DOUGH TEMPERATURE CONTROL
FOCUS ON SOREMA COMPANY
Project by project in the bakery industry, I figure out the major role temperature is playing. And how crucial is the ability to keep under control dough temperature.
My idea to publish this article came out to share practical solutions in order to control dough temperature. A way to focus on key solutions and bring sustainable serenity during dough mixing production step. A chance also to introduce SOREMA company and its large dedicated scope of water cooler equipment.
mission: impossible
Our consumption way of life expects standardized products. In addition to the fact that fully automized production lines require nowadays identical products. But dough produced in the bakery industry is anything but inert and changing temperatures deeply affects how dough performs and reacts in machinery.
And if this were not enough, industrial bakeries must deal with one more challenging situation: being able to prevent any yeast 
activity startup due to hot dough. First, it is very easy to catch the reason if the product is sold unproofed and unbaked. Then, because there is a direct impact of dough fermentation startup on dough viscosity. Fermentation activity in the dough brings undesirable stickiness and great troubles in driving automatic production lines. Furthermore, quality of product will tend to downgrade, especially viennoiseries products due to butter migration risks into the dough.
Eventually, to achieve the goal of standardizing dough temperature in the bakery industry, it is necessary to put under control 2 major parameters: temperature and humidity, both connected to products and room conditions.
To sum up: the goal to put under control dough temperature may seem difficult. First because impact sources are numerous. Then because it looks like impossible to solve some of them, for example: how to put under control production rooms temperature when conditions are changing all the 
time (morning/evening time, winter/summer time, sunny/rainy day…)? How to put under control raw materials (such as flour or sugar) temperature delivered one day too hot and next day too cold? And keeping in mind that dough viscosity requires to be the same every minute of the day…it’s true: what a challenge!
PERFORMANCE LEVERS
Hopefully, here are many solutions to put under control dough temperature in a bakery manufacturing process.
Room conditions
A strategy is to consider extreme temperatures for the raw materials stored in the 
room (<10°C or >20°C for dry ingredients such as flour, sugar or salt) instead of a target of temperature. Thus, this smart solution consists in installing air conditioning units connected with a temperature sensor in the room. Unit brings heat or cold air only if necessary – and not all the time -. That is to say only when the room is becoming too hot or too cold. This is a smart way to control temperature, save energy and cut down costs in the same time. In case of a new building, a strategy is also to design the room with a high level of insulation to preserve the storage area from outside conditions. In the same way, South facing storage areas are to be excluded. In addition, an easy way to maintain good temperatures in storage rooms is to keep doors closed.
Raw materials and ingredients temperature
This is probably the most difficult scope of action. The fact is that a large range of dry raw materials in the bakery industry is delivered without any goal of temperature. A solution to put under control flour or sugar temperature is to initiate a 
specific storage time (2/3 days) after delivery. This “resting” time of storage reduces extreme temperature coming from the shipping stage (cross docking in very hot or very cold conditions for example) and supplier processing (such as fresh flour always delivered very hot after milling process).
Flour cooling technology focus
Because flour is one of the major raw material in a bakery industry, industrial flour cooling systems are smart and effective solutions. Flour cooling systems are based on a 
2 steps process. A first stage produces pre-cooled air thanks to a chilling exchanger. Then pre-cooled air and flour are mixed together in a hopper or a fluidized bed. That makes it possible to reduce flour temperature even by 10 to 15°C. It is important to keep in mind disadvantages of such solutions: cooling flour systems require a high amount of energy. Furthermore, the cost of the chilling installation connected to the process must not be overlooked. Otherwise, engineering studies can bring a strong benefit to obtain the best design and best location in the factory.
Dough temperature control during mixing stage
Here is a scope full of good solutions. The most common way to prevent high dough temperature due to mixing is the use of pre-cooled double jacketed chamber or bowl. A constant and flexible dough temperature is ensured thanks to a double jacketed which is pre-cooled with glycol.
Other technologies may be found especially in the 
industrial manufacturing process of viennoiseries (details in this link). The use of cooling tunnels in sheeting process brings an extra continuous resting time in a cold conditions room (+/- 8°C). These solutions help to put under control dough temperature and increase baked product quality.
Chilled Water
Here is the most effective way to put under control dough temperature. Because water in a recipe reaches at least 60% up to 80% of the flour weight, focusing on how to control water temperature in a bakery manufacturing process is crucial.
Water chillers are very common equipment. A water chiller is an insulated tank in which water is pre-cooled 
down and maintained at very low temperature (+ 1°C). Ice can also be added to the dough enhancing the cooling impact. All that remains is to adjust the water temperature to reach the target of dough temperature.
Here is a good contact to put under control issue regarding dough temperature. Let me introduce SOREMA company, which the motto is “certified chilling in your process“.
SOREMA is a French company own by Thibaut COLIN. The company has acquired over 60 years of expertise in temperature control and industrial water chillers. SOREMA was started as a water coolers provider for artisan bakers and then developed its business in the bakery industry and supermarket chains sector. Its scope of supply is also composed of water chillers for all types of activity (plastics & electronic processing) and industrial cold processes (packaging & mixers).
SOREMA company employs 30 people and aims to achieve € 6 million sales this year. Half of its business is made in the bakery activity with a 25% part dedicated to export sales all around the world.
SOREMA company is a key player in the scope of water chillers in the bakery industry especially in bread-making equipment.
SOREMA SCOPE OF SUPPLY
As a specialist in bread-making equipment and manufacturer of water coolers and water meters, SOREMA provides solutions for both artisan bread-making and industrial bread-making scope. The ranges of equipment are : water chillers, water meters, ice machines and oven steam condensers.
SOREMA water cooler solutions can be driven manually or installed in an automated system. Smart automatic solutions are provided and fit perfectly into the bakery above the mixing trough, using a wall bracket or a four-legged frame adjusted to the height of the mixing trough.
SOREMA’s range of feedwater chillers can chill mains feedwater to +1°C. Depending on the model, it is possible to chill 30 to 2000 liters an hour down to +1°C.
Dough preparation is also optimized by the water meters designed by SOREMA: volume programming, temperature adjustment with mixture of hot water. The mixture in the trough is therefore perfect and consistent.
SOREMA is also enable to develop electrical oven steam condensation solutions, facilitating oven installations even in premises where air exhaust systems would be impossible.
SOREMA and its German partner ZIEGRA offers a wide range of crushed ice machines. Operator can easily obtain the ice manually into a tray. New solutions have been designed such as an automatic ice weighing system connected to the mixer saving labor costs and bringing other benefits such as hygiene and optimization.
PROCESS INNOVATION
I asked SOREMA to present their last technical innovations. Here they are :
NEW DESIGN
SOREMA, thanks to its design and research office has brought new options in its 
water coolers scope of supply: complete draining, stainless steel structure, easy cleaning access for hygiene.
New cooling technologies are also available with of focus of green optimization by taking advantage of the use of GWP (Global warming potential). Such as “GLACEO2” exposed in EUROPAIN 2020 exhibition based on CO 2 condensation.
SCREEN TOUCH CONTROL
SOREMA’s innovative approach has allowed to develop a large scope of automatic options driven by screen touch: quantity of water of water temperature for example. Process is available on the screen and connections are easy with the factory production management system.
AUTOMATED DOSING SYSTEM
Water meters can be connected with 3 different kinds of water: hot, cold and standard tap water. A smart system drives and automatically optimizes the mix between the 3 waters to provide the temperature at the highest precision level and the lowest cost. This system can also communicate with other temperature sensors (flour silos, room conditions…) and adjust smartly its water dosing parameters.
Many thanks again to Thibaut COLIN for his help to write this focus on SOREMA company.
if you want to discover more, visit the website of SOREMA.
TO CONCLUDE…
As you can see, even if the target to put under control dough temperature is crucial and difficult to reach, technical solutions exist. They can bring either efficiency or disappointment depending of the situaiton. That is why I would suggess not to focus on only one, as a key point, but on ways to mix of all of them in a global dough temperature strategy. Let’s talk about it together and start a dedicated baking expertise assistance.
This article has been written by Ronan Le Bourhis, founder of Hopi consulting, engineering dedicated the baking industry. Discover more articles in Hopi consulting blog.
