Northeast Baker Discovers The Best Way In The World to Make Square Ciabatta Rolls

Recently, while gaining wide recognition (and lots of customers) for his unique line of European-style crusty rolls and breads, Mariusz still wanted to find a way to successfully produce ciabatta rolls. He spent months exploring what he thought was every option and method. Looking at a number of machines and baking systems, he still could not find a method for producing ciabatta to his satisfaction.

In a recent interview, Mr. Kolodziej explained how and why he turned to the new ERIKA Quadro Automat 2000 divider/rounder when seeking to find a solution to producing ciabatta rolls: "Basically, we're always looking to further upgrade our overall production process, but while maintaining quality and consistency in the final product." He explained further, "Because we make so many unique products, we cannot simply take a cookie cutter approach when it comes to the preparation of our specialty rolls. The dough recipes we use make for sometimes very delicate doughs, and sometimes very sticky, hard to handle doughs. So, we knew we needed a machine or system that would help us in our goal to increase production capacity as our business grows, but one that could meet the demands of our varied recipes."

Determined to find such a machine Mr. Kolodziej was very pleased to discover a solution to his dilemma from Erika Record, the worldwide leader in the manufacture of divider/rounders. Mr. Kolodziej further stated, "I already had an Erika Automat divider/rounder as part of my standard roll production. It was an older machine, but one of the more reliable pieces of equipment in terms of consistent performance. I discovered to my delight that Erika had just introduced a uniquely new model called the Quadro Automat 2000. I was guardedly optimistic but I couldn't understand exactly how one machine would give me squared dough pieces, as well as rounded dough pieces; however, after installation and a few trial runs this machine just blew us away. It really does what the people at Erika say it does - it produces perfectly rounded and perfectly squared dough pieces. It didn't take long for us to realize that we had found the perfect solution for our 7-grain rolls and our ciabatta rolls. In fact, because of it's teflonized head and knife assembly it has been able to handle virtually any recipe we throw at it."

The Tour

A close-up of the 7-grain rolls before proofing and baking.

With the dough pieces efficiently squared they are quickly ready for the next step in the preparation process of the product. Bakers are removing clusters of squares from the dividing plate, wetting the surface with a medium, and then dipping the pieces into a mixture of oats, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds. The pieces are then placed on baking pans, ready for proofing and baking.

Here we see the 7-grain rolls after baking. Square shaped products are very popular throughout Europe. They're particularly used in making compact and snack size sandwiches and are now growing in popularity in the U.S. as well.

	The ciabatta dough is divided into four-pound pieces which are then floured and placed on the dividing plate of the Quadro Automat 2000. Here, one baker is pre-scaling the doughs and another is spreading the dough onto the dividing plate.
Here you can see the divided dough pieces being placed onto the pans for proofing and baking.

Commenting about this product, Mariusz Kolodziej points out, "As a result of manual panning, the machine-divided pieces lose their shape somewhat. However, that works in our favor because it gives our product more of a hand-made, artisan look which more and more of our customers in the banquet departments of fancy hotels and restaurants are seeking."

Here you can see the final baked ciabatta. We have cut some open to illustrate the unique, purposely irregular texture that results from Mr. Kolodziej's recipe and which customers appear to enjoy so much. Mr. Kolodziej, asserts, "The Quadro Automat 2000 is, in my opinion, the only machine of its type that can produce a quality ciabatta product consistently and at an afordable price."

The people at Prestige were able to do a side by side comparison because they have a standard divider/rounder (ERIKA AUTOMAT) and were able to confirm the even higher quality rounding result achieved with the Quadro Automat 2000. This Photo shows what a beautiflilly rounded dough product is achieved with the Quadro Automat 2000.

Within a couple of minutes you can interchange the 30-part rectangular knife assembly with a 10-part knife assembly and now you have a machine that can cut rectangular dough pieces 2.4 inches by 7.2 inches. This shape is ideal for baguettes, long ciabatta, and other types of breads. The rectangle is made up of three squares which is why you see the two undulations on top of the dough.

This Photo shows raw dough baguettes after they have been processed through a french bread molder.

The Quadro Automat 2000 is the first divider/rounder of its kind featuring a square head. The Quadro Automat 2000 was initially developed to meet the demands of European bakers who were seeking a divider/rounder that could help with the preparation of crusty rolls and specialty breads like ciabatta and focaccia.
The Quadro Automat 2000 actually represents a significant leap in divider/rounder technology offering more versatility than any other machine on the market With it's teflonized head and knife assembly, the machine can effectively process even the most sticky or delicate dough recipes without damaging them. Also it requires much less cleaning than the traditional divider/rounders. The machines are ETL, ETL Sanitation, and ETL Canada approved to meet the highest standards in the industry.
ERIKA has been the worldwide leader in the manufacture of divider/rounders for the last 50 years. Many bakers already know that an investment in an ERIKA machine pays big dividends through years of increased production capacity, product uniformity, and consistent performance reliability. And, like all our ERIKA machines, the Quadro Automat 2000 is backed by our two year parts and labor warranty which is unmatched in the industry.

Call today to find out more about the Quadro Automat 2000 or any of our other superior divider/rounders.