The rounding of the dough balls
The rounding of the dough pieces can be done at 2 times during the dough processing process.There is a rounding that can be done between division and proofing, in order to give strength to the dough and shape it properly before it gets loaded automatically in the proofer.
There is also rounding after proofing to give their final shape to the dough balls, in order to get country style round breads or any other type of bread of round shape.
Rounding before proofing is usually done by 3 types of machines
- Pre rounding attachment on automatic dividers. Their main asset is that they are very big and they are included in the divider. They do a rounding more or less tight depending on the settings chosen. The dough balls come out of the divider and are rounded by touching the pre rounding attachment located above.
- The strip rounders have 2 belts that turn in opposite directions. The belt that takes the dough balls towards the exit goes slightly faster than the belt that goes the opposite way. The disadvantage of these rounders is that they take a lot of space and they tend to round the dough balls into "pear shape" balls rather than nicely rounded dough balls which makes it more difficult to elongate in the moulder.
- The principle of conical rounders is that the dough balls turn in between a cone and channels. There are some conical rounders with fixed channels and others with changeable channels. The rounders with fixed channels are more economical but they can only work in a limited range of weight. The rounders with changeable channels have a much wider range in between the minimum and maximum weight range they can achieve. There are also some rounders with changeable channels for which the change of settings to go from one weight to another is done centrally instead of having to change the channels one by one. This offers time savings and reduces the risk of mistake by the operator.
Rounding after proofing is usually done by 2 types of machines
- The conical rounders can be used before proofing as well as after automatic proofing. They are well suited for hard or sticky doughs like rye based doughs but not very recommended for a final rounding.
- Excentric rounders are usually more popular for the final rounding of dough balls because they respect more the dough, especially for soft and fragile doughs for which the baker will want to keep the airy structure. The way they work is very similar to the way the baker works manually when rounding dough balls. There are various models available with diameters more or less important to give more or less tightness and accept various speeds.