Baking & Snack - November 2014 - 95

system. Pour the pads to be big enough for these additional silos and tanks. During initial installation, the
cost of putting in oversized or double-capacity compressors and components can be done at a fraction of
the capital cost of later additions.
When selecting control components, take the newest
versions available and specify at least twice the mem-

Building in some elbow room
helps maintain flexibility
and allows growth.
ory as current applications require. Pick "smart" components whenever possible because they push control
down to the unit machine level and free up controller
memory for analytical and management tasks.

DON'T IGNORE FORMULA NEEDS
"All in" methods of ingredient delivery don't work for
every formula. Many formulas call for delayed salt addition or yeast spiking. These practices need not be
sacrificed when automating, but they do require special systems and programming.
Similar needs occur with the particulates (chocolate
chips or nut pieces) in cookie formulas. They must be
added in the final stages of mixing to reduce breakage. Because these materials can also be damaged by
pneumatic conveying, a bucket elevator system can be
sequenced to automatically deliver accurately weighed
particulates to the mixer.

DO CONSIDER PRE-BATCHING
When you study the pattern of ingredient usage, you
may find that some materials are always batched together in the same proportions. These raw materials are
prime candidates for pre-batching, and the technique is
advantageous for micro ingredient premixes, too.
Pneumatic conveying methods handle big quantities more accurately than small amounts. This is the
idea behind pre-batching, a method that brings together all ingredients, bulk to micro, and blends them
before they go to the mixer.
Additionally, micro systems can be configured with
a hand-add station that allows operators to incorporate ingredients used at low frequencies into the automated delivery system.

DO ANTICIPATE LIQUIDS
Recent improvements in metering and measurement
systems opened up automated handling of low-volume
liquid ingredients, including malt syrups, molasses and

liquid monoglycerides. Such systems should be laid out,
and delivery action programmed, so that high-volume
liquids "wash" low-volume liquids forward into supply
hoppers and mixers.

DON'T FORGET CREAM YEAST
This important ingredient is typically handled in a recirculating system with piping linking the storage tank in
a closed-loop circuit with each use point in the bakery.
The yeast is metered into the mixer on demand.
First, when measuring cream yeast, volume - not
mass - is important. The activation level of the yeast
in the dough is a function of the volume of yeast added
rather than its mass or weight.
Second, cream yeast is biologically active. Even at rest
under temperature-controlled conditions, it continues
to generate gas. This extra gas adds to the pressure within a closed-loop system and can cause potential dispensing errors when drop point valves are opened.

DO INTEGRATE FLOUR COOLING
Keeping the dough temperature down, always a priority in bread and bun production, is even more important
with today's higher divider speeds. Refrigerated mixer
bowls and use of chilled ingredient water or ice are wellknown techniques. Cryogenic flour cooling is a recent
addition to the baker's toolbox.
On the basis of its weight alone, flour is the biggest
single contributor to batch temperature. If you bring
flour into the mixer cool enough, then the temperature
of ingredients, other than water, almost doesn't matter.
Carbon dioxide is the cryogen most often used, with
nitrogen another choice. It is injected into the ingredient transfer system that moves flour from the silo to the
receiving hopper or the blending vessel. Introduction
of the cryogen does two things. It cuts the temperature
of the entrained ingredients, but it adds pressure to the
pneumatic conveying system, which must be factored
into system design.

DO AUTOMATE COMMUNICATIONS
The PLCs and control software that run ingredient systems provide another benefit: enhanced communications. They can collect ingredient usage and batch data,
making it available for traceability and food safety purposes. Add-on software tools enable display of historical data in convenient spreadsheets as well as statistical
quality control charts and graphs.
Installing a secure Internet connection is also a good
idea. This allows real-time communication between
your system and remote sites. Such access is valuable for
troubleshooting between plant and vendor and for data
communications within multi-plant operations.

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Baking & Snack - November 2014

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