Abstract: A cheese slurry suitable for topical application on a snack product prior to baking includes natural cheese powder solids, an emulsifier, oil, water, and pregelatinized starch in amounts effective to provide a crispy topping having an appearance of melted cheese uniformly adhered to the outer surface of the baked dough product, and up to 1 percent reducing sugars, polyols, or a combination thereof and substantially no enzyme-modified cheese, buttermilk, whey, maltodextrins, or yeast extract so that the cheese slurry composition is resistant to undesirable browning and burning upon baking.

Abstract: A cheese slurry suitable for topical application on a snack product prior to baking includes natural cheese powder solids, an emulsifier, oil, water, and pregelatinized starch in amounts effective to provide a crispy topping having an appearance of melted cheese uniformly adhered to the outer surface of the baked dough product, and up to 1 percent reducing sugars, polyols, or a combination thereof and substantially no enzyme-modified cheese, buttermilk, whey, maltodextrins, or yeast extract so that the cheese slurry composition is resistant to undesirable browning and burning upon baking.

Abstract: A dough sheet for producing thin, baked chips is obtained continuously by compressing a dough sheet to a thickness of less than or equal to about 0.035 inch between counter-rotating gauge rolls while maintaining the surface of each gauge roll at a temperature of about 85° F. to about 95° F. Maintaining the gauge roll surface temperature at about 85° F. to about 95° F. avoids sticking, tearing, and shredding of the thin dough sheet as it is compressed and transferred by the gauge rolls, even at high production rates or line speeds. A rotary cutter is employed to obtain thin, irregularly shaped, scallop-edged snacks in a variety of shapes from a single dough sheet without producing dough scraps between the pieces.

Abstract: Shredded whole grain products, such as ready-to-eat cereals, and sweet and savory snacks, such as whole grain shredded corn chips are continuously produced by pelletizing agglomerates of cooked, tempered, whole cereal grain particles. Cooked whole grains, such as corn and other non-gluten or low-gluten containing grains have a tendency to become hard and rubbery after cooking during the cooling and tempering process. The pelletization results in the production of whole grain pellets having a soft, pliable texture, which are shreddable into continuous net-like sheets on a mass production basis. The pelletizing may be at a pressure of about 200 psig to about 600 psig, preferably from about 400 psig to about 500 psig. The pelletizing temperature may be controlled to provide a pellet temperature of about 80° F. to about 120° F., preferably from about 90° F. to about 110° F., upon exiting the pelletizer.

Abstract: Thin, baked fermented chips having an irregular shape and surface bubbles are produced by cutting a fermented, wheat-based compressed dough sheet into a plurality of pieces having different shapes and notches with a single rotary cutter so that the dough pieces form an interlocking pattern and the notches extend around the periphery of each piece. The notches are spaced around the periphery of each piece and facilitate separation of the dough pieces from each other while at least substantially avoiding tearing and breaking of the dough pieces. A plurality of notches of each piece are aligned or contiguous with notches of any adjacent piece in the interlocking pattern.

Abstract: A cookie cup sandwich cookie having dissimilarly-sized base cakes is continuously produced by applying a layer of filler cream to a lower base cake and applying an upper base cake to the lower base cake so that the outer periphery of the upper base cake surrounds the layer of filler cream. The apparatus for the production of the sandwich cookies includes at least one rotary molder for producing lower base cakes and upper base cakes having different sizes, a filler cream depositor that deposits a layer of filler cream on each of the lower base cakes, and a conveyer system for transporting and at least substantially concentrically aligning the dissimilarly sized lower and upper base cakes.

Abstract: Provided is a process for preparing filled cracker snacks containing a creamy, lubricious low Aw, and bake stable filler encased within crisp oven-baked cracker with efficiency and consistency despite the difficult rheology of the filler. In a first step, a smooth textured, bakable filling is prepared comprising an oil phase, an aqueous phase and a solids phase by a process comprising blending the ingredients and mixing with high shear to form a homogeneous filler having a viscosity of greater than 1.5×105 centipoise. Also prepared are top and bottom sheets of cracker dough, the bottom of which is moved at a predetermined horizontal velocity for depositing a plurality of continuous or intermittent streams of a bakable filling thereon from a depositor comprising a plurality of openings. The top dough sheet is then placed over the bottom sheet, and the sheets are cut and/or scored in a predetermined pattern to form a composite unbaked dough and filling.

Abstract: Thin snack chips having a curved or wave shape are obtained by forming, shaping or curling baked chips into a curved or wave configuration before they become too cold and rigid so as to result in breakage during forming. The essentially flat, malleable baked chips, still hot from baking in an oven may be continuously transported on a conveyer belt into a nip or gap formed between the conveyer belt and a rotating forming roller to curve or curl the malleable baked chips around the roller. The malleable baked chips are subjected to a guided curtain of air to cool and set the chips in a curved or wave configuration and to remove or blow the curved or wave chips off of the rotating forming roller onto the conveyor belt.

Abstract: A dough sheet for producing thin, baked chips is obtained continuously by compressing a dough sheet to a thickness of less than or equal to about 0.035 inch between counter-rotating gauge rolls while maintaining the surface of each gauge roll at a temperature of about 85° F. to about 95° F. Maintaining the gauge roll surface temperature at about 85° F. to about 95° F. avoids sticking, tearing, and shredding of the thin dough sheet as it is compressed and transferred by the gauge rolls, even at high production rates or line speeds. A rotary cutter is employed to obtain thin, irregularly shaped, scallop-edged snacks in a variety of shapes from a single dough sheet without producing dough scraps between the pieces.