Ingredients used in Biscuit manufacturing process

Ingredients used in Biscuit manufacturing:

1. Flour:

Soft wheat flour is the main component in most recipes. Wheat flour consists of 65 - 75% starch and 7- 16% protein. When water is added, during the makeup of dough, starch absorbs a significant amount of water and may act as filler in the continuous protein network with the proteins. During baking, starch granules get gelatinized, which is a major part of the dough. Cookies, crackers flours are normally not treated with additives. For cookies to be premium quality, soft wheat flour containing 8 to 10% protein and less than 0.4% ash content is ideally suited.

2. Water:

Water affects textural properties of baked products. Water acts as a plasticizer, and the amount of water used is adjusted to produce a batter or dough of acceptable consistency for processing. Water is needed for hydrating the proteins, gelatinizing the starch, making leavening agent function, activating the enzymes, dissolving sugar and salt, as well as acting as major heat transfer mechanism during baking through evaporation and condensation.

3.Fat:

Fat provides shortness character to the products, like soft, pleasant and crumbly texture. Fats and oils are used in dough and batters, in surface sprays and in cream fillings and coatings such as chocolates. Bakery fats are often premixed with or used in conjunction with emulsifiers. The function of emulsifier is to promote formation and stabilization of water/fat/air emulsions.

4. Sugar:

Sugar is most important ingredient after flour in soft wheat products such as biscuits, cookies, cakes, etc. Apart from providing sweetness to the product, sweeteners provide one or more of the following functions: tenderizing, texture, yeast nutrient and fermentation control, stabilizing, bulking agent, humactancy, flavour, crust colour and shelf-life extension. Sucrose, corn syrup solids, invert sugar, honey, glucose syrup and certain permitted intense sweeteners are used in manufacture of soft wheat products.

5. Salt:

Salt is added to dough as a seasoning or as flavour enhancer. Salt also inhibits yeast growth and thus help in controlling the fermentation.

6. Other ingredients:

• Various other ingredients are used in the manufacture of biscuits such as leavening agents, emulsifiers, chocolates, egg products, dairy products, fat replacers, spices, flavours, colours, icing, etc.
• Baking powder is widely used for leavening of the cookies and biscuits mixture. It controls the spread and imparts lightness to the product. Excess use of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) than recommended may impart alkaline flavour to the end product. Ammonium bicarbonate should be used in products which are quite dry after baking, otherwise ammonium odour will be retained if the product is moist. Baking soda is combination of sodium bicarbonate and an acid salt. During baking, in presence of moisture, gas will evolve which helps in leavening of product.
• Baking powder are of three kinds:

1.      Fast acting: Most of the CO₂ is released during bench operations and very little gas is released during baking.

2.      Slow acting: All the gas is released during baking.

3.      Double acting: This is most widely used baking powder by the bakers. This type of baking soda releases part of gas during bench operations and part of the gas during baking.

• Milk solids have a binding action on the flour proteins. When milk solids are used in large amount, they cause less spread of the cookies and biscuits.
• Eggs, if added, give structure, impart flavour and taste. If it is used in large amounts, it may result in giving biscuits and cookies a rise rather than spread. Egg yolk produces a tender cookies than whole egg.