It is no secret that the tastes of frozen pizza consumers are evolving, leading to the need for gluten-free pizza manufacturing. Consumers are leaning more heavily towards healthier options, resulting in the frozen pizza industry going through a bit of a makeover. What was once considered to be a less healthy option has now started to change. It now offers healthier and even allergy-friendly solutions for consumers.
Although it may not seem as though gluten-free dough would make a huge impact on manufacturers, it actually does. There are many differences between this and regular pizza dough. In order to provide alternative types of pizza dough, you may need to consider upgrading your manufacturing equipment, especially if some of it is outdated.
In this article, we will discuss the advances in gluten-free pizza manufacturing equipment, especially when it comes to automation. We will also explore the many reasons why you may want to consider offering alternative types of pizza dough.
Why You Need to Provide Alternative Pizza Doughs
If you own a frozen pizza manufacturing company, you may be hesitant to branch out into gluten-free dough. However, the reality is that manufacturing companies will need to start evolving as the tastes of consumers change. For instance, gluten-free pizza manufacturing is in demand more than ever as more and more people are going gluten-free or trying to avoid gluten products.
In fact, research shows that one-third of Americans are trying to reduce gluten or avoid it altogether for health reasons. Consumers are also being drawn more towards healthier options, especially when it comes to convenient foods like frozen pizzas.
When you provide different types of frozen pizza dough, such as gluten-free options, you are catering to two different categories of consumers. You will be attracting those who are gluten-free by necessity, as well as those who are trying to be more health-conscious.
Gluten-Free Dough: Key Differences to Consider
Even though transitioning to gluten-free pizza manufacturing is necessary for most frozen pizza companies, it can come with some challenges. By nature, frozen pizza dough is made with gluten, which can make creating a gluten-free product a bit difficult if you don’t have the right equipment. Not all frozen pizza-making equipment can produce gluten-free pizza dough, so you may even need to invest in additional machinery.
Here are some of the main differences between traditional pizza dough and gluten-free pizza dough that you will need to be aware of:
- Taste: Frozen pizza consumers don’t just want gluten-free options; they want tasty gluten-free options. Gluten-free pizza dough doesn’t have the best reputation for tasting good. You will need to go above and beyond when it comes to creating a formula that appeases your consumers.
- Texture: Unlike traditional pizza dough, gluten-free dough is often tougher and chewier. Because it does not use gluten, it can also become more dense, so you may need special equipment to produce light and airy gluten-free crusts.
- Bake Time: Because gluten-free dough has a different structure, it may require different baking times than your normal pizzas. So, you may need to invest in special equipment to accommodate this.
- Cross-Contamination: Another very important thing to consider if you start to provide gluten-free pizzas is the risk of cross-contamination. If you provide a gluten-free product, you have to be able to ensure it is not being contaminated by the other products you make that contain gluten.
Automating Frozen Pizza Dough Equipment
If you want to start manufacturing gluten-free pizza, you may need to make several changes to your frozen pizza line. For instance, you will most likely need to have a separate line for gluten-free products to avoid cross-contamination. You’ll also need to accommodate the different steps that may be required. You may also need to invest in different types of equipment. These machines must handle the different textures and ingredients required for gluten-free pizzas.
At Quantum, we provide a variety of automated solutions that can help you provide alternative pizza dough options for your consumers. Here are some examples of our automated solutions to improve versatility, efficiency, and quality:
- Sauce Applicators: To maintain efficiency and quality when adding gluten-free products to your frozen pizza line, you need to invest in sauce applicators. At Quantum, our sauce applicators can handle a diverse range of pizza sauces, reducing food waste and improving the quality of your frozen pizzas.
- Topping Applicators: Topping applicators can help reduce human error and food waste by correctly lining up pizza toppings for each pizza. This can be especially beneficial for gluten-free pizzas that most likely require special toppings to reduce cross-contamination.
- Pizza Slicers: When you provide allergy-friendly pizzas, such as gluten-free options, you need to invest in automated pizza slicers. Frozen pizza slicers will improve the quality of your pizzas. But also they will help to ensure there is no cross-contamination between gluten-free and traditional pizzas.
- Conveyor Systems: The more alternative pizza options you add to your frozen pizza line, the more conveyor systems you need. Not only does this help to ensure efficiency and quality. It will keep different pizzas separate so there isn’t as much risk of cross-contamination. At Quantum, we provide a vast range of conveyor systems, including reclaim conveyors and infeed orientation systems.
- Circle Placers: If you want to guarantee the best quality with all of your gluten-free pizzas, you need to invest in circle placers. At Quantum, our circle placers provide a variety of cardboard shapes to accommodate different types of pizzas so that the toppings are lined up correctly.
Diversify Your Frozen Pizza Line With Quantum
Do you want to stand out as a frozen pizza manufacturer? If so, you may want to consider upgrading to some of the gluten-free pizza manufacturing equipment provided by Quantum. Quantum offers industry-leading solutions that allow you to branch out from making traditional pizzas to providing alternative pizza options. Not only does our equipment allow you to deliver more options for consumers, but it can help you to improve efficiency and quality as well. Contact our team today to learn more about the pizza-making solutions that we provide.