First Characterizer for Both Flour and Dough Takes Guesswork Out of Quality Control

WESTBOROUGH, Mass., May 19, 2025 /CNW/ -- As experienced master bakers leave the workforce, commercial bakeries are struggling to maintain consistent product quality. Even when bakeries have skilled staff, subjective assessment of doughs may allow product variations that impact consumer acceptance. 

To address this challenge, KPM Analytics www.kpmanalaytics.com introduces a first-of-its-kind dual universal analyzer, the Mixolab 300, that objectively measures the characteristics of both flour and dough. Using its technology, milling and bakery operators can realize more reliable quality control, avoid customer complaints, reduce costly waste, and operate more efficiently. 

The new analyzer overcomes the longstanding problem of trying to predict baking performance from flour analysis alone. Analyzing both flour and dough (including reactions between flour, salt, yeast, fat, sugar, and improvers) gives a more complete and more accurate picture. 

Improving on the company's popular flour-based Mixolab 2 dough characterizer, the Mixolab 300 adds a unique mixing bowl, dedicated software, and an introduction chimney that makes it easier for the operators to introduce doughs and batters for at-line quality analysis. Both the flour mixing bowl and the dough mixing bowl have the capability to heat samples, enabling sophisticated analysis not available in other dough characterizers. By selecting the bowl and software mode, users can easily switch between flour and dough analysis depending on their needs. 

The company also introduces the Mixolab 200, an evolution of the Mixolab 2, equipped with a flour mixing bowl. As user needs evolve, they can upgrade the Mixolab 200 to a Mixolab 300, which will include a dough kit, a specialized dough mixing bowl, and software for both flour and dough analysis.   

Gain Greater Insights on Dough and Production Process Performance
Unlike instruments limited to testing flours, the Mixolab 300 can anticipate baking performance by analyzing actual dough. Installed in quality control labs or near production lines, the Mixolab 300 dough characterizer can collect data on dough consistency and rheological properties, including starch behavior, providing key quality measurements. 

Thanks to a liquid-tight mixing bowl, a wider funnel, and an improved dough introduction chimney, Mixolab 300 can analyze all types of doughs and liquid batters ranging from bread doughs to cake and wafer batters.  It comes with two different dough testing modes. The first is the "Instant Consistency" test mode that provides quality-control data in minutes for production monitoring. The second mode offers a comprehensive "Full Test" that analyzes how ingredients interact during temperature changes—ideal for R&D and new product development.  

Help Millers and Ingredient Manufacturers Analyze Wheat and Additives
The benefits of dough analysis extend beyond the baker. The millers that supply bakeries with flours can use the Mixolab 300 to analyze wheat and flour behavior and use that understanding to improve wheat selection, optimize wheat and flour blends, and smartly use functional additives. Likewise, manufacturers of enzymes and additives can use the Mixolab 300 in their quality control and research and development. What's more, research centers and universities can use the analyzer for scientific exploration. 

Availability 
The Mixolab 300 and Mixolab 200 flour and dough analyzers are available for order now. The Mixolab 300 will be on display in Düsseldorf at IBA, booth 11.F38.  

For an evaluation of how the analyzers will perform in specific applications, contact KPM Analytics at [email protected]. 

About KPM Analytics 
KPM Analytics is a global leader in scientific instrumentation, focused primarily on analyzing critical parameters within the food, feed, agriculture, and environmental sectors. We provide a comprehensive range of products and services to uniquely solve our customers' problems. Our product brands are AMS Alliance, Bruins Instruments, CHOPIN Technologies, EyePro System, Process Sensors Corporation, Sensortech, Sightline Process Control, Smart Vision Works, and Unity Scientific. Each has a long history of delivering advanced and reliable analysis solutions to ensure product quality and optimize process efficiency, with customer service at the center of everything we do. Visit www.kpmanalytics.com to learn more. 

SOURCE KPM Analytics