Busy bakery lines

Two KB indoor flour silos, installed at the bakery, receive six truckloads of bulk flour weekly at 52,000 lbs per truck. The KB system moves flour to a variety of mixers, from the three Hobart vertical systems for making pastry doughs to one Kemper removable-bowl spiral mixer and four Peerless and Shaffer horizontal mixers, ranging in capacity from 600 to 1,200 lb. A Pfening Wat-O-Meter provides temperature-controlled ingredient water to the mixers.

The horizontal mixers dump their doughs into mobile carts that are hoisted to load the hoppers of the bakery’s six processing lines. Throughout the bakery, Allen-Bradley PanelView terminals with touch-screen interfaces manage machine functions.

Bagels run through a Gemini dough chunker that feeds the rotary knife dough divider and horizontal bagel former to supply dough pieces to peel boards. These are racked and moved into the Southeast Cooler retarder for an overnight stay. This line operates during the night shift and produces nearly a dozen different varieties of bagels. In the morning, bagels bake in the rack ovens.

Another line handles organic bread styles. A Reiser Vemag dough divider accepts the thick, heavy doughs. It feeds dough pieces into an Adamatic/Glimek bread system comprising a rounder, intermediate proofer and sheeter/moulder. A Mallet pan oiler coats strapped baking pans. This line also produces the bakery’s signature “large loaves,” high-fiber breads, whole grain styles and marbled rye.

“The moulder for organic products is dedicated to that use,” Mr. Merzah explained. “But the bread divider, rounder and proofer are not, so they go through a complete washdown in advance of organic production.”

Long baguettes, ciabatta and similar styles are made on a Rheon system with V4 dough handling technology.

A Gemini/KB Systems gourmet round roll system produces formed rolls that are deposited onto pans or peel boards. It makes most of the bakery’s food service buns and contract rolls, such as the 4½-in. wheat and 4-in. brioche buns made during Baking & Snack’s visit. It also makes organic buns.

“The brioche bun is anything but mainstream,” Mr. Maddox said. “Yet it’s become the new ‘bun of the South’ because of its preference among food service customers.”

Masada has a new Gemini/KB Systems variety roll installation. Its Gemini/WP Tewimat 8-pocket divider/rounder feeds the proofer and moulder to handle round roll, hoagie and gourmet sandwich roll needs.

Formed dough pieces, now deposited on peels or pans, move from makeup lines onto racks and into three push-through, multi-door proofers. “The push-through system using racks for proofing is best for this bakery with its multiple product styles,” Mr. Murray said. “We need this flexibility. Artisan and short-run items bake in rack ovens, with long-run items in the tunnel ovens.”

All products come out of makeup on pans or peels that are removed from racks manually for loading onto oven in-feed conveyors. Pusher-bar assemblies load pans into both tunnel ovens, but the AMF system is also equipped with a Capway grabbler-style peel unloader. According to product needs, a Burford mandrel-style seeder can add toppings while operators at spray stations before the oven apply washes or glazes. After baking, a Capway depanner separates finished goods from their pans. Products move from the ovens to two Alit spiral cooling towers.

Neil Bailey, TBC vice-president, engineering, has worked closely with the Masada team to streamline all processes.

Packaging operations use three UBE baggers, equipped with Kwik Lok closure systems. A Formost Fuji slicer handles organic breads. Mettler Toledo metal detectors monitor all packaged goods. Photos that depict the desired color and shape of the finished product are posted on large signs that hang above the packaging lines.

Operators load packaged products into cases or group them onto basket-style trays. Cases are palletized and stabilized with stretch film. The operator then applies a routing tag to each pallet and stack of filled trays. The tags are read by the ToolBox system at the distribution center to guide van and truck loading according to customer orders.

Frozen opportunities opened up to Masada when it added the distribution center. “We are about 75 to 80% fresh right now,” Hezi Stein said.

“DSD is always challenging, especially to grow,” Koby Stein noted. “Growth on frozen is only limited by capacity.”