The North Coast is home to the largest bakery in Southern Africa, capable of producing an incredible 23 000 loaves an hour – or nearly 4 million loaves a week.
The Sasko bakery outside Shakaskraal, which is the primary producer and distribution hub of bread loaves in KwaZulu-Natal, is massive.
It has been running since December of 2013 at an investment cost of around R750 million, said bakery manager Aupa Mofokeng.
“We are able to do production, packaging and delivery on site which allows us to keep up with orders across the province.”
The bakery has a workforce of 760 employees who work on a rotational shift basis, enabling the bakery to operate 24/7.
It is also equipped with an on-site medical centre and quick-response repair team for that same purpose, to ensure that delays in production are kept to a minimum.
The bakery is split into 4 floors totalling 23 790 square metres of floor space which is equivalent to almost 3 full size rugby fields.
The top level is used to store ingredients, and the production continues down through the levels with the aid of specialist elevators and assembly machines.
The second floor is where the mixing is done on a massive scale which is fully automated but controlled by supervisors who track temperature, moisture content and volumes.
“Every single batch is recorded so that we can forecast our production ability and for quality control purposes,” said Mofokeng.”
Ultimately what we need to ensure is that every loaf of bread is consistent, and on such a large scale, that means constant oversight and quality control measures are crucial.”
The blend, which is flour, liquid yeast and salt, is mixed for 3 minutes and is then pared down into a divider as it makes its way to the ground floor, which ensures a standard weight for the final product.
It is then left to rest for 21 minutes to allow all ingredients to activate and is then transferred to the baking moulds in which it proofs for 60 minutes.
The dough is cut into four pieces within the mould which allows it to rise at a controlled rate as it is baked.
After the proofing process is completed, and all quality control checks have been done, the moulds continue down the assembly line and are baked for 21 minutes in a paraffin powered oven.
The temperature varies as the bread makes its way through the oven, starting at 188 degrees Celsius, up to 255 and back down to 188.
The way the assembly line is set up means that baking is not done in sections and there can be a continuous stream of production.
Although the three assembly lines are rated to produce a combined 23 000 loaves per hour, there is wastage along the process which means it produces closer to 18 000 at peak.
“The dough that is wasted as a result of overfilling or issues in the mixing process is baked off and given to animal shelters around the North Coast.”
Finally the bread is sliced, checked and packed. Blue light tests ensure there is no mould on the bread and metal detectors check that no machinery dislodged and fell into one of the trays.
10 lines of bread are produced in white, brown, wholewheat, low GI and smart bread flavours.
All other speciality loaves, which include seeds and other specific ingredients are produced in Krugersdorp and Cape Town and transported to KwaZulu-Natal.
The lowest level of the bakery is underground, there the loaves are stored before being sent to shops across the country.
Although the trucks used by Sasko are leased, there is a repair facility on the premises to keep them in top shape.
“We are looking at a big December as people travel internally this year as a result of the coronavirus, so we will be extra busy with the demand which is never a bad thing.”
