Labour shortages and rising costs, coupled with the need to deliver continuous NPD, mean that bakers need to streamline processes to ensure optimum efficiency – and versatile equipment is key.
While smaller bakeries might struggle to invest in new equipment, automation still helps them to organise and increase production, in turn freeing up experienced bakery staff for other tasks, as a previous article in British Baker has highlighted; it suggests that staff shortages, energy price hikes, food inflation and a general cost-of-living crisis mean even the most committed hands-on baker should consider outsourcing some of the work to stainless steel assistants.
While automation can boost productivity, quality and consistency of products, today’s equipment for small bakeries needs, above all, to be versatile and able to complete a number of tasks within the bakery operation, while only using a small footprint in which to do so.
Moreover, the sheer variety of products now demanded by consumers mean that bakeries of all sizes are having to adapt rapidly to keep ahead of the trends to stay appealing and attractive to consumers. This is true across the board, from smaller bakeries struggling with labour shortages to bigger outfits that need to develop new products on a regular basis.
So, equipment that can fulfil a number of tasks in either a small bakery environment or an NPD space in a larger bakery should be worth its weight in gold.
Versatility in action
At Reiser, a new adaptation of an existing machine is generating interest among the UK’s bakery sector, particularly among larger bakeries, according to Reiser bakery specialist Gary Fox.
”Our Vemag HP1 is relatively new to our arsenal,” he says. “It was originally used as a small machine for pouring streams of caramel onto protein bars. However, after further development at Vemag, with different double screws, we’ve found that it is adaptable for many other products.”
The more compact machine can be used by smaller bakers as it uses up far less space than the larger Vemag machines and its adaptable nature means that different components can be attached for a variety of tasks. These include:
● Automatic (ASV812) or manual (818) cutting devices for a variety of doughs or cookies – such as rye, wheat or shortbread – with high weight accuracy;
● A dosing lip for muffins, pound cakes or fruit fillings, for example;
● A hand depositor with manual filling head that can be used for a range of products, delivering them precisely and cleanly into cake or paper forms, or onto a sheet. This includes fruit fillings, flaming hearts and gluten-free rolls;
● A portioning table for the continuous division of rye, wholegrain or wheat doughs by weight.
For larger bakeries adding a Vemag HP1 can benefit new product development (NPD) kitchens by allowing the smaller machine to trial and develop new product lines.
“The easily interchangeable attachments give the machine high flexibility and its positive displacement double screw can handle gentle processing of both viscous or stiff masses, including gluten-free doughs or those with chunky product inclusions, with no separating oil needed,” says Fox. “This also ensures exact weight portioning.”
“The Vemag HP1 can produce around 10-15 portions @500g per minute, and process doughs with high levels of hydration,” says Fox. “A couple of our bigger bakery customers are using it to put into the NPD area of their bakeries, helping them to develop recipes and test out new flavours, which can then be upscaled to the bigger machine.
“When it comes to cupcakes and muffins, for example, with more liquid batters, our larger Vemag doesn’t lend itself so well to this, but the HP1 does. It’s really versatile for both smaller bakeries and putting into pilot plants.
”Not only are we experts in our equipment, but we also pride ourselves on understanding our customers’ products and applications,” adds Fox. ”We are dedicated to helping customers enhance both their processes and products, and equipment and new products can be tested at our Milton Keynes customer centre.”
To see the Vemag HP1 in action, click on the video below:
To find out more about Reiser’s Vemag HP1, call 01908 585300 or email: salesuk@reiser.com
