Continuous pre-cooking process for the production of cooked dough foodstuffs

Claim 2

A process for producing cooked dough foodstuffs as claimed in claim 2, in which: said elongated chamber is heated.

Claim 3

A process for producing cooked dough foodstuff products as claimed in claim 2, in which said elongated chamber is inclined to the horizontal sloping downwardly in a direction opposite to the action of the screw mechanism for causing any unmixed liquid to run in a direction opposite to said action.

Claim 4

A process for producing cooked dough foodstuff products, as claimed in claim 1 in which: the dough contains corn flour and the precooking of the dough while mixing it is carried out at a temperature within the range from 115* F up to the gelatinizing temperature of approximately 165* F.

Claim 5

A process for producing cooked dough foodstuff products, as claimed in claim 1, in which: the pre-cooking temperature of the dough is achieved by heating the liquid prior to mixing with the flour.

Claim 6

A process for producing cooked dough foodstuff products, as claimed in claim 1, in which: the pre-cooking tempeRature of the dough is achieved by heating the dough while mixing it.

Claim 7

A process for producing cooked dough foodstuff products as claimed in claim 1 in which: said liquid is pre-heated before mixing with the flour.

Claim 8

A process for producing cooked tortillas comprising: mixing together corn meal flour and water to form a dough, pre-cooking the dough while thoroughly mixing it in a pre-cooking mixer-extruder and former by the action of pitched blades on a shaft, said pre-cooking being accomplished by maintaining the dough at a temperature in the range of 115* F up to the gelatinizing temperature of approximately 165* F so that it remains in a workable plastic condition while pre-cooking, passing the partially cooked dough through at least one mixing orifice within an extruder, die-expressing the pre-cooked dough and severing it into discrete round thin cake-like shaped blanks, conveying the blanks to an oven, final cooking the tortilla dough blanks in said oven, and recovering a cooked tortilla that has a moist cooked center layer surrounded by cooked blistered skin-like outer layers.

Claim 9

A process as claimed in claim 9 in which: the water is heated prior to mixing with the corn meal flour, the pre-cooking temperature is 125* to 160* F, the partially cooked dough is maintained in the mixer-extruder and former for a residence time of approximately sixty seconds; and the dough blank dwell time in the oven is on the order of 14 to 24 seconds.

Claim 10

A high speed process for producing cooked, attractive tortillas at a production rate per single production line exceeding 200 tortillas per minute comprising the steps of: mixing corn flour and water ingredients to make dough, pre-cooking the dough during said mixing at a temperature within the range from 115* F up to the gelatinizing temperature of approximately 165* F for a time period of less than 3 minutes, forming the dough while it remains moist and warm above room temperature into individual tortilla blanks, passing the moist warm pre-cooked tortilla blanks through an oven having an elevated temperature to produce intensive heating such that the dwell time of each blank within the oven is less than 30 seconds, whereby upper and lower attractive golden ''''skins'''' are produced on each tortilla and a central layer is produced between the skins which is cooked and yet remains suitably moist, all at a production rate in excess of 200 tortillas per minute per single production line.

Claim 11

A high speed process for producing cooked, attractive tortillas as claimed in claim 11, including the step of: supporting the moist warm pre-cooked tortilla blanks on an open-mesh wire conveyor as they are passed through the oven for simultaneously exposing both upper and lower surfaces of the tortilla blanks to intensive infrared heating action to produce the upper and lower attractive golden ''''skins'''' on each tortilla within less than 30 seconds.

Claim 12

A high speed process for producing cooked, attractive tortillas as claimed in claim 12, including the step of: turning the tortillas upside down after they have been in the oven for a portion of the dwell time therein for equalizing the heating on both sides.

Claim 13

A process for producing cooked tortillas comprising: mixing together corn meal flour and water to form a dough, while performing said mixing, pre-cooking the dough by maintaining it at a temperature such that it becomes partially cooked, shaping the dough into round thin cake-like blanks, placing the partially cooked blanks into an oven while still warm, final cooking the tortilla dough blanks in said oven, and recovering a cooked tortilla that has a moist cooked center layer surrounded by cooked blistered skin-like outer layers.

Claim 14

A process for producing coOked tortillas as claimed in claim 14 in which: the pre-cooking is carried out at a temperature in the range from 115* F up to the gelatinizing temperature of approximately 165* F.

Claim 15

A process for producing cooked tortillas as claimed in claim 14, in which: said water is pre-heated before mixing with the corn meal flour.

Claim 16

A process for producing cooked tortillas comprising: mixing together corn meal flour and water to form a dough, pre-cooking the dough while mixing it by maintaining it at a temperature in the range of 115* F up to the gelatinizing temperature of approximately 165* F, die-expressing the partially cooked dough and severing it into round thin cake-like blanks while it is still undergoing pre-cooking, conveying the pre-cooking blanks to an oven, final cooking the tortilla dough blanks in said oven, and recovering a cooked tortilla that has a moist cooked center layer surrounded by cooked blistered skin-like outer layers.