When working with a sticky dough, good sanitation is always a part of the conversation.

“As gluten is an allergen, producers are much more sensitive,” said Matteo Grandi, marketing and communication specialist, Minipan. “These days, they demand solutions with the highest standards in terms of clean design and complete, easy and quick sanitation.”

Mr. Grandi said that through Minipan’s efforts, the company has been able to close the sanitation gap between bakery machines and other industries, such as pharmaceuticals, considerably in the past decade.

Equipment design and CIP can enable operators to clean effectively after gluten-free production.

“The equipment needs to be designed with all internal component accessible and easily removable to simplify the disassembly and cleaning process,” said Cesar Zelaya, bakery sales and technology manager, Handtmann, Inc.

Handtmann’s VF800 series dough dividers features a cleaning mode similar to CIP. It efficiently pumps water or a cleaning solution through the machine to remove any remaining dough or batter in the machine, which reduces the time it takes to disassemble and reassemble the equipment before the next production run.

For its depositors, all of Erika Record’s hopper attachments come apart easily for assembly and hygiene. The company’s depositors also are designed to meet safety and sanitation standards.

“They are easy to operate and maintain and are reliable, straightforward machines,” said Jon Cabral, marketing director, Erika Record Baking Equipment.

Sanitation is a major contributing factor to downtime, and bakers want to be able to do it effectively and quickly.

“Bakers need to ask themselves the question, ‘Can I properly clean this equipment and how long does that take?’” suggested Nick Magistrelli, vice-president of sales for Rademaker.

Gluten-free dough’s sticky nature makes that a battle. On sheeting solutions, scrapers can keep dough from getting stuck on rollers and accumulating. Dough accumulation can hinder the production of a quality bread as well as cause sanitation issues, so keeping rollers clear of excess dough is critical.

This article is an excerpt from the December 2018 issue of Baking & Snack. To read the entire feature on gluten-free processing, click here.