Method for making a triangularly-shaped, baked dough product

Confectionery, such as a tart and pie, is sequentially made. A generally rectangular mold is filled with food dough. The food dough is baked and taken out of the mold. The food dough is cut and divided in a zigzag pattern into generally triangularly-shaped food dough, so that a tart or a pie is made.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to an apparatus and method for making a food product, such as a pie and a tart, by manufacturing steps at a factory. This apparatus and method allow the rate of production of a food product to be increased and the cost for making it to be decreased. Also, the food product tends to be crispy when it is eaten.

BACKGROUND ART

When a tart or a pie is made by hand, first food dough is formed as a disc. Then various toppings are put on it. Then it is baked. When it is eaten, the circular sheet of food dough is radially cut at the same given angles and divided into triangles (or fans).

When a tart or a pie is made at a factory, first a sheet of dough is made. Then, a cutter is used to cut out discs from the sheet. In that case a part of the sheet remains after the discs are cut out from the sheet. Although it is again used, the yield of the discs is still low. Thus, it is desired that the method of making the food product be improved, so that the rate of production can be increased and so that the cost of production can be decreased.

The conventional method has the above disadvantages, i.e., neither the rate of production can be increased nor the cost for production be decreased.

The object of this invention is to provide an apparatus and method for making a tart and a pie that look handmade. The apparatus and method allows the rate of production to be increased.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

To achieve the object of this invention a method for making a food product is provided.

The method includes the steps of filling a tetragonal mold with food dough, baking the food dough that fills the tetragonal mold, taking out the food dough from the mold, and cutting and dividing the food dough in a zigzag pattern at given positions into pieces that are generally triangular.

Also, another method for making a food product is provided. It includes the steps of continuously transferring tetragonal molds along a conveyor, supplying food dough to the molds with an apparatus that is located above the conveyor, baking the food dough that fills the tetragonal molds, taking out the food dough from the molds, and cutting and dividing the food dough in a zigzag pattern at given positions into pieces that are generally triangular. Each mold can be a parallelogram. Each mold has one pair of side plates. Each side plate comprises a plurality of arced plates that are connected to each other. The food dough that is supplied to the molds is a multi-layered food dough.

An apparatus for making a food product is provided. It comprises a conveyor for sequentially feeding tetragonal molds, an apparatus for supplying an underlying sheet of dough to cover the side and bottom surfaces of the molds, an apparatus for supplying a sheet of dough on the underlying sheet of dough, and means for taking out the molds from the conveyor. The apparatus can further comprise means for baking the sheets of dough that fill the molds, means for taking the baked sheets of dough from the molds, and a cutter to cut the baked sheets of dough into pieces.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Based on the drawings, a first embodiment of this invention is now explained.FIG. 1shows a mold10. It has two pairs of opposite side plates11aand11band a bottom plate. The two pairs of opposite plates11aand11bare used as side frames. As inFIG. 2, one pair of the opposite plates11ahas a plurality of curved plates (or arced plates or portions). At the other pair of the opposite sides of the mold, the other pair of the opposite plates11bis located. The ends of each transverse plate11bare engaged with engaging portions11cformed at the ends of the side plates11a.

FIG. 3is a top view of a conveyor20. Opposite guide plates21are located above it and along the direction of its length. The mold10is conveyed along the guide plates21.

Apparatuses31,32,33, and34are located in series to supply food dough to the mold10. The apparatuses sequentially supply food dough to the mold, so that multiple layers of food dough can be formed in the mold10. In this embodiment a first apparatus31for supplying food dough has a nozzle whose sectional view appears like a “U.” Thus, the first apparatus31supplies to the mold an underlying sheet31aof dough formed like a “U, so that, as inFIG. 4, it covers both the side plates11aand the bottom plate of the mold.

Next a first embodiment of a method for making tarts of this invention by using a plurality of the molds10is explained. The conveyor20continuously feeds the molds10. The first apparatus31sequentially supplies food dough31ato the molds. Then the apparatuses32,33, and34also continuously supply food dough32a,33aand34ato the molds. In each mold a multi-layered food dough is formed. The multi-layered food dough is continuous over a plurality of the molds.

Then, the transverse plates11bare inserted into the multi-layered food dough at the ends of the molds, so that the continuous multi-layered food dough is divided into blocks in respective molds. Then, they are sequentially taken out from the conveyor and baked.

As inFIG. 5, each baked food dough includes tarts that are connected to each other, so that at the long sides of the baked food a plurality of arced surfaces are connected in series. The baked food dough is cut and divided into generally triangularly-shaped food dough along a line as shown by an imaginary line C of two short dashes that alternate with one long dash, as inFIG. 5.

Each generally triangularly-shaped food dough has a tip that is covered by the underlying sheet of food dough, unlike the triangularly-shaped food dough that is made by the conventional method. Thus, the generally triangularly-shaped food dough made by this embodiment can be easily treated, in comparison with the conventional food dough. Also, it is difficult to break the generally triangularly-shaped food dough made by this embodiment.

As stated above, the first embodiment of the mold inFIG. 5is used to make a basically rectangularly-shaped food dough. That mold has two sides, comprising a plurality of arced plates that are oppositely arranged. However, a mold shaped as a parallelogram may be used.FIG. 6shows a second embodiment of a mold shaped basically as a parallelogram. In this embodiment two opposing side plates11a,comprising a plurality of arced plates, are slightly shifted, unlike the first embodiment. This embodiment allows tarts with the shape of triangles to be obtained, in comparison with the first embodiment.

In the first and second embodiments, the transverse plates11bcan be disengaged from the mold. However, they can also be fixed to it. In this case, the apparatuses31,32,33, and34supply food dough to respective molds. When the molds are conveyed by the conveyor at regular intervals so that spaces are put between adjacent molds, the apparatuses31,32,33, and34intermittently supply food dough to the molds, i.e., not in the spaces.

In the embodiments stated above, a plurality of the apparatuses for supplying food dough to the molds are used to form multi-layered food dough in the molds. However, a single apparatus that can supply multi-layered food dough to the molds may also be used. Also, in the embodiments stated above, food dough for a tart is formed as a multi-layered food dough. However, these embodiments can be used for food dough such as a pie or pizza that comprises a single layer.

In the conventional method, disc-like sheets of dough are cut out from a sheet of dough. Then, some of the disc-like sheets of dough are layered to make tarts. In contrast, this invention uses continuous sheets of dough so that tarts can be sequentially made.

Also, in the conventional method, each disc-like sheet is radially cut at given angles. At the center of the disc-like sheet the disc-like sheet is cut many times. Thus, the tips of the pieces that are formed at the center of the disc-like sheet tend to be readily broken. In contrast, this invention allows food dough in the mold to be cut in a zigzag pattern. Thus, according to this invention the tips of the pieces tend not to be easily broken.

According to this invention no operation to cut out disc-like pieces of dough from a sheet of dough is necessary. Also, according to this invention food products can be made from a continuous sheet of dough, so that no wasted piece is made. Thus, the rate of production can be increased.