Each Pastry Is on the Line

High throughput is undoubtedly essential to the industrial production of pastries. However, it is the close attention to the consistency in quality for every single piece of pastry going through the line that will ensure the desired standards. Especially since pastries come in deliciously different shapes and textures, equipment flexibility is a must.

Industrial pastry lines are responsible for controlling complex operations that allow the product to transform, expand, form its crust and develop its texture. High-precision forming, handling and baking rely on technology innovation continuously perfecting them and are prerequisites to achieving the desired results for a diverse range of products, every time they run on the line. 

Notably delicate structures, each type of pastry has its unique characteristics, given by its formulation and preparation method. This makes production challenges increase in direct correlation with the production capacity itself. Dedicated lines that are able to adapt to each specific requirement and manage them simultaneously are the answer.

The French Patisserie Expert

MECATHERM has recently launched the MECAPATISSERIE production line, designed to be flexible enough to easily support product innovation as well as seasonal product preferences. The French specialist guarantees high-precision baking with this line, in a lineup built with hygiene in mind for industrial performance. The MECAPATISSERIE line consists of a baking circuit and a cooling and freezing circuit. Mixing and dosing equipment can be integrated easily upstream, as well as packaging and product personalization modules. This baking system consists of the M-TA oven with flexible technology, an MVD cooler including a buffer system and an MVS freezer with dual infeed, as well as depanning solutions that can accommodate several types of tools (needles, vacuum, fingers). To minimize the risk of contamination as products leave the baking area, the MECAPATISSERIE line has a separate cooling circuit (independent from the baking circuit) as well as dedicated cooling trays. The products are removed from the baking trays and then placed on cooling trays just after leaving the oven, avoiding the risk of contamination in this sensitive area. The line is also equipped with a tray washer, which can clean the baking trays as well as the cooling supports. The line is equipped with a storage gantry for automatic trays changeovers. M-Plan and M-Pilot management tools are also incorporated to optimize the productivity and efficiency of the line.

François Retailleau, production lines manager at MECATHERM, has shared a walkthrough of the line with us. It can produce a wide range of products, including choux pastries, tart shells, pies, macarons and other specialties. It’s not limited to pastries, either. The MECAPATISSERIE can also prepare such as muffins, (sponge) cakes,  or Pastéis de Nata, for example. “This is made possible thanks to flexible equipment, especially our M-TA oven, which can produce many references with great accuracy, allowing us to achieve a high level of quality and industrial performance,” Retailleau explained. The line is designed for flexibility in production every step of the way:

• The M-TA oven ensures product diversity thanks to a tailor-made baking curve for each product, as each zone can have completely independent heating profiles.
• Depanners can be fitted with different tools or technologies, including vacuum, needles, fingers, pushers – on one same piece of equipment, which allows easy changes between product references.
• Pre-cooling, cooling and freezing times are also easily adjustable and can even be even by-passed (in particular for the freezer), to adapt the process to the requirements of each product. In this way, fresh or frozen products, simple or combined, can be run at the same time.

You can read the rest of this article in the Autumn Issue of Asia Pacific Baker & Biscuit magazine, which you can access by clicking here.