Baking & Snack - October 2021 - 76

PIZZA & FLATBREAD PROCESSING
" Compared to pizza production, flatbreads and tortiToday's
automated
production lines can
create everything
from conventional
to a wide variety of
better-for-you pizzas.
Rondo
llas have similar production technologies, like pressing a
piece of dough to a specific shape or first creating a sheet
of dough and cutting out the shape and size desired, "
Mr. Besems said. " Pita, naan, pizza or many flatbreads
are also produced this way and can even be proofed and
baked in the same line. "
Automating pizza production starts by selecting from
a menu of different processing possibilities. Mr. Zeak
noted some doughs ferment in bulk for several hours
or even a day before further processing, while others
are immediately rounded after mixing into dough balls
before resting. Yet another method involves sheeting or
laminating the dough before stamping or die-cutting it
into its desired shape.
After proofing from a few minutes to several
hours, the raw or par-baked dough is garnished with
sauce, cheese and desired toppings before freezing
and wrapping.
" One key area in defining the equipment solution is
understanding the details of the product in terms of the
formula and process, " Mr. Magistrelli said. " At that point,
the decision will be made if the front end of the line is an
extruder or a low-stress component. You build the system
from there; the cell structure, final dough thickness
and product shapes determine what system is needed to
meet the baker's needs. "
Randy Kelly, sales application specialist, Fritsch USA,
a Multivac company, said its Sheet & Cut process uses a
roller cutter to create dough pieces and is designed for
flatbreads and pizza without a distinct rim. In the Sheet
& Cut & Press process for pizza bases, the dough pieces
are punched out and, at the same time, gently pressed to
create the rim.
" With this method, the dough maintains its characteristic
structure thus giving it a handmade look, " Mr.
Kelly said.
Mr. Moline said rising crust pizzas also employ a
pressing process on a sheeting line, but the process
maintains a no-stress rim.
" We degas the center of the dough, but not the perimeter
of the dough, which leads to a rising crust pizza
where the outside pops up, " he said.
On the other hand, Gemini Bakery Equipment/KB
Systems specializes in dough ball production lines for
pizza crusts. The company's lines come in two categories
that are designed to run dough balls from either 4 to 18
oz or 8 to 36 oz.
" To manufacture a wide range of weight and dough
types, we have found it is necessary to have distinctly
different rest/proof times for the dough ball before final
processing, " said Jerry Murphy, vice president, sales,
Gemini Bakery Equipment/KB Systems.
Internationally, an emerging trend involves gourmet
pizza and Roman-style " pinsa, " noted Franco Fusari,
commercial director and co-owner of Minipan.
" High-hydration recipes, combined with a long fermentation,
are delivering an outstanding clean label
crust, while enhancing the organoleptic characteristics
of the product, " he said.
Mr. Fusari added that the r_EVOLUTION line for
highly hydrated formulas starts with a seamless sheet of
dough that's cut and loaded directly into the oven without
extruding or proofing. Minipan recently developed a
76 Baking & Snack October 2021 / www.bakingbusiness.com
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