Multiple die pastry crust press and crust pan handling arrangement

Abstract

A hydraulic press for simultaneously forming a plurality of pastry crusts under pressure in individual pans. The pans are loaded into a carrier tray, each pan is filled with a pre-portioned quantity of dough and the tray is placed between the upper and lower dies of the hydraulic press. Alignment elements formed on the hydraulic press and the carrier tray align the pans with the dies as the press closes. The resulting pastry crusts are formed with a uniform thickness throughout the crust. If desired and when the dies are so fabricated, crusts with different thicknesses at the bottom, side wall and flange of the crust can be formed. Pressure forming crusts eliminates the need for handling scrap dough which is usually trimmed and recovered in rolled or sheeted crust production.