IBIE Innovations part 1
As many of you already know, the International Baking Industry Expo was in September, from the 7th -11th in Las Vegas Nevada. It was a chance for industry professionals to rub elbows, trade secrets, form bonds and above all, show off your product. For attendees it was a great opportunity to see what’s going on in the baking industry and to see the great new ways that they can either improve their product, lower their bottom line or learn about a new process in which they can implement. For most of the exhibitors, it was their chance to display a cool new machine that rolls or molds or mixes or divides or forms or flattens or whatever you do to your dough. Don’t get me wrong, not everyone was there for dough or bread related reasons, but most were.
For part 1 of our innovations blog post, we are going to explore the Bakepod® Concept. This concept is a way to offer customers a wide range of artisan fresh baked bread all day long without the need for qualified staff on hand. The Bakepod® Concept was invented by Merand, a company with expertise in dough processing since 1954.
The concept is as follows: Dough is kneaded in a spiral mixer, like that of the Esher M60P. After that, the dough is then formed into dough blocks and shaped with their Blockform® system. The dough is then taken and placed into the Revent Plug and Play Proofer, where it will sit at 39.3 Fahrenheit for up to 72 hours. When needed, the dough is then divided/shaped then baked.
Let’s go over the concept and break down why it would be beneficial for owners that want fresh bread several times per day at their shop.
First, because the dough pieces are kept in cold storage, the shop determines the number of dough blocks needed for baking, resulting in fresh bread when needed and no extra unsold product at the end of the day. Second, with their grid dividing system, a variety of breads can be produced. Dough pieces are divided and shaped at the same time, no need for a moulder in this case. Next, with the Bakepod® Concept, qualified personnel are not needed at the point of sale, meaning your inexperienced cashier can divide, shape and bake your dough all with the push of a couple buttons. Also, because dough blocks are usually formed the day before, there is no need for a night baker. Lastly, because the dough pieces can be divided and straight away baked, this concept allows you to shorten production times, giving you more time to do whatever else needs to be done.
To learn more about the process you can watch this video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk82XAQzA1Q&feature=youtu.be
