Baking&Snack - April 2013 - 44

LANTMÄNNEN UNIBAKE USA

440-lb (200 kg) mixers feeds line
Nos. 1 and 2. Line No. 1 primarily produces baguettes and French
sandwich and dinner rolls. The
bakery relies on a slow mix, ranging from 13 to 16 minutes, to incorporate the ingredients and fully
develop the dough, noted Henry
Ford, production superintendent.
Times and temperatures vary according to the strength of the flour.
Additionally, the mixers are designed so that yeast and salt can
be added at different times during the mixing process to enhance
the flavors and textures of the
final products.
The production on line No. 1 employs the straight-dough process.
The dough is elevated to the hopper
of a Mecatherm single-pocket bread
divider that can produce 2,800 baguettes or up to 22,000 French rolls
an hour. After a short intermediate
proof to relax the dough, the pieces
travel through a sheeter, a curling
chain and a pressure board before
a circular cutter divides them into
seven or eight units. After they’re
aligned on a diverging conveyor, the
pieces are moulded on Mecatherm’s
finger belts and dropped onto screen
trays, which hold up to 56 pieces.
On line No. 2, the doughs rest in a
lidded mixing bowl for upward of 90

Prep work pays big dividends

Smooth start-ups are no accidents. That’s what Carlos
Hernandez, director of operations, Lantmännen Unibake
USA, learned over the years. At the company’s St.
Petersburg, FL, bakery, it installed a new Rheon V-4 artisan
bread line in three days and began running saleable product
two days later, well ahead of schedule.
“When we do any type of investment, we make sure we
do all of the prep work and prepare ourselves for when that
equipment shows up, Mr. Hernandez said.
”
Specifically, that means constant contact with the OEM
to envision how the project should proceed every step of
the way. “Finally, do your factory acceptance tests, Mr.
”
Hernandez said. “Always go to the equipment manufacturer’s
site and run your tests before the machine shows up in your
bakery. That’s where you can identify issues and give the
manufacturer time to correct them, before the equipment
shows up in your facility.
”
minutes as part of Lantmännen’s timetested formulas. After fermentation,
the bowls are elevated to the hopper of
a Rheon artisan bread line that makes
products such as the company’s signature cheese bread. Production alternates with a Koenig roll line, installed
recently to support the company’s
growing roll business. Both makeup
lines feed a manually loaded first-in,
first-out rack proofer and a bank of 10
Werner & Pfleiderer rack ovens. All
products are 90% baked so that they
can be finished and refreshed by the
company’s customers.

Unique to the bakery are its long
proofing times at relatively cool
temperatures. On line Nos. 1 and 3,
proofing ranges from 80 to 90 minutes at temperatures between 60°F
and 65°F, depending on the product.
On line No. 2, proofing can take up
to 4 hours in the rack-style proof
box. “Everyone who visits is always
surprised by how cool it is in the
proofer,” Mr. Kolinski notes. “But
you want a very slow process to develop the flavor, texture and the distinctive crust on our breads.”
After ambient cooling, the partially baked products enter modular freezers set at -10°F for rolls
and -28°F for its various breads.
According to Mr. Hernandez, the
process requires a quick freeze
where only the outer shell is frozen
solid, while the core remains soft
and cool. This approach locks moisture into the products. The items
later completely freeze while stored
in the on-site holding freezer.

More automation in time

Before entering the production floor, employees must walk through an automated hygiene chamber that
includes boot/sole scrubbing, hand-washing, hand-drying and hand-sanitizing stations.

/ Baking & Snack / April 2013

During the past few years, Mr.
Hernandez noted, Lantmännen has
steadily automated its packaging
lines to improve operational efficiency, reduce labor, increase bag-

www.bakingandsnack.com

http://www.bakingandsnack.com

Baking&Snack - April 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Baking&Snack - April 2013