Preparing Dough at an Industrial Scale

Dough preparation for any bakery is essential for making a quality baked good. When baking moves to an industrial scale, dough preparation is more challenging yet just as important. Preparing dough at an industrial scale is about consistency and efficiency. Today’s new and used industrial dough preparation equipment is designed to make dough for your line effectively while allowing your bakery to get a quality product to market with a low operating cost.

Dough Mixing and Kneading

The first step in dough preparation is dough mixing and kneading. This is an important step to creating the correct mixing amount, air entrainment, and consistency. To increase efficiency, industrial mixing equipment automates as many steps of this process as possible to enable high-speed mixing capabilities. This includes the steps of kneading where the dough is pressed, sometimes in a chilled bowl, to increase performance. Some equipment also includes the ability to detect faults and alert operators of any anomalies quickly.

Dough dividing, rounding, and proofing

Once the dough is created, it then has to be prepared for the make-up line where the filler, folding, and decorating will be performed. This begins with a dough divider, such as the Benier 6 Pocket Dough Divider. These evenly divided pieces are then rounded, which must be consistent to help ensure that subsequent equipment can properly handle each piece. This is often done by repositioning the dough ball several times against forming surfaces to improve rounding.

The dough is then proofed. Proofing can be done as a manual step or using a tray or spiral proofer. The proofer will precisely control the temperature and humidity over the specified period of time to proof the dough. Proofing equipment uses sophisticated technology to create a balance of heat and steam to create a quality dough.

System design

Dough preparation systems are designed to minimize cost of ownership. This means that they should be consistent and easy to operate. Technologies such as non-stick coatings and hygienic design allow for equipment to run for longer and make cleaning faster and easier. Other design improvements include using corrosion-free materials such as stainless steel and synthetic, food grade materials. These innovations have allowed industrial bakeries to deliver exceptional baked goods at affordable prices throughout the world.

Artisan Capital Partners tailors solutions and services designed to create liquidity from industrial bakery assets while consistently managing transaction risk. Artisan Capital Partners helps bakeries manage assessing equipment, dismantling, and transportation, as well as design, installation, and testing to provide bakeries with a liquidity event that meets their goals.

A look at Benier’s Industrial Baking Equipment

When baking is your business, you understand the importance of having quality equipment at every stage of the process. The first phases of mixing and handling the dough are crucial steps, and the equipment you choose for you industrial baking line can have a big impact on your finished product. Artisan Capital Partners, who stocks a growing and evolving inventory of industrial baking equipment, is developing their inventory of the respected brand Benier, a company that has designed and built dough production and dough handling systems for 130 years. Here is a look at Benier’s dough production line of mixing, dividing, rounding, proofing, and moulding equipment.

Mixing

A good mixer is essential to any medium or large scale baking operation, and Benier offers several types of mixers, also called mechanical dough developers (MDD’s). Their MDD’s include the option of providing vacuum and/or pressure mixing, boast an ease of maintenance and a fully automated process, and depending on the mixer, have a capacity of up to 772 pounds of dough per batch.

Dividing

After the energy and workmanship that has gone into creating the dough, it is imperative that the equipment that subsequently handles it also provides quality outcomes. The type of dough divider your business requires depends on several factors, and Benier has a range of equipment to meet many industrial baking needs. One of their newer models, the patent-pending Xtrueder, is a good example of their design and manufacturing abilities, and can produce 15,000 pieces per hour and features vacuum assisted intake, easily exchanged outfeed nozzles, and built-in air conditioning for consistent dough temperature.

Rounding

According to Bakerpedia, dough rounding is when “the divided dough piece is shaped into a ball for easier handling, and in some cases, coated with dusting flour to prevent dough pickup.” Benier has four models of rounders: V-Belt Rounder, Allrounder, Unirounder, and Tallround.

Proofing

Many bakeries rely on Benier’s industrial first proofer to ensure their dough rests and reaches the highest level of quality it can attain in the proofing process. Benier’s proofer is flexible, with a modular system and several infeed capacities available, up to 9,000 pieces per hour.

Moulding

As the final step in the dough handling process, moulding literally shapes how the dough will look as the final product. For this important task, Benier produces several models of moulders, all of which tout the benefits of being easy to operate, easy to clean, and easy to maintain.

Artisan Capital Partners is the go-to for industrial baking equipment.  We buy complete bakeries, production lines, and peripheral equipment.  Contact us today to learn more.