For traditional bun and roll manufacturers, introducing artisan varieties can boost business without requiring significant adjustments to their lines. However, these bakers must understand the unique needs of these breads and invest in the necessary flexibility to produce them to ensure artisan additions go smoothly. 

A defining quality of artisan bread is its premium dough structure. While standard high-speed equipment is great for conventional buns and rolls, it can potentially damage this delicate structure in artisan varieties and diminish product quality. 

Stress-free dividing and rounding are critical to preserving artisan bread structure, noted John Giacoio, vice president of sales, Rheon USA. 

“You need to use a stress-free divider to maintain the dough’s texture and cell structure, and the rounder must simulate hand rounding,” he said. “This is the only way to get a truly artisan product.” 

Matt Zielsdorf, global category manager, specialty bread and pastries, Middleby Bakery Group, said GBT Bakery Technology’s Olympia divider series was designed to gently process artisan doughs with a higher water content. 

“When developing the new divider technology, the necessary changes were made in the dough preparation to prevent the dough from sticking downstream in the makeup section,” he said. 

Vane cell extruders can reduce product-to-machine contact and feature a shorter product path, both of which reduce damage to the dough and inclusion degradation, said Ken Hagedorn, vice president, bakery sector, Handtmann. 

“Limiting stress and controlling pressure on raw dough from the hopper through the feeding system to the pan, belt or tray reduces equipment interference with natural fermentation for a more consistent product,” he explained. 

John McIsaac, vice president of strategic business development, Reiser, said the double screws and machine settings of its Vemag extruders can be adjusted to produce both the tight crumb of hamburger and hot dog buns or the more open crumb of artisan products. 

“This versatility allows fast and easy changeovers from one product to another,” he said.

Dividing the dough by weight instead of by dimensions will give the final product a more artisan, hand-made appearance, Giacoio said, as each piece will vary slightly in size. 

“If you are cutting by weight, no matter how much the dough changes, you will always get the same weight,” he noted. “The dough is always changing, so over the course of a large batch you will have more development of the dough. Our system will continue to cut based on weight, giving the appearance of different sizes.”

At the rounding stage, Rondo’s RondoBOT is made to shape high-hydration, long-fermentation artisan buns, rolls and other breads weighing up to 2 lbs, said Peter Spinelli, president and general manager, Rondo. 

Investing in stress-free equipment has the added benefit of improving the quality of traditional buns and rolls as well, Giacoio observed.

“To have the ability with the same line to make high-hydration, long floor time dough products is an added bonus,” he said. 

Hagedorn noted that the benefits of a higher quality dough piece will carry on down the line. For example, the proofer and oven will better enhance the exterior appearance and internal crumb structure of artisan and traditional buns and rolls put under less stress. 

“Less damage to the raw piece enables a better rise in the proofer and oven kick, sometimes with a reduced need for additives,” he said.

Diana Boxey, global marketing director, AMF Bakery Systems, said AMF Tromp’s SFA Sheeting Line is designed to ensure gentle, low stress dough handling. 

“It has the ability to produce more consistent products with quick product changeover for an endless range of authentic, artisan-style products,” she said.

This article is an excerpt from the May 2024 issue of Baking & Snack. To read the entire feature on Buns & Rolls Processing, click here.