Extrusion process for the production of freezeable breading product

A method of preparing a breading product, consisting essentially of the steps of:

• providing a moisturized breading mixture including a major proportion of wheat flour therein, and individual amounts of active yeast and water,
• said mixture-providing step consisting essentially of the steps of first providing starting ingredients consisting essentially of from about 90-98% by weight wheat flour, and from about 0.1-5% by weight of active yeast, and thereafter creating said moisturized breading mixture by passing said starting ingredients into and through a preconditioner while adding moisture thereto to achieve a moisture content of from about 20-35% by weight, and during passage of said starting ingredients and moisture through said preconditioner, subjecting the mixture thereof to a maximum temperature of up to about 100.degree. C. and a retention time in the preconditioner of up to about 3 minutes;
• passing the moisturized breading mixture from said preconditioner into and through an extruder to create an extrudate having a wet density of from about 11-16.5 lbs/ft.sup.3, said extruder having an elongated barrel and an axially rotatable screw within said barrel, and an endmost extrusion die, said extrusion being carried out at temperature, pressure and residence time conditions within the extruder barrel during such passage at levels of up to about 250.degree. F., up to about 400 psi, and from about 10-45 seconds, respectively;
• and
• drying the extrudate to a moisture content of from about 8-12% by weight,
• said drying step consisting essentially of the steps of first allowing said extrudate to set in ambient air for a period of from about 5-30 seconds, thereafter shredding the set extrudate, and then subjecting said shredded extrudate to drying air currents having a temperature of from about 160.degree.-250.degree. F. for a period to create a breading having said moisture content and a bulk density of from about 8-19 lbs/ft.sup.3.