Inside Crown Bakeries
Crown Bakeries facility houses a production line that cranks out croissants and potentially other laminated, thaw-and-serve products.
Automated forming
Dozens of dough pieces enter the automatic bending and pinching systems to form the round sandwich croissants.
Exiting the oven
Extra-large pans each holding 72 croissants exit the 126-foot oven that has 10 zones to provide greater accuracy and control of the baking process.
Three-roll extrusion
After three-roll extrusion, the dough sheet heads into a fat pump where butter, margarine or a blend is folded in before laminating.
Cooling croissants
Fresh-baked croissants travel through an enclosed, temperature-controlled spiral cooler prior to metal detection and pillow packing.
Mixing dough
In a temperature-controlled room, the 1,600-lb horizontal mixer and chunker feed a steady supply of dough to the laminating line.
Folding dough
One of two laminators on the makeup line fold dough over several times to create the taste and structure of the thaw-and-serve croissants.
Freshly formed dough
On the high-speed line, hundreds of freshly formed dough pieces march in line toward panning and proofing.
Crown Bakeries leadership team
A seasoned leadership team oversees management and the day-to-day operations of rapidly growing Crown Bakeries, which includes its newest plant in Nashville.
