Baking & Snack - February 2021 - 38

CROWN BAKERIES

EF3 tornado that became the sixth costliest in United States
history slammed into downtown Nashville and surrounding
communities. It just missed the bakery's property but tied
up local resources in the area.
Next, during the permit process, Yianny Caparos recalled
that local government offices began to close in response
to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Here's where
Cordia Harrington, a longtime supporter of the Nashville
community and member of the American Society of
Baking's Baking Hall of Fame, relied on her relationships to
keep the project moving. The initial dough was processed
on Dec. 7, and the first thaw-and-serve croissants shipped
to customers just 10 days later.
During Baking & Snack's visit in mid-December,
Mr. Shelley noted that about 70 people work on three shifts,
five days a week, at the new Nashville facility. Overall, the
facility has 30,000 square feet of processing, 13,000 square
feet of packaging on a mezzanine level, and 7,500 square
feet of warehouse and office space.
Bulk flour flows from a 110,000-lb silo through a Shick
Esteve ingredient handling system that's outfitted with its
Automated Ingredient Management software that provides
batch management, production scheduling, lot tracking
and process data acquisition. In the 55˚F makeup room,
the 1,600-lb horizontal mixer and chunker from Shaffer,
a Bundy Baking Solution, feeds a steady supply of dough
of around 60˚F - or cool enough to maintain control
throughout the initial stages of the laminating process.
Overall, Mr. Shelley said, the high-speed Rademaker line
can turn out a wide variety of laminated products, but it's
currently dedicated to thaw-and-serve sandwich croissant
production at 720, 2-oz pieces a minute.
The makeup operation also comes with a recipe management system that automatically adjusts all line settings.
Sloped surfaces and lightweight tooling provide enhanced
sanitation and quick changeovers. Throughout the makeup
system, sensors automatically control flour dusters to minimize waste. The dusters are tied into the bulk ingredient
handling system to ensure they're filled.
After three-roll extrusion and initial sheeting, the fat
pump spreads butter, margarine or a blend of the two from
50-lb blocks onto the sheet, which is folded over and sealed
as it passes through a quick reduction station that includes
satellite rollers that reduce its thickness by a 10-to-1 ratio.
Depending on the product, the first section of the laminator folds the sheet between four and six times before it travels through another reduction station, a second laminator,
a third reduction station and up to an overhead enclosed
Top: After three-roll extrusion, the dough sheet heads into a fat pump where butter,
margarine or a blend is folded in before laminating.
Bottom: Fresh-baked croissants travel through an enclosed, temperature-controlled
spiral cooler prior to metal detection and pillow packing.

38 Baking & Snack February 2021 / www.bakingbusiness.com

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Baking & Snack - February 2021

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