Apparatus, System, and Process for Making a Bakery Product

A method of making a bread loaf, the method comprising:

• (a) continuously conditioning a batch of unconditioned dough to reduce the size of air pockets within the unconditioned dough to produce a batch of conditioned dough;
• (b) continuously extruding the batch of conditioned dough at a controlled volumetric feed rate and at a controlled pressure to provide a constant stream of conditioned dough;
• and
• (c) continuously cutting the constant stream of conditioned dough into individual packets, wherein each individual packet is directly deposited in an individual cavity of a pan moving along a predetermined path without additional processing of the conditioned dough prior to deposition in the individual cavity.

An apparatus for making bread loaves comprising:

• a mixer in which ingredients to make a batch of bread dough are mixed to produce an unconditioned dough having enlarged and different sized air pockets, said batch providing a predetermined number of bread loaves;
• a pan feeder that continuously moves baking pans in a stepwise manner along a predetermined linear path, each pan having at least one empty cavity sized and configured to bake a single bread loaf;
• a dough developer unit above said predetermined linear path that reduces the size of air pockets within unconditioned dough, so that dough exiting the developer unit is conditioned;
• a first transfer pump that continuously feeds the unconditioned dough from the mixer to the dough developer unit;
• an extrusion unit below the dough developer unit and above the predetermined linear path that continuously extrudes the conditioned dough into a single dough stream;
• a second transfer pump that continuously meters the conditioned dough from the extrusion unit through an extrusion port of a die manifold member of the extrusion unit, wherein the extrusion port is narrower in a center part relative to the sides of the extrusion port;
• and
• a cutter unit above the predetermined linear path that continuously cuts the single dough stream into individual packets, wherein each of the individual packets is deposited in an individual cavity in a pan moving along said predetermined path, wherein the extrusion port is positioned relative to the predetermined linear path such that upon cutting the single dough stream, each of the individual packets drops directly into a cavity of a pan positioned directly beneath the extrusion port;
• and
• a control system that delivers the single dough stream to the cutter unit at a controlled volumetric feed rate and at a controlled pressure.