The trick is in the mix. Get it right, and all goes well. Do it wrong, and say farewell.

Fortunately, digital tools provide the critical information needed to prevent errors and wave bye-bye to batches of improperly developed dough. That data, if managed well, becomes especially relevant with today’s ever-widening loss of knowledge due to the workforce gap.

“Less experienced team members being charged with arguably the most important task in a bakery are a major challenge for customers,” said Jerry Murphy, vice president of sales, Gemini Bakery Solutions. “Simplified controls that can be easily programmed are essential. Universal symbols can also help bridge any language challenges. Step-by-step HMI prompts can guide the operators. Integration of ingredient handling in the overall recipe control makes an even more significant difference.”  

HMIs can display mixing time, temperature, agitator speed and energy, noted Marc Ferree, global account manager, Shaffer Mixers, a technology brand of Coperion.

Operators can save energy curves and compare them to current dough batches to see how different ingredients or recipes impact the mixing cycle. Motor load and temperature graphs also help ensure the dough is within specification.

“The advances of PLC and VFD (variable-frequency drive) communications have greatly impacted workforce skills,” he observed. “Diagnostics that are shown on the screen can greatly help the mixer operator identify that a fault is detected and resolved quickly, leading to less downtime.”

The ability to monitor trending for time, temperature and energy on an easy-to-read graph on the HMI allows operators to understand if there is an issue with each batch of dough, said Bill Everett, global account manager, Peerless Food Equipment, a technology brand of Coperion. 

A leap forward for controlling horizontal mixers would be to mix to energy, said Terry Bartsch, executive product manager, AMF Fusion, a part of AMF Bakery Systems.

“This would enable operators to mix to a certain kilowatt hour, or energy input, and not time,” he explained. “It takes the guessing out of the operator’s hands. What we’re trying to do is bring more information to the customer.”

Data management systems abound when it comes to mixing. Bartsch pointed out AMF’s Dough Guardian system measures the number of amps that the motor draws during the dough development process. This information allows bakers to validate what he called the “golden batch.” It’s an energy curve that provides the standard for a specific product that can be used for all the future batches they make.

“There’s an upper and lower limit that’s plotted on the touchscreen,” he explained. “The current batch is then compared to that golden batch. As long as the amp level stays between the upper and lower levels, it’s deemed a good batch. This system gives the operator instantaneous feedback that the process is staying within those established guidelines for a quality batch. If you change the process, you change the products. The Dough Guardian tracks it.”

Another option is to integrate a frequency inverter in a Wendel or vertical mixer, suggested Ronald Falkenberg, regional sales director, USA and Canada for Diosna, a technology brand of Coperion.

“This makes the machine suitable for a very wide range of applications — or conversely, for producing a much wider range of products,” he said. “This is because the energy input and the kneading force can be flexibly adjusted.”

Meanwhile, Octopus Solutions, the IoT platform developed by VMI, a technology brand of Coperion, tracks traditional metrics while offering real-time monitoring of the mixer and overall equipment effectiveness with data, key performance indicators and charts.

Melanie Gay, marketing manager, VMI, mentioned that it also provides insights into production specifics, such as monitoring water and energy consumption, with the ability to compare between recipes or equipment. The interface also can send alerts that enable operators to react quickly to inefficiencies or other issues.

“This not only aids in implementing corrective actions but also enables preventive maintenance, improving overall productivity and consistency,” she said.

In semi-automated operations, Falkenberg said Diosna’s Bowl Manager can indicate when a mixing bowl needs to be placed or removed from the dough resting area or moved to the production line. In more automated operations, this system along with automated guided vehicles can transport bowls, pick them up or lift them onto racks to keep production running efficiently.

“It’s a great answer to labor shortage and production reliability,” he said. 

For some bakeries, continuous mix provides a labor-saving option.

“One person can operate multiple mixers and perform other tasks in addition to monitoring the mixing system,” said Jim Warren, vice president, Exact Mixing, Reading Bakery Systems. “Decisions are made by the controls. All parameters are loaded once into the system and saved for future use. Operators only need to know what recipe to choose and how much total product they need to make.”

By maintaining consistent mixing conditions, a continuous mixer reduces the need for skilled workers to manually adjust times, speeds and hydration levels, noted Shawn Hasley, director of food system sales and services, Zeppelin Systems USA.

“This automation minimizes errors, enhances efficiency and leads to a more predictable and repeatable process, allowing less-experienced employees to operate the equipment with minimal training,” he said.

E.T. Oakes mixers focus more on cake or muffin batter and other pumpable products. Over the years, touchscreens, PLCs and flowmeters have just made the process much simpler, said Bob Peck, vice president of engineering, E.T. Oakes.

“By having recipe controls programmed in, that’s where you get your consistency in your final products without having to figure out the variables every time and recreate the wheel,” he said. “Years ago, operators had to know all the parameters, such as rotor speed, pump speed, back pressure and injection air. With recipe control, it’s set up once and it makes good product right away. The learning curve is a lot shorter today than in the past.”

Warren pointed out continuous mixing systems constantly monitor ingredient addition, dough temperature, work input and other variables and can make automatic corrections in real time. The concept is to guarantee product consistency at the front end of the process before it’s noticed at the end of the line or in a quality control laboratory.

“Dough is a living, changing mass. This is due to yeast expansion, enzyme action, other minor ingredients, surface-drying and other factors,” he said. “Continuous mixing is all the same age when processed because the dough is delivered in a constant stream, which eliminates the variation.”

On high-speed conventional bread and roll lines, Hasley pointed out continuous mixing offers control over hydration and gluten development that provides uniform mixing and improves efficiency. 

“In contrast, artisan breads typically require longer fermentation times, higher hydration and gentle handling to develop their characteristic open crumb and complex flavors,” he said. “Continuous mixing can be adjusted by lowering energy input, controlled hydration levels and staged mixing to mimic traditional artisan bulk fermentation.”

In batch mixers, Murphy said recipe management provides the necessary flexibility for creating varied products.

“Very precise time sequences can be programmed and controlled that in the end create the ability to make very consistent products, batch to batch, over longer periods of time,” he explained. “Verification steps built into the process controls allow for consistent dough production, which helps ensure overall efficiency in the manufacturing process.”

Bakers need that versatility, especially with many of them cleaning up their labels by reducing additives and sourcing local ingredients. Gay said such adjustments impact dough consistency, texture and production repeatability.

One solution is to adapt the mixing process by not only adjusting traditional parameters like mixing time, speed or ingredient incorporation but also exploring other factors that influence dough behavior.

She said VMI, along with research institutes INRAE and ONIRIS-GEPEA, have studied how controlled-atmosphere mixing affects dough structure, particularly in recipes with reduced salt, fat or sugar, and can offer improved product consistency and other benefits.

“By influencing the honeycombing during the mixing process, the texture of the finished product is better controlled, especially for soft products like sandwich loaves and cakes, resulting in very thin and regular crumbs that contribute to improved shelf life and guaranteed softness,” Gay explained. “Mixing under a controlled atmosphere also reduces dough stickiness through vacuum kneading and increases hydration.”

She added controlled atmosphere mixing also develops softer textures in clean label baked goods without additives like baking powder while reducing mixing times by up to 50% for aerated products such as mousses and meringues.

For bakeries, there’s really no trick to mixing. Rather, digital tools and management systems can provide real-time information for operators of all skills to ensure all goes well over and over again.

This article is an excerpt from the April 2025 issue of Baking & Snack. To read the entire feature on Mixing, click here.