Baker Perkins extrusion sheeting technology for snacks

Baker Perkins has introduced sheeting technology to produce snack crackers and other products that are cut from a sheet of dough before being baked or fried. Extrusion sheeting uses a twin-screw extruder with a wide-slot die to produce the thin sheet of dough directly feeding a rotary cutter.

Using extrusion sheeting instead of conventional mixing, sheeting and gauging reduces both the capital investment needed for a snack cracker line and the floor space required. The lines are simple to operate and, having fewer units, give reductions in cleaning time and maintenance costs.

The system is suitable for any type of baked or fried snack that is cut from a sheet of dough. Wheat and maize are the most common ingredients but many types of flour can be processed, either on their own or as part of a blend.

The process supports dedicated lines running at high output, and the low cost and flexibility of the line makes the production of small batches of snack crackers economically viable. The extruder can be quickly switched to make other snacks such as direct expanded curls and balls, or co-extruded filled pillows, bars and wafers.

Extrusion provides the flexibility to make a wide variety of different products in small batches from alternative ingredients, such as high-protein and high-fibre products, as well as ‘free-from’ snacks that are made without nuts, wheat, dairy, GMO etc.

The extruded dough sheet is produced on a Baker Perkins SBX Master twin-screw extruder and cut into regular, interlocking shapes by an inline rotary cutter.