Bakery Production Line: Key Steps for Success

Product Introduction

Bakery Production Line

Application

The style and type of bread dictate the dough system to use as well as the processing conditions during mixing, makeup, and baking. A baker would not like to produce ciabatta with a close crumb structure, or to produce a loaf of white pan bread with an open crumb structure and texture like a ciabatta.

All steps in bread processing are important for a successful operation, but most bakers would agree that the three truly vital process steps are mixing, fermentation and baking. They are commonly described as the heart and cornerstone of breadmaking operations and can also determine the finished product characteristics, both internally and externally.

Mixing

The objective is the blending and hydration of dry ingredients, air incorporation, and gluten development for optimum dough handling properties. Variables to monitor and control include mixing time, energy input, dough temperature:

Mixing time: a function of flour strength, its protein, damaged starch and non-starch polysaccharides, and bran particle content. Other factors include mixer speed, mixing arm design, dough size in relation to mixer capacity, adequacy of refrigeration system (dough temperature), and delayed sugar/fat/salt addition.

Mixing equipment: vertical (planetary), spiral (open and closed for vacuum mixing), horizontal, continuous (open and closed).

Process specifications: 9–15 minutes at high speed in horizontal mixers. Final dough temperature should be 76–82°F (25–28°C).

Fermentation

The objective is yeast growth, production of CO2, ethanol, and organic acids, development of flavors and aromas, and modification of dough handling properties. Variables to monitor and control include fermentation time, temperature, titratable acidity (TTA), pH, and microbial count:

Fermentation time: controlled by the temperature of dough, sponge, starter or pre-ferment, hydration level (free water), pH, osmotic pressure, yeast food (amino acids, minerals, fermentable sugars) and yeast level (or lactic acid bacteria count).

Fermentation equipment: troughs in the fermentation room, closed tanks, open tanks, benches.

Process specifications: 1–20 hours (at room conditions), depending on the dough system used. The temperature in fermentation rooms is typically set between 75–85°F (24–29°C) with relative humidity (RH) of 60–80%.2

Makeup

The makeup stage mainly encompasses four operations:

Dividing

Rounding

Intermediate proofing

Sheeting and moulding

The divider cuts the bulk dough into single pieces of proper weight (with as little stress exerted on the dough as possible) so that these can be rounded and rested prior to taking their final shape. The divider must process the entire dough load quickly to prevent excessive gassing that creates scaling errors.

The sheeter and molder encompass the sheeting stage, curling chain, pressure board, and guide bars. These influence the gas bubble structure, shape, and length of the dough piece to place in the pan. The molder should be adjusted to achieve the desired shape with a minimum amount of pressure and stress on the dough to avoid damaging the cell structure obtained during mixing and fermentation.

Baking

The objective is to convert raw dough into bread, the set structure of the product, crust, and crumb formation, kill-step, and shelf-life extension. Variables to monitor and control include temperature, and time (governed in continuous ovens by conveying speed). Other relevant variables include heat flux (burners), humidity (dampers), and air velocity or flow.

Baking time: controlled by oven temperature, conveying speed, initial (proofed dough) and final product temperature, heating pattern, bake loss, product load, and formulation.

Baking equipment: direct-fired oven, indirect-fired oven, electric oven, rack oven, reel oven, conveyorized, tunnel, hybrid, and impingement oven.

Process specifications: 10–20 minutes at 400–420°F (204–216°C) (heating pattern in different ovens must be equivalent for comparable results).

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