ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 19 -- United States Patent no. 12,329,168, issued on June 17.
"Continuous soft pretzel apparatus and method" was invented by Gary Gottenbusch (Cincinnati).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The present invention discloses an apparatus and method for making soft pretzel sticks using a continuous production line. The method involves conveying dough through a sheeting line to create an evenly thick sheet, which is further reduced to a uniform thickness using rollers. The dough sheet is then cut into vertical strips with pastry cutting wheels and curled into spirals using a torpedo-shaped curling device. The curled strips are proofed under controlled heat and humidity conditions ...