From viennoiserie to Danish pastry, and any number of hybrid, new creations, laminated dough is the path to the sought-after airy, light layers. Gentle dough stretching and folding is a must, however, there is by no means a one-size-fits-all approach to the process. Tried and tested laminating methods and line setups can accommodate flexibility and consistency in results.
Precision and consistency are required to turn blocks of dough into thin, delicate sheets. The big challenge lies in the correct distribution of the dough reduction steps while avoiding any unwanted tension in the dough. Inconsistencies in the reduction steps will significantly impact the structure of the final product.
It’s all in the dough band: RONDO
To maintain consistency in production, with many variables starting with changing dough and fat consistencies, RONDO prioritizes minute process supervision and control. It takes an encompassing assessment of the manufacturing process: “Even if the RONDO MLC laminator can handle different dough conditions and variations of the dough’s consistency, the mixing process upfront must be kept as constant as possible,” observes Alexander Weissbach, head of Technology, Product Management and Dough-how Center. The laminating process itself must be gentle enough regardless of these variations, to preserve the dough structure. “Any impact brought to it will be reflected in the final volume of the products, and it will be especially visible on sensitive products such as pre-proofed frozen croissants. If the gluten network is damaged, ice crystals will start to grow around these points during storage, which will, in turn, damage the network even more, resulting in freeze burns and low volume products,” the specialist explains. Similar considerations apply to the fat used in laminating, as the volume and the structure of the final baked product will depend on its functionality and lifting effect. “Therefore, the composition and the structure of the fat must not be damaged during the fat band forming and the laminating,” Weissbach concludes.
The quality of a laminated dough band or block starts with the dough band former MIDOS, the dough structure is maintained even for pre-proofed and rested doughs. “The four-roller design and the single drives allow settings to form a perfectly even dough band quality, shape and weight accuracy. The MIDOS is the only dough band former on the market which can form a dough band without the use of additional flour or oil, resulting in a better physical lift of the baked goods,” RONDO’s specialist explains.
To ensure even fat layering, the fat pump designed by the Swiss company is equipped with a two-stage feeding process to preserve the structure of the fat in the process. Butter or margarine blocks are fed to an eccentric cavity pump, which then feeds it to a nozzle where that fat band forming will take place. “This process combines two major points, a shear-reduced fat band forming to keep the butter structure and continuous feeding to reduce the weight variations. If the shear rates are too high during the fat band forming, the structure of the fat will be negatively influenced, and consequently the volume of the baked goods,” Weissbach says.
”The four-roller design and the single drives allow settings to form a perfectly even dough band in quality, shape and weight accuracy.“
Alexander Weissbach, Head of Technology, Product Management and Dough-how Center, RONDO
Possible configurations
With the families of RONDO MLC Laminating lines and ASTEC laminating lines, Rondo is covering a production volume ranging from 200 to 5,000 kg/h. Now in its fifth generation, the RONDO MLC line for laminating, feeding and make-up was designed for diversity, for any product variations in ranges including pastries, yeast pastries, artisanal breads, pizza, donuts, and more. Its make-up line, for example, can incorporate any tools needed for filling, folding, cutting, decorating and rolling up by plug and play, allowing configurations to upgrade easily. It comes in several versions:
+ The Block standardized lines: For the production of dough blocks ranging from 4 to 400 fat layers
+ Feeding line: For the continuous feeding of make-up lines
+ Laminating lines: For the production of dough bands with capacities from 10 and up to 100 fat layers – continuous feeding included
The modular design of the MLC allows it to grow together with the production needs. The smallest laminating line can produce a continuous and constant dough band with just one fat layer. By folding the dough manually, the number of layers can be increased. “With this starting line, the work intense dough dividing, scaling, and manual sheeting is eliminated. The result is a constant and homogenous base for the block laminating,” he illustrates. The MLC can later be equipped with additional components to increase its automation features and capacity. “Even after several years, the MLC can be adapted to the current needs by adding or even removing components,” adds Weissbach. A full range of automated processes can be set up for this line. Its control system is also designed in a modular scale. IIoT components can also be added in stages, to permit the MLC’s integration into an MES system, for example. All production parameters can be exchanged with the superior MES system. In addition, predictive maintenance can also be enabled with IIoT features. RONDO is also offering a retrofit to update the controls and the electrical components of older models to the newest generation.
The MLC’s dough band formers are designed to keep the quality of the formed dough band as constant as possible, even if the characteristics of the dough vary. In this way, the settings of the line will only need a minimum of adjustments while operating. This helps to reduce the manpower on the line, the specialist from RONDO explains.
Moreover, by combining the RONDO MLC laminating line with the RONDO Smartline, the options of product categories that can be produced becomes close to unlimited, highlights Weissbach: “Laminated dough bands are precisely formed and sheeted to the desired width and thickness with the MLC. On the Smartline, dough bands for the production of bread, pizza, yeast dough, thin doughs and even gluten-free doughs are formed, without stress and damage to the dough structure. This combination is unique on the market and enables producers to react immediately to variations in the market demand.”
The article is part of an extended feature, which was originally published in [BBI 1 – 2022]. Read the full article in the magazine:
