Baking & Snack - June 2024 - 80

Continuous mixers offer
bakers two opportunities
for adjustments to
different doughs: shaft
design and shaft speed.
Reading Bakery Systems
mixers excel for higher volumes of similar doughs/batters,
while customized batch mixers may be ideal for
lower volume specialty items. Examining the big picture
production needs is key. "
Bakers and snack makers will choose between horizontal,
vertical or continuous mixers depending on
both the bakery applications, volume and the level of
desired automation and changeovers they anticipate.
Then choices come down to specific dough or batter
characteristics.
" First, you have to understand the dough or batter
characteristics such as density of product or absorption
for bread, bun and bagels; batch weight; final batch temperature,
and other characteristics that may impact the
mixing process, " said Marc Ferree, global account manager,
Shaffer Mixers. " Are there requirements such as
gluten or allergens? From understanding these factors,
you can start to tailor the best agitator, bowl design and
horsepower requirements. "
Horizontal mixers need to be sized to the appropriate
amount of horsepower so that the agitator is moved with
enough force to develop the dough.
" For yeast-based products, we examine the recipe
and use our past experience to determine an absorption
percentage to develop the horsepower, " said Bill Everett,
global account manager, Peerless. " For snack-type products,
dough density is the key to sizing the horsepower.
Picking the proper agitator type is key to efficiency and
proper mixing. "
Everett explained that if a baker or snack manufacturer
isn't getting the expected quality of dough, it can often
be traced back to the wrong agitator style. It's imperative
that bakers and snack manufacturers understand their
product characteristics, work with equipment suppliers
and test the different agitators before committing.
Similar principles apply in the batter space, though
80 Baking & Snack June 2024 / www.bakingbusiness.com
these mixers can accommodate tool changeovers.
" There are standard 'rules of thumb' for determining
which tool works best for a particular type of batter, "
said Jerry Murphy, vice president of sales, Gemini
Bakery Equipment.
When looking at a planetary mixer, Mélanie Gay,
marketing and digital development, VMI, explained
bakers can choose from three different types. The spiral
can develop gluten and stretch dough at either end of
hydration levels. She recommended this type for bread
and pizza doughs. The whisk incorporates air into the
mixture, making it suited for batters, liquid doughs and
creams. The beater or paddle is designed for dough compression
and suited for nonstructured doughs and preserving
inclusions.
Ways to make adjustments
Despite the best of intentions, bakers and snack manufacturers
inevitably come up with new products to make.
Before they are often willing to invest in new equipment,
they test the waters to see if the volume is there to support
a new mixer. Stretching a mixer to handle a new
dough or batter requires some flexibility.
" If there's a likelihood of producing a variety of products
with very different characteristics, opting for a
versatile mixer is a wise decision, " Gay said. " Versatile
mixers can efficiently adapt to different doughs while allowing
for quick adjustments for changes in speed, organization
and output. "
She pointed to VMI's range of mixers with removeable
bowls and interchangeable tools as an example.
VMI's quick-attach system for its tools on planetary and
spiral mixers allows bakers to move from bread production
with a spiral to cookies with a paddle attachment
quickly. Parameters such as time and speed will also
need to be adjusted.
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