Baking & Snack - November 2017 - 84

ARTISAN TECHNOLOGY

Gentle dividing
technology can
cut dough without
damaging the fragile
cell structure.

at different speeds. "We're actually pulling the dough
from the ends and not compressing it from the top or
bottom," Mr. Giacoio said.
Shaping is another tricky moment where dough can be
degassed. Mr. Giacoio suggested incorporating a longer
moulding table and stretching the dough over a longer period of time, which pulls the dough more gently.
As the dough moves through this process, it's also
imperative that it is handled gently on its journey.
Elevation changes can be difficult for artisan doughs
to manage. "Typically, the artisan doughs that we're
involved with, there's a finite amount of extensibility
without having stress on the dough and other impacts
that might be considered negative," explained Jerry
Murphy, president and general manager, Rondo, Inc.
Rondo works with the equipment and layout to maintain the most horizontal dough band possible. While
the company attempts to avoid vertical movement,
if it's necessary, it finds ways to support the dough
through that change in elevation without creating
additional dough tension.
Koenig uses gravity to its advantage with its Ceres 2.1
bread line. The dough is formed into a dough sheet with
a cutting wheel and then set on the transfer disc from
the dough hopper by the dough's own weight. This use
of the dough's weight and gravity enables gentle dough
handling.
Rademaker also exerts control over the dough as it
moves through the process to limit any damage it may
incur. "Dough is not pushed or pulled through the
sheeting process nor is it subject to falling heights that

Moline Machinery

84 Baking & Snack November 2017 / www.bakingandsnack.com

result in unwanted dough tensions, which can negatively
impact dough quality and consistency," Mr. Riggle said.

Consistently irregular
When automating a process, one major benefit is the
uniformity it brings to finished product quality. The
goal is often to make identical products so every consumer gets the same experience with every purchase.
Artisan baked goods turn that concept on its head.
Their irregularity is part of the charm. It signals to the
buyer that these products were made by hand.
"When scaling up with automation, the rustic 'handmade' appearance can go away, leaving an
industrial-looking product," said Patricia Kennedy,
president, WP Bakery Group USA. The company designed its equipment to manage artisan dough as gently as the human hand, achieving a rustic appearance
with high speeds.
"We also have very flexible lines that can provide a
variety of shapes and sizes," she said. The WP Kemper
Pane line can do round moulding, square-shaped breads
or stamped products.
To create this aesthetic with automated equipment, Mr. Johnson said Gemini Bakery Equipment/KB
Systems has systems that can deliver. "We have several
clients who prefer a non-cookie-cutter, homemade appearance," he said. "We have moulding systems that
allow us to produce a more unique appearance with
minimal manual handling."
Dividing dough pieces by weight also keeps shapes
consistently irregular. This is due to the ever-changing
nature of yeast-raised breads.
"Some people define artisan as 'nothing looks the
same,' so our machines can be set up to cut the dough
by weight, dimension or size," Mr. Giacoio said.
"When you're running the dough on machines that
are cutting by weight, you're going to see all different sizes and shapes because that dough is starting to
proof out more and more. You have more air bubbles
in the cell structure, but you're still getting the exact
same weight."
Dividing by weight offers other benefits because of the
accuracy a computer can deliver. While a human operator will cut off a piece of dough, weigh it and then take
away or add dough to achieve the proper weight, the
machine won't cut the dough piece until it finds just the
right weight. This ensures that the final dough piece isn't a
mish-mash of smaller dough pieces or subjected to multiple cuts. "The act of putting multiple pieces on that final
dough piece actually diminishes the quality," Mr. Giacoio
explained. "When our guillotine cuts it, you're always assured it's the same weight all the time, so you don't have
multiple pieces making up a 1-lb boule."

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Baking & Snack - November 2017

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