a selected size; rolling the dough pieces into balls by advancing the dough pieces on a conveyor to engage and roll along upstanding overhead guide arms which are angled across the conveyor path; delivering the dough balls through a first prover for initial proving of the dough; - 2 discharging the dough bails from the first t prover, rolling each dough bail into a flat dough cake, and dropping the f lat dough cakes t onto trays, each dough cake sitting in one of a number of circular cups formed in the tray, cleaning away excess flour from the tray and dough cakes; centring each dough cake in its associated tray cup; conveying the tray through a final prover and then through a continuous oven to bake the dough cakes to form bread buns; delivering a tray to a de-panning station, removing the buns from the tray at the depanning station; cooling the buns in air by carrying the buns along a carousel for a preset time period; leading the buns to a packing station and packing the buns in containers.

In a particularly preferred embodiment the process includes the step of cooling the ingredient materials during mixing of the ingredient materials to form the dough by circulating a coolant through a cooling jacket « encasing a mixing bowl of the mixer.

In another embodiment the process includes the step of cooling the ingredient materials by adding crushed ice to the ingredient materials in the mixing bowl.

In a further embodiment at the de-panning station the bread buns are removed from the tray by directing air -jets downwardly towards a top surface of the tray for parting the bread buns from the tray surface and then lifting the buns from the tray.

In another embodiment centring of the dough cakes is carried out by locating the tray over a vibrator mechanism, engaging the vibrator mechanism with an underside of the tray, operating the vibrator mechanism to shake the tray for centring each dough cake in its associated tray cup.

In another embodiment the trays are delivered through a seeding station between the final prover and the oven, at the seeding station spraying a fine water spray onto the top surface of each dough cake and then sprinkling seeds onto the top surface of each dough cake.

In a preferred embodiment, the process includes the step of regulating the flow of dough through the divider to cutters at an outlet of the divider by delivering the dough to a feed hopper, passing the dough between a pair of contra-rotating screws at an outlet of the feed hopper and discharging the dough into an inlet hopper feeding cutter blades of the divider, controlling operation of the » screws for keeping the small inlet hopper topped up.

In another embodiment at the packing station the process includes the steps of slicing the bread buns, stacking a number of sliced bread buns in two rows of bread buns one above the other, and encasing the stacked bread buns in a plastic wrapper.

The invention will be more clearly understood by the following description of some embodiments thereof, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view illustrating a bread bun production line according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a side, elevational view of mixing and dividing apparatus used in the process; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the dividing apparatus; Fig. 5 is an end elevational view of the dividing apparatus; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of cleaning apparatus used in the process; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a vibrator mechanism used in the process; Fig. 8 is a perspective view of portion of depanning apparatus used in the process; Fig. 9 is a schematic plan view of packing apparatus used in the process; Fig. 10 is a side elevational view of a number of buns stacked in the packing apparatus; Fig. 11 is a detail schematic side sectional elevational view of portion of the packing apparatus; and Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a bun wrapper of the , packing apparatus.

Preset desirable amounts of selected ingredient materials are delivered to a mixer 10. The mixer 10 is a high speed mixer having a bowl 11 for reception of the ingredient materials. The bowl 11 is surrounded by a cooling jacket 12 for circulation of coolant around the bowl 11 to chill the ingredient materials in the mixing bowl 11 during mixing. Three water supplies connect to the mixing bowl from a chilled water supply, an ambient temperature water supply and heated water supply. A selected quantity of water at a desired temperature is added to the mixer from one or more of these water supplies. Within the mixer the ingredient materials are mixed at high speed. It is desirable to mix the ingredient materials at high speed to produce a very smooth dough of close texture. However, high speed mixing will increase the temperature of the mixture in the bowl 11 which will adversely affect the dough quality. To prevent overheating of the dough during the high speed mixing, glycol coolant is circulated through the cooling jacket 12 to keep down the temperature of the mixture within the bowl. Typically the dough temperature is kept to about 25°C. To further assist high speed mixing advantageously a part of the water supplied to the mixture is in the form of ice.

Downstream of the mixer 10 the dough passes through a » divider 13. The divider 13 has an associated feed hopper for reception of dough discharged from the mixer 10. • A flow controller 15 is provided at an outlet end of the hopper 14 and comprises a housing containing a pair of contra-rotating screws between which the dough passes for final mixing of the dough. The flow controller 15 also regulates the supply of dough through the divider 13 to maintain dough consistency throughout each batch of dough fed through the divider 13. Dough discharged from the flow controller 15 is collectedinasmall inlet hopper 16 which is kept topped up by the flow controller 15 so that the dough is extruded at the cutter blades of the divider 13 with great consistency.

Dough pieces discharged from the divider 13 pass through a balling station 17 prior to delivery to a first prover 18. At the balling station 17 dough pieces are carried along on a conveyor 20. Mounted directly above the conveyor 20 are a number of elongate guide arms 21 which extend at an angle across the conveyor 20. Thus dough pieces 19 travelling on the conveyor 20 hit the arms 21 and roll along the arms 21 to ball the dough pieces.

After proving the dough pieces are rolled flat and delivered onto trays, each tray having a plurality of circular cups, each for reception of a flat dough piece.

Each tray is conveyed through a cleaner 22. The cleaner 22 has a housing 23 through which the trays pass. Air jets within the housing 23 blow up loose flour on each tray, the flour then being sucked away by a vacuum.

Downstream of the cleaner 22, each tray is conveyed to a shaker 24. The tray is stopped and an underside of the tray is engaged by a vibrator mechanism 25. The tray is vibrated to centralise each dough piece in its associated cup on the tray. This centralising of the dough pieces is important to ensure an even expansion of the dough within the tray cups giving a uniform bun shape.

The trays are then passed through a final prover 26.

Having passed through the final prover 26 the trays are conveyed through a continuous baking oven 27 to bake the dough.

If desired, prior to delivery of the trays to the oven 27 each tray may be passed through a water spray and then a seeder to apply seeds to the top surface of each dough piece.

At an outlet of the oven 27 the trays pass to a de-panning station 28. At the de-panning station 28 each tray passes under downwardly directed air jets 29 which loosen the buns on the tray floating them off a base of the tray prior to removing the buns from the tray by means of overhead suction cups 30 which engage and lift each bun from the tray.

It will be noted that each tray has a non-stick teflon coated upper surface. This has several advantages over conventional metal trays. Firstly no greasing of the trays is required to facilitate removal of the buns after baking. Also, and more importantly from a quality point of view the base of the buns are not marked by the tray which is typically the case when greased trays are used.

Downstream of the de-panning station 28 the buns are cooled in ambient air, being carried around a carousel 32 for a pre-set time period.

Downstream of the carousel the cooled buns are delivered to a packing station 34. The cooled bread buns are delivered on a conveyor 35 to a packing station 34. Three different packing lines 36, 37, 38 extend at right angles to the conveyor 35. The appropriate packing line 36, 37, 38 can be selected by operation of overhead deflector arms to guide the buns onto the appropriate line 36, 37, 38.

On the packing lines, the buns may be arranged on trays for bulk delivery or may be packaged in plastics wrappers containing typically six or twelve buns. The buns may also be sliced prior to packaging. t, At the packing line 38 the buns are collected and delivered through a slicing machine which slices the buns in half. Figs. 9 to 12 show apparatus for wrapping a number of buns, in this case six in a plastics wrapper.

Two rows of three buns are fed by conveyors 40, 41 into a stacker 42. Within the stacker 42, the conveyors are displaced vertically. A pusher 43 is operable to push the buns from the upper conveyor 40 onto the buns on the lower conveyor 41. It will be noted that the conveyors 40, 41 are controlled such that the top row of buns is rearwardly offset on the bottom row of buns as shown in Fig. 10.

This advantageously prevents the leading bun on the top row dropping in front of the lower row of buns as they are carried together along the conveyor. The stacked buns are then delivered to an alignment device 45 which brings the two rows of buns into alignment immediately prior to encasing the buns in a plastics wrapper. The alignment device 45 has a number of arms 46 mounted on an endless rotating belt 47 above the conveyor 41, the arms 46 engaging and pushing the two rows of buns together, the buns being securely held together by trailing ribbons 48 which frictionally engage the upper buns to retain them in place on the lower row of buns. In this manner, the buns are tightly packed in a close fitting plastics wrapper at a wrapping station 50 so that the wrapper will retain its shape even with rough handling.

* The invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described which may be varied in both < construction and detail.

Claims (5)

1. A bread bun production process comprising steps: weighing preset quantities of selected ingredient materials; delivering the ingredient materials to a mixing machine, mixing the ingredient materials at high speed in the mixing machine to produce a smooth homogenous dough, cooling the ingredient materials during mixing for maintaining a low dough temperature; dividing the dough into dough pieces of a selected size; rolling the dough pieces into balls by advancing the dough pieces on a conveyor to engage and roll along upstanding overhead guide arms which are angled across the conveyor path; delivering the dough balls through a first prover for initial proving of the dough; discharging the dough balls from the first prover, rolling each dough ball into a flat t dough cake, and dropping the flat dough cakes onto trays, each dough cake sitting in one of a number of circular cups formed in the tray, cleaning away excess flour from the tray and dough cakes; centring each dough cake in its associated tray cup; conveying the tray through a final prover and then through a continuous oven to bake the dough cakes to form bread buns; delivering a tray to a de-panning station, removing the buns from the tray at the depanning station; cooling the buns in air by carrying the buns along a carousel for a preset time period; leading the buns to a packing station and packing the buns in containers.

2. A process as claimed in claim 1 including the step of cooling the ingredient materials during mixing of the ingredient materials to form the dough by circulating a coolant through a cooling jacket encasing a mixing bowl of the mixer, and preferably including the step of cooling the ingredient materials by adding crushed ice to the ingredient materials in the mixing bowl.

3. A process as claimed in any preceding claim wherein at the de-panning station the bread buns are removed from the tray by directing air jets downwardly towards a top surface of the tray for parting the bread buns from the tray surface and then lifting the buns from the tray, and preferably wherein the centring of the dough cakes is carried out by locating the tray over a vibrator mechanism, engaging the vibrator mechanism with an underside of the tray, operating the vibrator mechanism to shake the tray for centring each dough cake in its associated tray cup, and preferably including 5 the step of regulating the flow of dough through the divider to cutters at an outlet of the divider by delivering the dough to a feed hopper, passing the dough between a pair of contra-rotating screws at an outlet of the feed 10 hopper and discharging the dough into an inlet hopper feeding cutter blades of the divider, controlling operation of the screws for keeping the small inlet hopper topped up.

4. A bread bun production process substantially as 15 hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

5. Bread buns whenever produced according to the process as claimed in any preceding claim.