ADVANCED DOUGH HANDLING SYSTEMS Q Mecatherm’s M-RT moulder in action
hour, the compact PROGRESSA bread line allows mid-sized retail bakers to produce a variety of products with precision in weight – ensured by a guillotine with two weighing units. Meanwhile, the modular IMPRESSA bread industrial line offers high output and gentle dough handling from the beginning to the end of the process.
Sam Pallottini Director, Cookie, Cracker & Pet Food Sales at Reading Bakery Systems: Today, labour costs or access to labour is one of the biggest challenge facing bakeries. This
has led more
businesses to look for ways to automate their systems – from mixing through packaging. This, in turn, requires products to be consistently the same. Exact Mixing’s Continuous Mixing technology can offer a solution here – it is an automated mixing system designed to provide dough when it is required and to stop when it is no, ensuring a consistent stream of dough to the line. In bakery production everything starts at the mixer and good dough makes the whole system run more efficiently.
Fabrice Bourion, Product Manager at Mecatherm: As consumer demand shifts toward more diverse, premium and artisan- style breads, industrial bakers need to adapt their processes to enable them to deliver the product variety and quality that is being demanded. At the same time, they must continuously optimise performance and address the growing challenge of sustainability to ensure long-term growth. It is important that bakeries focus on
preserving dough quality – by respecting and enhancing its characteristics throughout the handling process to ensure the delivery of unique products while avoiding stretching, tearing, or excessive compression during the production process. Maintaining product regularity is
another key challenge. When it comes to working with highly hydrated and rested dough, products can be difficult to divide and shape due to their stickiness which can make it more challenging to achieve a consistent weight and shape for each piece. Ensuring product regularity is also essential to avoid unnecessary product losses, to reduce waste and to optimise production processes.
What do you see as most interesting technology advances that can help overcome
today’s dough handling challenges?
Ronald: I believe that one of the most exciting developments in dough handling today is the integration of digital intelligence and sensor technology into traditional mechanical processes. As bakeries face increasing challenges with dough consistency, temperature control, and product variability, technology is shifting from automation alone toward smart, data-driven production. This has led Rademaker to combine mechanical precision with intelligent control systems. Features such as sensor-controlled dough thickness helps ensure consistent sheeting quality and allows automatic adjustments in real time, reducing manual intervention and variability. The company’s partnership with computer vision expert, Sensure takes this a step further, integrating advanced vision and AI-based inspection systems that can monitor product shape, size, and structure during production. This integration provides valuable insights from the inspection data, enabling operators to make informed adjustments to the production line – either during the current run or in preparation for the next – to optimise consistency and product quality. Another significant step forward is the
use of robotics for handling delicate dough pieces and repetitive tasks. When combined with vision technology, robots are able to
sensor-controlled dough thickness helps ensure consistent sheeting quality and allows automatic adjustments in real time (Image courtesy Rademaker).
28 • KENNEDY’S BAKERY PRODUCTION • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2025
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