Multitex4™ precision technology
When Fantini Bakery decided it was time to invest in a new moulder, their wish list included increased output, lower costs, improved quality, easier cleaning and maintenance and better sanitation. They achieved them all, and moved onto next-generation precision technology, with a Baker Perkins Multitex4™.
Fantini Bakery is based in Haverhill, Mass., with five distribution depots located throughout New England. It enjoys a reputation for fresh, artisan-quality goods: this growing company produces a wide range of breads and rolls.
Joe Fantini, fourth generation of his family to run the 110-year-old business, says, “We did our homework and looked at a full range of the moulders on the market, and the Multitex4™ offered the best value, and met our production needs. We trialed the machine before we purchased, and it was clearly a well-built, solid piece of equipment.”
The new moulder provides the capacity Fantini need to make more than 20 different breads – including 4-piece pan loaves in white, multigrain and sour dough varieties – in the 16 to 40 ounce weight range. The moulding process for small sticks including baguettes and club rolls also begins in the Multitex4™.
A key factor which convinced Fantini that the Multitex4™ was the machine to take them forward is speed of changeover in their dynamic multi-product setting.
Adjustments are calibrated to ensure repeatable settings with no need for lengthy set-up and constant fine-tuning by operators. The Multitex4™ can be switched between different product styles or sizes in seconds with no start-up waste, reliably and repeatedly every time over the full product range.
The Multitex4™ also meets Fantini’s goal of a tighter grain, with smaller, more evenly distributed cells. This provides the benefit of a whiter appearance which consumers appreciate. On pan bread, the stronger cell structure provides increased resistance to tearing when applying butter, jams or other spreads.
Labor costs are reduced because of the higher output and quicker changeover. The introduction of the Multitex4™ means that flour-dust has been eliminated in this part of the bakery, with a reduction in operational, cleaning and maintenance costs. The removal of dusting flour from the atmosphere provides a major health and safety benefit.
“This moulder is easier to clean and maintain,” says Joe Fantini. “It meets more standards for Good Manufacturing Practice.” When cleaning is necessary, it is quick and easy due to the use of sanitary materials, hygienically designed components and an open construction. Sanitation is also improved by design features that prevent dough build up and avoid sticking and smearing – even when doubles pass through the machine.
“We are very happy,” says Joe Fantini. “We made a good choice”.
Note to editors:
The Multitex4™ dough moulder delivers an immediate, visible improvement in loaf quality through gentle dough handling and high-efficiency panning. It sheets, coils and pans dough pieces without the need for flour dusting leading to an improvement in the bakery environment and a reduction in cleaning time.
A combination of benefits is possible because of the very gentle way in which the Multitex4™ handles the dough pieces. It has made the Multitex4™ the industry-standard moulder in high-output plant bakeries in many parts of the world more than 100 are at work.
The machine has been responsible for a step change in the quality of the final loaf wherever it has been installed. The gentle sheeting action and tight coiling of the sheeting head result in a 10% increase in volume and cell count, which give an improved crumb structure and better colour. An increase in softness of up to 18% leads to a longer shelf life.
The elimination of dusting flour in the atmosphere provides both a major health and safety benefit and a reduction in operational, cleaning and maintenance costs. Hygiene is improved by design features that prevent dough build up and avoid sticking and smearing – even when doubles pass through the machine. When cleaning is necessary it is quick and easy due to the use of sanitary materials, hygienically designed components and an open construction.
As well as improving all types of pan bread for the retail market, it also helps meet the exacting standards for loaf shape and crumb structure of sandwich bread producers, and deals reliably with a variety of products such as fruited, soft brioche and heavily seeded dough.
The Multitex4™ has, uniquely, four pairs of close-coupled sheeting rollers – each pair has individually controlled variable gap and speed. The Multitex4™ dough sheeting head utilises research findings showing that a higher number of small diameter sheeting rolls reduces dough damage. This arrangement improves end product quality by controlling size, shape and length-to-width ratio of the dough sheet prior to coiling. It allows tighter coiling, with more coils, while at the same time significantly reducing stress and damage to the dough through a more progressive thickness reduction.