The Future Is Formed: Extrusion Powers Bakery Diversification

Once seen mainly as a snack-forming technique, extrusion has quietly become one of the most versatile tools in modern baking. From pretzel sticks and filled nuggets to crispbreads, breadcrumbs, and better-for-you baked snacks, today’s systems handle an expanding portfolio of doughs and formulations that demand both creativity and consistency. 

For manufacturers under pressure to shorten product cycles and diversify output without expanding floor space, extrusion’s appeal lies in its combination of control, flexibility, and throughput.

Evolving Expectations

In a market defined by variety, bakers want lines that can adapt as quickly as consumers do. “Over the last several years, customers have been asking most for flexibility and ability to innovate in extrusion systems,” says Joe Pocevicius, Sales Director – EMEA & APAC for Reading Bakery Systems (RBS). “Snack makers want to run traditional pretzels, co-extruded filled nuggets, braids, and more on a single line without sacrificing quality. At the same time, there’s been growing demand for products with added protein and better-for-you formulations.”

This push for flexibility has reshaped how extruders are engineered. Quick die changeovers, hygienic designs that minimize downtime, and digital controls that store and recall multiple recipes are now standard expectations rather than optional features. Pocevicius notes that these demands have “influenced our priorities: quick die changeovers, improved sanitary design for faster cleanability, and control systems that make it easier to manage different dough types and recipes.”

The Modern Extruder

Although extrusion has been a bakery mainstay for decades, the mechanics of dough handling have changed dramatically. RBS, known for its low-pressure and high-pressure extruders used in pretzel and snack lines, has re-engineered several core components. “The most significant improvements have been in sanitary design, band cutter design and control systems,” Pocevicius explains. “Our latest Low Pressure Extruders use seamless, single-piece hoppers that eliminate harborage areas, are lightweight, and tool-free to remove for cleaning. Cutting systems have also advanced, with bandcutters capable of up to 275 cuts per minute and multiple blade types for sticks, filled products, or difficult doughs.”

That level of precision and speed addresses a long-standing tension between flexibility and consistency. According to RBS, “Consistency comes from precise dough flow and controlled cutting systems. Twin auger designs maintain uniform dough pressure while reducing crystallization. For challenging doughs like gluten-free or high-protein, optional pre-feed rollers keep flow consistent and prevent bridging.”

The company’s Science & Innovation Center serves as the proving ground where processors test new formulations and shapes before scaling to industrial runs. “We work with our customers to run trials to evaluate the product flavor, shape and texture using different formulations, process parameters and dies,” says Pocevicius. “This hands-on approach reduces risk and speeds time-to-market.”

Broader Market Trends

Beyond RBS’s core pretzel and snack lines, other equipment suppliers are also expanding extrusion’s role in bakery production. Baker Perkins, for example, positions its SBX Master™ twin-screw extruder as the central processing unit in integrated systems for cereals, snacks, and baked ingredients. Official specifications list continuous outputs from 250 to 2,500 kg/h, depending on formulation, with modular downstream options for preconditioning, forming, and drying.

Baker Perkins succinctly defines extrusion’s economic argument: “If it is possible to make a product with an extruder, it is almost certainly the cheapest, most efficient and most compact method for making it.” The company also clarifies the design choice most buyers face. “Single screw extruders offer simplicity and lower capital cost, but twin-screw extruders provide versatility and higher quality products.” Together, those statements highlight a key consideration for bakery producers: single-screw units often suffice for stable, uniform doughs, while twin-screw systems open the door to higher protein, gluten-free, or multi-texture products where mixing energy and precise thermal control are essential.

Meanwhile, Clextral continues to champion twin-screw extrusion as a platform for both snack innovation and bakery applications. The company states on its official site that “Directly expanded snacks (DX snacks) are our core business,” but its portfolio also extends to crispy flatbreads, breakfast cereals, bread snacks, and croutons. Clextral even offers a croutons kit that “enables the conversion of snack lines, which are directly expanded, to produce continuously-extruded croutons.” These examples demonstrate how extrusion bridges the line between traditional baking and modern snack processing—using the same core technology to produce either finished consumer goods or functional inclusions for bakery formulations.

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