Reading Bakery Systems, headquartered in Robesonia, Pennsylvania, is a long-time global leader in the snack food industry, manufacturing technologically advanced pretzel manufacturing production line equipment and other commercial baking equipment to serve the biscuit, cookie, cracker, baked snack and pet treat industries.
We proudly offer the world’s most technologically advanced equipment and systems from our brands:
- Thomas L. Green (which has supplied the biscuit, cracker and cookie industries since 1893);
- Reading Bakery Systems (whose long history of manufacturing expertise dates back to 1947);
- Reading Thermal (which manufactures the SCORPION® 2 Profiling System, a standard in the baking industry); and
- Exact Mixing (the world’s most innovative developer of Continuous Mixing solutions).
The World’s Oldest Snack Food
Pretzel historians believe that pretzel-making dates back to the 6th or 7th century AD, when French or Italian monks hand-shaped and baked long pieces of leftover dough to look like the crossed arms of a person in prayer. The snacks, called “Pretiola” for “little reward,” were reportedly given to children as a reward for learning their prayers.
In the U.S., pretzels were popularized right here in Pennsylvania. Reading Pretzel Machinery Company (the predecessor of Reading Bakery Systems and the first commercial pretzel bakery) was founded here in 1850.
Today, pretzels are made on highly automated production lines that can produce several thousand pounds of pretzels per hour. Decades of innovation have led Reading Bakery Systems to introduce state-of-the-art pretzel machinery, such as low-pressure extruders, ultrasonic cutters, hot cookers, 2-pass baking systems, variable heat-flux ovens, and multi-pass dryers.
Our pretzel equipment product line includes:
- Reading Pretzel Low Pressure (LP) Extruder: Produce a variety of structural, flat and filled extruded hard pretzel shapes, sticks, braids, sushki, filled sticks and bread snacks on one production line with this flexible alternative to conventional dough forming and sheeting systems.
- Reading Pretzel Guillotine Cutter: This single-blade machine cuts products before or after baking, and can create a pretzel as short as one inch (25 mm) at the press of a button. It can be operated continuously at up to 175 cuts per minute or on a cycle mode at speeds up to 50 cuts per minute.
- Omega Dispensers: Apply topping materials with uniformity by means of rotating rolls for application of pretzel salt, poppy seeds and sesame seeds, dispensing screens for delivering fine-grain spices and cinnamon, and vibrating trays that dispense toppings such as caraway seeds, nut pieces and seed/spice mixes.
- Reading Pretzel Automatic Hot Pretzel Cooker: Another integral component of our pretzel processing system, this automatically controlled cooker evenly cooks pretzels and pretzel-type products. It utilizes a bath or waterfall system to apply caustic solution, providing greater control over product texture and color before baking.
- Reading Pretzel SPECTRUM OVEN®: This flexible platform is available in a number of configurations with different heat transfer modules that allow for greater product variation with a simple profile adjustment. Radiation, convection heating and conduction zones give you repeatable control of time, temperature, humidity and the type of heat transfer.
As a leader in pretzel manufacturing production line equipment, Reading Bakery Systems is focused on innovation, reliability, ease-of-use, and worldwide service and customer support. Give us a call at (01) 610-693-5816 for more information, or click here to contact us online.