How is Soft biscuit manufactured in a factory? Biscuits can be made in different shapes and sizes and all of them require that the correct proportions are mixed together. In fact, biscuits are produced in four different stages. The first stage of manufacturing a biscuit involves mixing the ingredients in the right proportions in a large mixer. Then, the dough ingredients are combined into the correct proportions, and finally the finished biscuit is baked in a tunnel oven.
Equipment
Regardless of how much experience the user has in manufacturing cookies, they will likely run into problems while using equipment. From man-made errors to external factors, the equipment will eventually encounter wear and tear. Proper operation can minimize damage and extend its service life. To avoid damage, proper operation should also include cleaning after production and the replacement of worn parts. Here are a few tips to keep your biscuit production line in tip-top shape.
Dutch ovens: These are the primary ingredient in soft biscuits, and their baking temperature must be at least 250°C. To achieve this, biscuit manufacturers use large ovens. The Baker-Green cutting machine is one example of the many types of equipment used in soft biscuit manufacturing. It can feed multiple band ovens and feeds biscuits in a continuous stream onto each band. By contrast, many manufacturers use a single-width band oven to produce cream crackers.
Ingredients
The key to soft biscuits is a well-blended dough. You will need two cups of all-purpose flour, half a cup of unsalted butter, and a teaspoon of baking powder. Another important ingredient is buttermilk, which has a high acidity level. This adds a delicate tang to the biscuits while adding a tender crumb. Make sure your buttermilk is cold before adding it to the dough.
Once the ingredients are mixed together, place them on a baking sheet, and pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. When biscuits come out of the oven, brush the tops with melted butter. Be sure to keep all the ingredients cold, as hot ingredients will release steam and react with the leavening. The cold butter can be cut into small pieces with a fork or pastry blender. Once the dry ingredients are mixed well, gradually add the milk.
Baking process
The baking process of soft biscuits involves a series of chemical and physical changes that take place in the dough piece. The first half of the oven contains high temperature to promote the chemical and physical changes to occur in the dough piece. Some trials reveal that a specific temperature limit should be observed to ensure a consistent and high quality of the biscuits. Further experiments will be needed to determine this exact temperature limit and a suitable baking time.
The colouring of biscuits is achieved by several processes that happen in a bakery. Starch molecules are partially dissolved in water, and they absorb some of the water in the dough. As the temperature rises, they begin to form pyrodextrins, which are brown in colour. These products are cooked at high temperatures during the browning process. The biscuit’s surface may be coated in caramelised sugar, which is a chemical reaction. It takes place between 100 and 200 degC. During this process, different sugars react, giving the biscuit its distinctive colour and flavour.
Tunnel oven
A factory tunnel oven is a type of baking chamber. It can be direct gas, electric, or hybrid. These ovens have the advantage of stabilizing temperatures within normal baking parameters. The tunnel oven’s temperature and humidity can be controlled during the entire baking process and are regulated to achieve the correct biscuit structure and colour. This is crucial for biscuits that need to be fresh, soft, and chewy, yet can also be packaged as ready-to-serve products.
To produce butter biscuits, the dough piece should be sufficiently flexible. In addition, low oven temperatures cause the moisture to condense on the dough piece. This makes the first baking zone humid, and injecting steam into the chamber can help reduce the amount of moisture in the biscuits. The dough piece is shaped by stamping and forming the mass. The forming drum’s cells determine the size and shape of the biscuit’s surface.
Rotary cutter
The dough that is made with SMS is usually sheeted without lamination. The scrap temperature of the dough should be near to that of the new dough. The dough sheet is reduced gently by a ratio of 2.5 to one. After reducing, the dough sheet should be allowed to shrink to a certain extent. Using separate cutting and printing rolls is recommended to achieve docker holes and clear printing. The oven entry may be equipped with a steam system that enhances the surface finish.
Soft biscuits are produced with the help of a rotary moulder. Short doughs are fed into this moulding machine. The moulding roller is made of gun metal and is coated with food-grade Teflon. The excess dough is scraped off using a knife held in a tool steel holder. The discharge cotton web is pressed against the moulding roller by an adjustable rubber roller. The pieces are extruded to the web in perfect symmetry.
Sheeting machine
The Sheeting machine for soft biscuits in factory has two rolls, one for printing and the other for cutting. Both are covered with a 15 mm food grade rubber jacket. The pressure of each roll is controlled and uniformly applied to the sheet. The resulting biscuits are of the desired thickness, and the sheets can be easily shaped and arranged by varying relaxation time. Here are some features of this machine.
This machine is equipped with a rotary cutter, which produces different shapes by rotating the rollers with cups. Then, a laminator flattens the dough and passes it under the gauge roll stand. The biscuits produced from the rotary cutter are supplied to an oven for baking. This machine is the basic piece of equipment in the biscuit making factory. The basic components of the Sheeting Machine include dough cutter, laminator, gauge roll stand, biscuit pressing machine, and biscuit oven.
