Bakery production demands precise control over hydration, gluten development, and dough temperature, while ensuring consistent texture and maintaining hygiene. Continuous mixing enables consistent product quality at industrial scale, reducing processing time, and allowing faster cleaning compared to traditional batch methods.
Bakery products are cereal-based foods whose structure is fixed by baking or allied heat treatment. The group covers yeast-leavened doughs (pan breads, baguettes, buns, brioche, pizza bases) and chemically or unleavened doughs (cookies, crackers, tortillas, wraps). Their performance on an industrial line depends on developing a visco-elastic matrix of gluten, starch and water to precise rheological targets before make-up and proofing.
Industrial mixing of bakery products involves the automated, consistent incorporation of ingredients to achieve a homogeneous dough. The process must accommodate different product types, from lean yeast-leavened bread doughs to high-fat laminated or batter-based systems.
How flour, water and functional ingredients are mixed affects loaf volume, cell structure and downstream machinability. Wheat-based doughs perform best with 55–70% hydration (flour basis); outside this window viscosity or gas-holding capacity quickly deteriorate.
Mechanical work aligns gliadin and glutenin proteins into a network that traps CO2. Insufficient work weakens the network; excessive work breaks it down. Optimal specific mechanical energy (SME) ranges from 5 to 20 Wh/kg, depending on the product.
Mixing friction raises dough temperature, which accelerates yeast metabolism and enzyme activity. Most industrial bakers therefore target a final dough temperature of 24 – 28 °C to balance fermentation speed with flavour development.
Fat and sugar enrichment, think brioche, cinnamon rolls or cookies, introduce additional complexity: lipids coat gluten strands and inhibit bonding. Staging fat addition after initial gluten alignment yields better structure and softness.
Each bakery application has its own unique processing requirements. At Sobatech, we understand that a one-size-fits-all approach does not work in industrial mixing. That is why our continuous mixing systems are tailored to the specific needs of each product type. Explore our brochures to learn how Sobatech's continuous mixing systems are tailored to specific bakery applications.
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