While some bakeries are adapting their production lines to create pretzels, others are adjusting the process of their once-pretzel lines to make other new products, such as bretzels and other bread-related products made in the shape of a pretzel.

Many bakeries just want to have it their way.

John Giacoio, Rheon USA, suggested using co-extruders to create a variety of baked goods, so they can quickly jump on the latest new product trend.

“The limits of innovation are only restricted by a customer’s ideas,” he observed. “If you’re producing traditional pretzels on a line, the same line can be used to make moulded loaf breads.”

Also, today’s equipment can be adapted to different sizes of bakeries. Ken Johnson, president, Gemini Bakery Equipment, pointed out that smaller, caustic solution applications for creating pretzels can be done offline from the makeup area.

Meanwhile, ultrasonic guillotines and robotic scoring enables the large-scale manufacturer to produce both pretzels or non-lye applicated products.

He said evolving technology can accommodate the flurry of innovation in the pretzel market. 

Today’s caustic application systems, for instance, can read and regulate the solution’s pH concentration and temperature. Waterfall units sometimes come with bottom-up as well as top-down systems to ensure complete caustic coverage.

Johnson said Gemini partners with ABI Ltd. to provide automatic scoring and other pretzel-making components.

“Vision systems and robotics have enabled one system via a change of end-of-arm tooling to do straight plunge cuts, straight angular cuts, compound angular cuts or drag blade cuts — all with or without ultrasonic,” he noted. “We can now follow a curve and adjust the depth based on vision system recognition. We can even build in randomization to allow for a more artisan appearance.”

Felix Pang, robotic solutions specialist, ABI Ltd., pointed out the integration of AI into ABI’s vision system — which locates and measures products on the belt after the caustic bath — has significantly improved product consistency and line efficiency.

“This enhancement complements the use of high-performing ultrasonic tools, which are capable of scoring pretzels continuously, 24/7, without interrupting the production line,” he explained.

Following a caustic bath, he added, pretzels typically exhibit increased warmth and stickiness compared to other bread products, prior to scoring.

“To address this issue, the ultrasonic strength of the scoring blades can be augmented to ensure clean cuts without any build-up on the blades,” Pang said. “Additionally, customized scoring motions can be employed to help the scores remain open throughout the baking process.”

Nico Roesler, North American pretzel and snack equipment sales manager, Reading Bakery Systems (RBS), said the company offers additional ways to diversify hard pretzel options.

For instance, its bandcutters can slice shapes off the extruder die-face at up to 275 cuts per minute. They can also be programmed for slower cuts to make thicker products.

Additionally, the RBS guillotine cutters create shapes on the proofing belt and use a standard, crimped or an ultrasonic blade. Each of these blades offers a different advantage, depending on the product.

“Standard blades cut sticks and rod shapes very well,” he observed. “Crimped blades help you seal and cut filled nuggets or sticks, and ultrasonic blades allow users to cut through the hardest or stickiest of inclusions. Snack makers are thinking differently about how and where to cut these products.”

He added low-pressure extruders can turn out a swath of baked snacks with quick changeovers. These snacks typically include bread or pretzel-type items but may include other products if the dough can be extruded and hold its shape after forming.

“One shift, snack makers can run a standard pretzel shape; the next shift they can run a braided pretzel stick, and on the third shift, they can run a filled nugget — all on the same piece of equipment,” Roesler said.

“Customers can even create different shapes at the same time with different extrusion units,” he continued. “With this flexibility comes the ability to think of new shapes and concepts to apply to the extrusion process. Bakers can design custom dies to experiment with the new shapes and sizes of their snacks.”

Seasoning pretzels, however, adds another challenge.

“To make a proper pretzel, you have to gelatinize the exterior of the product using a caustic cooker,” Roesler explained. “The caustic solution is what gives the pretzel its trademark color and texture. At the same time, that ‘pretzelized’ look also makes pretzels less accepting of oil-based seasoning slurries because that slurry cannot be absorbed or stick to the product well.”

He pointed out two common workarounds. One example involves breaking the snack in two to expose its porous interior, which more readily accepts and absorbs seasonings.

Another strategy involves creating grooves or crevices in the pretzels where the seasoning can stick.

“You see this with all of the braided products on the market,” Roesler said. “When you extrude and bake a braided pretzel, the grooves of the braid create spaces where seasoning can stick to it without exposing the interior of the pretzel or breaking it.”

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