Abstract: A continuous process and the accompanying equipment for making a chip product, such as pita chips. The process involves cutting sheeted dough into continuous longitudinal strips, and cooking them to form hollow tubes. In some embodiments, these tubes are split longitudinally. Also disclosed is a vacuum-assisted splitter. These bread tubes or strips are cured in an accelerated process. The bread tube is trimmed into chip-sized pieces. In one embodiment, the pita bread strips are cut into chip-sized pieces using a continuous, low-pressure water jet cutting system. The resulting chip-sized pieces are nearly uniform in size, shape, and texture.

Abstract: A method for making a hard pretzel product that effectively absorbs a seasoning slurry, such as an oil-based seasoning added after baking. In a preferred embodiment, three dough strands extruded simultaneously are cut and formed into a triad arrangement of three dough rods. Several process steps are used singly or in combination to promote the formation of a stress cracking at the intersection between these three rods in the triad formation. During the final drying stage and a seasoning stage in a seasoning tumbler, this stress cracking is sufficient to allow separation of the three rods into individual pretzel sticks. Each of these pretzel sticks has a longitudinal surface area in the proximity of the original stress fracturing which effectively absorbs a seasoning slurry.