Machine Production of Filled Breads, Pineapple Buns, and Red Bean Buns

Filled breads are almost a must-have in Taiwanese bakeries: red bean buns, milk custard (naisu) buns, taro paste buns, and pineapple buns (菠蘿麵包). Wrapping one by hand is not hard, but wrapping hundreds or thousands a day is hard work.

The History of Encrusting Machines and Bread

Encrusting machines were first used for wagashi, wrapping bean paste in dough. According to the company history on the website of Japan's RHEON, the Model 200, released in 1968, extended encrusting technology from confectionery to bread and drove overseas exports. RHEON went on to develop bread production lines, and today its Japanese website lists encrusting machines specifically for bread dough, the KASEIJIN (火星人) CN511 and the two-row WN156, as well as the bread dough encrusting and forming line "FE Line" (FE ライン) and the standalone "Compact FN" (コンパクト FN).

The products listed on the website include anpan (あんパン, red bean buns), cream pan (クリームパン, custard buns), melon pan (メロンパン, the Japanese counterpart of pineapple buns), and curry pan (カレーパン, curry buns).

Is an Encrusting Machine Right for a Bakery?

It depends on output and product range:

• Few products, high volume: For example, if you make several hundred or more red bean buns a day, or run a central factory supplying chain stores, institutional catering, or retail channels, an encrusting machine can save significant labor and make every piece the same weight.
• Many products, small quantities of each: Bakeries often make dozens of kinds of bread a day, a few dozen of each. In that case, the time spent changing fillings and cleaning may exceed the time spent wrapping, and the benefit of a machine is less obvious.

RHEON's Japanese FAQ mentions that for retail, a machine can be considered if you can produce 2,000 or more pieces per month. This figure is RHEON's statement about its own models and can serve as a reference starting point for your thinking; different models and products still need to be evaluated individually.

Fermented Dough and Machines

Bread dough has even more "personality" than steamed bun dough: strong gluten, oil and sugar content, and continuous fermentation. When running it on a machine, watch for:

• Dough temperature: As temperature rises, fermentation speeds up, and volume and weight drift between earlier and later batches.
• Pressure on the dough: If the air bubbles and gluten structure in fermented dough are damaged during squeezing, the baked bread will have smaller volume and a coarser crumb. RHEON's bread lines emphasize "Stress Free" (ストレスフリー) precisely to reduce damage to the dough.
• Filling firmness: Milk custard, pastry cream, and taro paste should be close in firmness to the dough; fillings that are too soft tend to leak from the seal.
• Dusting flour: Too much affects appearance and crust color.

Dong-Yih Machinery's website describes the DY-201 Automatic Steamed Bun and Mantou Machine as using a "traditional technique" that does not break down the dough structure, and its list of products includes French bread and filled bread, with an output of 2,000–12,000 pieces/hour at 2.0 kW.

How Are Pineapple Buns Mechanized?

A pineapple bun is bread dough covered with a crumbly topping (the "pineapple" crust), made in two stages:

1. Dividing and rounding (or filling) the bread dough.
2. Applying the pineapple topping: The topping is a cookie-type dough that is pressed into a thin sheet, laid over the bread dough, and then scored with a crosshatch pattern.

The bread options on RHEON's Japanese website include a "melon pan depositor" (メロンパンデポジター), described as automatically covering bread dough with cookie dough. Without this kind of equipment, the bread dough can be divided and filled by machine, while the topping is still applied by hand.

Output Compared with Hand Work

Comparing machine and hand output depends on the model, product weight, dough properties, and the skill of the workers, so there is no universal multiplier. When comparing, look at a few things:

• Steady hourly output: A machine's rated capacity (for example, 2,000–12,000 pieces/hour listed for the DY-201 on our website) is the upper limit; actual output depends on the product.
• Weight consistency: The machine's advantage is consistent weight per piece, reducing the cost of "overfilling."
• Time before and after: Prep, filling changes, and cleaning time must also be factored in.

Cleaning and Safety

Before cleaning an encrusting machine, stop the machine, cut the power, and apply lockout/tagout in accordance with Article 57 of the Occupational Safety and Health Facilities Regulations (職業安全衛生設施規則).

For steamed buns, see Machine Production of Steamed Buns.

FAQ

Q: Does a bakery need an encrusting machine?
A: It pays off clearly only when production is concentrated on a few products in large volumes; with many products in small quantities, the time spent changing fillings and cleaning may cancel out the benefits.

Q: Will an encrusting machine crush bread dough?
A: Excessive squeezing damages the air bubbles and gluten in the dough. One of the key design points of bread-specific encrusting machines is reducing pressure on the dough.

Q: Can the topping on pineapple buns be applied by machine?
A: Yes, with dedicated topping equipment such as RHEON's melon pan depositor; without it, the topping is still applied by hand.

Q: Can Dong-Yih's machines make bread?
A: Dong-Yih's website lists French bread and filled bread among the products the DY-201 can make, with an output of 2,000–12,000 pieces/hour. For other bread products, please call us.