Dough Extruders: How they Work

Dough extruders are designed to transform food dough or other kinds of products using a mechanical system without manual labour. This allows the production of products continuously, maximising production with fewer manual processes. This machine is used to easily produce biscuits, breadsticks, snacks, sweet and savoury confectionery products, and aperitifs.

Keep reading to learn more about this machine:

How It Works

Dough extruders force the dough through a hole. When processed, it takes on the cord’s shape with the same diameter and configuration the hole sets. In the bakery industry, the term “dough extrusion” refers to a cold process. Cold extrusion is the forming of dough materials at below 40 degrees Celsius. Such processing concept differs from “extrusion cooking” technology utilised in the snack industry and performed at temperatures above the boiling point of water where steam is formed.

Application

A dough extruder often runs at low speeds so that the dough retains its integrity, prevent product distortion, and balance the oven’s speed. Its output is often limited by upstream equipment and downstream equipment. When choosing the proper forming equipment, it is important to consider the product’s formulation. Dough extrusion isn’t suitable for a very soft dough. The extruded product must hold on to its shape after it passes through the die. When you compare dough extrusion to other forming methods like sheeting and moulding, the former tends to present some challenges. Problems like extruded dough distortions and inconsistent placement or drop of the cut piece onto the conveyor can take place. When picking a dough extrusion machine, mechanisms to minimise product waste must be taken into account. Because some waste is generated because of an inconsistent process, it is imperative to think about the potential to send incorrectly extruded dough back to the hopper.

Components

A dough extruder is composed of the following parts:

Inlet hopper. This part is placed over the dough driving mechanism or feeding. It holds the dough load that comes from the mixer and serves as a balance tank.

Feeding or driving system. The dough is forced into a pressure chamber by two or three rollers. The latter run continuously to force the dough out of the pressure chamber located just before the die.

Die or nozzle. This component functions as the final forming mechanism. Different shapes, diameters, construction materials, and configurations can be used, depending on the dough’s stickiness and rheology, product filling needs, and desired finished product form.