König's dough laminating and sheeting machine helps speed up dough processing by cutting down on the shearing that occurs when a normal cylindrical roller is used. The new equipment is being supplied in the UK and Ireland by European Process Plant (EPP).
Konig's new system is designed around its TwinSat - a multi-roller satellite head. The TwinSat system uses two satellite multi-roller heads arranged one above the other. The dough is not rolled down but pressed to size by a high speed, tamping movement, reducing the shearing strain to a minimum, the company claimed.
The nearly stress free dough sheets can be processed further without any dough resting, the company stated.
Traditional satellite head techniques combine a multi-roller satellite head with a normal cylindrical roller. Surface adhesion on the cylindrical roller and a shear rate within the system subjects the dough to a shearing strain. Mechanically extending wheat dough has increased elasticity, which also increases its sensitivity to shear.
The strain can lead to the disintegration of the pore walls of the elastic or partly elastic dough, the reason why such 'stressed' dough must be rested before it can be mechanically processed again.
"If the gas pore walls in the dough are subject to too big a deformation because of strong mechanical forces during processing, increased inner pressure will cause the membranes to disintegrate," said EPP's managing director Keith Stalker. "Both the gas retention and water binding capacities of the dough are then reduced and this can also negatively influence the aroma."
König says its system works by eliminating the different speeds in the dough layers. König achieves this by gearing the head and rolling speed with the relative movement of the dough. Smaller planet-rollers run at a different speed in the opposite direction to the rotating roller.
The speed of the planet-rollers and satellites can be individually adjusted to achieve the required dough consistency and production speed. The planet-rollers are also driven independently to avoid the dough slipping while its thickness is being reduced.
Within the sheeting system the dough is eased forward over the whole section, keeping the displacement of its structures to a minimum, the company claimed.
Other modules can be combined with the machine to produce ciabatta, bread rolls, baguettes, pizzas, flat breads, croissants, puff pastry, and Danish pastry.
The Austrian-based firm has set up a new company in Germany, König Laminiertechnik, to manufacture and market the equipment from a purpose-built factory.