PRODUCTION
Tradition meets innovation (part II)
Traditional techniques and products shape specialized equipment for the industrial production of buns, rolls, and bagels. These production lines are designed with the flexibility to provide answers to manufacturing challenges old and new. At the same time, they pay respect to tradition and reliably support up-and-coming trends and new product innovation.
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Bagels: challenges and answers In industrial bagel manufacturing, the biggest challenge is fitting the production line in the available space while meeting individual recipe and process demands. Due to space constraints, certain modules can be considered optional, while others are highly recommended when customizing a line to specific requirements. François Retailleau, product manager at Mecatherm, points out some variations in production lines: “Retarding is a typical process step in bagel production (after proofing), in which the dough gains its aromas and consistency. It also allows a better fixing of the humidity for the boiling and steaming steps. However, every manufacturer has its own recipe and process and some of them don’t retard the products at all”. Another example comes after the fermentation step: “To bring the products to room temperature, some manufacturers use a warming unit before boiling and baking,” Retailleau adds. One of the process challenges for bagels is that they tend to stick in the oven after boiling, which is why the surface of the product is dried just before baking. Artisan bakers typically place a row of bagels at the oven’s infeed to dry them on one side, then they would flip them upside down so the dry side stands on the oven hearth during baking. When converted into industrial-scale production, dryers are sometimes compared to the use of release agents inside the oven. “We prefer drying because it replicates the authentic process,” Alex Kuperman, CEO of ABI LTD., explains. The MECABAGEL line addresses several challenges inherent to the baking process (detailed in part I). Generally, bagels will bake best using conduction heat from the bottom of the product at the beginning of the process. Radiation is the most frequently used technology for bagels; however, if convection is added, the baking process may typically be faster, depending on the product, due to a more efficient heat transfer to the product. Humidity control in the oven chamber is also very important, so the bagel gets and keeps its shiny look, which is made possible by the boiling process.
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