Mixing, kneading and forming in one step: The new ContiMix™ dough extruder from Bühler combines these three core processes which are crucial to quality when producing bakery products. End consumers benefit from more intense taste, bigger volume and improved crumb structure in the baked goods. Producers save time and production costs with ContiMix™ and have consistently high quality in their baked products.

Stefan Hoh

Bühler has expanded its plant portfolio for industrial bakeries with a dough extruder, the ContiMix™. The new ContiMix™ is ideal for preparing stiff dough for laminated products such as pastries doughs, flat products such as pizza dough, and shaped products such as rolls and soft pretzels.

Handling in zones The combined mixing-kneading-forming process takes place in three zones in the ContiMixTM. As it passes through each of the three zones, the dough is given the properties it needs for the selected end product. In the first zone at the beginning of the process, the dry and liquid ingredients are dosed and mixed according to recipe. These are then sent to the second zone where they are kneaded into homogeneous dough in a continuously operating twin-screw extruder. In the third zone, depending on the end product, the dough undergoes a vacuum or pressure treatment to achieve the desired dough properties in terms of elasticity and plasticity. These can be set individually according to the recipe. For example, with laminated doughs which are kneaded under vacuum, the dough proofing is completely eliminated and the dough can be directly fed into the laminating system. The dough is constantly chilled in all three zones of the ContiMix™ with the chilling being more intense in the third work step.

Many advantages The configuration of the extruder screws can be adjusted during the project engineering to meet individual customer requirements. Switching from one dough recipe to producing another one can be done with just a few movements. The continuous process ultimately makes it possible to eliminate an additional dough proofing period and the dough handling associated with that. The dough leaves the ContiMix™ as a stiff dough stream and is immediately ready for the next production phase, which significantly shortens the entire production time for the baked goods.

Bühler’s ContiMix™ has a closed construction and thus fulfills the highest demands in terms of sanitation and food safety. Using the principle of “first in - first out” it guarantees constant dough quality. Finally, dough made in the ContiMix™, especially for laminated products, has the essential conditions for improved volume and crumb structure. Plus, the taste of the baked goods is more intensive.

Up to 2,4000 kg dough per hour The ContiMix™ dough extruder is about nine meters long and operates continuously, producing a 600-mm wide by 15-to-20-mm thick dough stream at a capacity of up to 2,400 kg of dough per hour.

To sum it up, Bühler’s ContiMix™ twin-screw extruder provides improved product quality, a higher level of food safety, and direct cost savings due to up to nine percent higher dough yield and elimination of the dough proofing step because of higher dough plasticity.