Running a successful mixing operation means keeping machinery cleaned and maintained.

“One of the most time-consuming parts of the production process is cleaning and sanitation,” said Erin Dillon, media and marketing coordinator, Charles Ross & Son Co. “The first line of defense is selecting the right mixer, one that is engineered and built with features to promote easy cleaning. Sanitary fittings and valves, high polish, ample access and the correct port locations will all contribute to a shorter and thorough cleaning cycle. CIP (clean in place) systems including spray nozzles can also be added to minimize labor required.”

Mixing to the correct temperature or mixing to energy are useful features when applied correctly, said Jerry Murphy, vice president of sales, Gemini Bakery Equipment.

“These features require some effort to establish the baseline energy measurement, but once completed it helps improve mixing consistency when operators are less experienced to identify rheology changes,” he explained. “The addition of infrared temperature measurements during the mixing process can create graphics that show how a particular dough is developed.”

Peerless Food Equipment and Shaffer Mixers offer a number of features, including mixing to energy and temperature, automatic dough discharge and batching. 

“With our integration into the Coperion Food Health and Nutrition group, we can leverage our portfolio of brands to provide integrated systems with increased levels of automation to drive efficiency and quality,” said Eric Cruse, general manager, Peerless Food Equipment and Shaffer Mixers.

Escher Mixers, a Middleby company, has a wide range of equipment with an extensive list of accessories for the baking industry, including artisan bakers. The machines are known for durability and the quality of doughs produced, according to the company.

Improving operations includes finding better ways to do everything, including how ingredients are loaded into mixing bowls.

“You’ve got your automatically loaded ingredients, and you’ve got your hand-loaded ingredients,” said Terry Bartsch, executive product manager, AMF Fusion, an AMF Bakery Systems brand. “If you’re asking me from the mixing side, we’re focusing on the hand-added ingredients. The ingredient handling companies are focusing on the automated ingredients.”

A number of items can be in front of the mixers, including a dough pump, a chunker or a trough, which impedes the worker trying to load items, so ingredient doors can be added to the back of AMF mixers. 

Bakeries looking to be less dependent on labor while maintaining quality and throughput have a variety of tools to help them achieve their goals at the mixing stage of the baking process. They must figure out which ones are most beneficial to their operations. 

This article is an excerpt from the November 2023 issue of Baking & Snack. To read the entire feature on Mixing, click here.