Baking & Snack - September 2021 - 32

NEW HORIZONS BAKING CO.
horizontal mixer, which creates 1,600-lb batches that feed
the line.
" We developed our own batch code internally instead of
using someone else's, " he said. " It's just a simple step-by-step
process of adding ingredients to the mixer. Since we developed
it ourselves, we can make adjustments to the code. If
something goes wrong, we can fix it instead of waiting for a
vendor to fix it remotely or visit the bakery. "
After mixing, an AMF dough pump feeds the hopper of
a Reiser Vemag six-pocket divider, which makes 65 to 67
cuts a minute. Mr. Harrison said the Vemag rounder table
with oil-free rounder bars relies on a Rulmecca motorized
pully to drive the conveyor belt in lieu of the standard motor
gearbox combination. He added that the sanitary-designed
system, a first for Reiser, was developed using New
Horizons' specifications.
Mr. Harrison said the production line uses several custom-designed
servo systems - a first for any New Horizons
bakery - to meter and divert product throughout the process.
After rounding, for example, the dough balls drop into a
six-and-12 loading system. As the name indicates, the servocontrolled
system takes a set of six dough balls at a time and
loads two sets of them precisely into 12-across rows of cups
on the Clock Associates proofer. In all, the proofer has 960
flights, or rows of cups, that hold 11,500 pieces. As a part of
the process, a duster and reclamation system provides more
precise applications of cornmeal.
After a 25- to 30-minute proof, the dough balls tumble
into a Clock Associates griddle oven outfitted with 54
Banner Day burners, which it uses on its other English muffin
lines. The 12-across rows of griddles bake about 10 minutes
as they travel across the 65-foot system, then return
underneath before discharging onto a conveyor that leads to
the G&F spiral cooler for about 55 minutes.
In case of a disruption in cooling or packaging, Mr.
Buchanan said, the bakery installed a diverter just prior to the
cooler where freshly baked products can be offloaded as the
griddle oven keeps on baking. Moreover, the oversized cooler
can accumulate up to 5 minutes of products to act as a buffer
in the event of a brief changeover or downtime in packaging.
Next, the English muffins exit the top of the cooler and head
to the mezzanine in the separate, enclosed packaging room.
New Horizons added the upper level, which is monitored
only by cameras, to maximize floor space in the building and
reserve it later for future production and packaging lines. The
English muffins then flow through a servo-controlled zig-zag
aligner and laner that feed two Fabriweld fork cutting systems.
" Each forker can handle 1,800 to 2,000 dozen an hour, but
Top: A perfectly rounded dough ball that's lightly coated in cornmeal
tumbles into the proofer on the production line.
Bottom: A zig-zag laner puts the English muffins in a single line before
they head into one of two fork cutters on the mezzanine level.
32 Baking & Snack September 2021 / www.bakingbusiness.com
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Baking & Snack - September 2021

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