Baking & Snack - December 2024 - 58

DONUT PROCESSING
and match both big and small lines.
" For bakeries with low changeover
requirements, a high-volume line is
typically more efficient, maximizing
output with minimal labor, " Sarajian
said. " Conversely, bakeries with multiple
daily changeovers benefit from
modular lines that can quickly alternate
between decorations, flavors
and drizzles. "
For decorating donuts, he added,
Axis Automation provides backup
units for quick color, flavor or tooling
changes of filling, topping and
drizzling. Most components, he said,
can be swapped out in five minutes
or less.
" This
level
sures bakers
of flexibility
encan
respond swiftly
to demand without compromising
productivity or consistency, "
Sarajian said.
Today's donut fryers
come with a number
of components that
provide versatility in the
production process.
Heat and Control
ative twist on traditional donuts while increasing appeal
with fewer calories in most cases. Optionally, the AutoBake
technology can bake with steam assistance to produce
a very soft and moist mouthfeel, further enhancing
the quality of the product without the need for minor
ingredient additions. "
He mentioned that the symmetry and volume of donuts
enhance their consumer appeal but that attaining
those attributes is not always easy to accomplish.
" Auto-Bake has two technologies to address each
of these challenges, " McCally said. " Steam assistance
in baked donuts improves both symmetry and crumb
structure. Vacuum cooling technology maximizes donut
volume whereas traditional cooling often produces
an imperfect shape and structure. Vacuum cooling also
can be used to consistently hit the product's ideal wateractivity
target. "
Go big or go flexible
Many donut producers today are dealing with a plethora
of SKUs to cater to consumers and accommodate retailers'
requests for seasonal items and limited-time offers.
The challenge, especially for bakeries making yeastraised
donuts, becomes how to meet those demands for
variety while driving operating efficiencies and maintaining
a low cost per unit.
There are several approaches to fix this challenge.
Bakers can opt for a highly versatile line to maximize
their throughput while managing a diversified portfolio.
They can also rely on multiple smaller lines to produce a
wide variety of lower volume products, or they can mix
58 Baking & Snack December 2024 / www.bakingbusiness.com
Magistrelli pointed out that high-volume donut lines
minimize changeover times while increasing yield and
reducing waste. The disadvantage is sacrificing quality
and minimizing the flexibility to produce a variety of
SKUs daily. He suggested one alternative is to automate
the makeup and frying of yeast-raised donuts while
relying on more manual filling, icing and decorating
of products.
" This allows bakers to scale production without a proportional
increase in costs, " he said.
Molyneux pointed out some of the bigger players are
putting in almost purpose-built lines because their production
runs are so long - sometimes cranking out the
same product for days. However, he also sees the trend
toward mid-sized lines to handle several changeovers.
" If you are switching between cake and yeast production,
you tend to see multiple, smaller lines, " he said.
" That's giving them the redundancy they may need if
something goes wrong. It's also giving them the flexibility
to switch between products much more easily. "
That said, some high-volume production lines can
be designed to create both cake and yeast-raised donuts.
After running yeast-raised donuts, the conveyor
can be popped out at the entrance of the fryer and
a depositor placed in to then produce cake donuts,
Molyneux explained.
Perhaps the best option for quickly growing bakeries
may be a combination of both larger and smaller lines,
suggested Doug Kozenski, process industry manager,
Heat and Control.
" When relying on one high-speed or high-volume
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