Bakery Product Processing

Chapter 1: Mixing, Dough Making

The first stage in dough processing is mixing. During mixing both the development of the
dough and the temperature of the dough are established. If one or both is not achieved during
the process, the product quality will suffer.

Mixing process
 All ingredients must be correctly weighed and that all ingredients should be added to the
dough.
 An easy method to check whether there is yeast in the dough or not is to put a little piece
of dough in lukewarm water. After a while it should start floating because CO2 is
produced, which changes the specific weight of the dough. The dough becomes lighter, so
it begins to float in the water.

Dough mixing has a number of objectives:

1. to uniformly incorporate all ingredients,
2. to hydrate the flour and the other dry ingredients, and
3. to develop the gluten.

o In a conventional spiral mixer, the mixing time for a dough of about 165 kg will be
around 12 min, depending on such factors as the quality of the flour and the mixing
method

o The mixing time is influenced by a many factors, including: the speed of the mixer, mixer
design, dough size in relation to mixer capacity, dough temperature, water absorption of
the flour (influenced by the particle size), amount and type of reducing and oxidizing
agents.

o The molecular entity that gives dough its cohesiveness and structure is gluten. Gluten is a
tightly coiled protein that, like many other naturally occurring fibrous substances,
contains a substantial number of di-sulfide bonds. Di-sulfide bonds are nature’s means of
giving fibrous structures strength and rigidity.

o Oxygen is needed for the oxidation reaction, provided by oxidizing agents such as
ascorbic acid or calcium peroxide. The function of the oxidizing agent is to oxidize the
sulfhydryl groups to di-sulfide bonds and strengthen the dough.
o After the gluten is mechanically uncoiled, oxidation (promoted by an oxidizing agent)
helps maintain the volume gains made during the expansion of the dough by the
fermentation process.

o No-time dough systems are currently much more than an emergency system for dough
production. The reason for choosing a short-time ferment system is simple: time savings

o The use of reducing agents can be a very important economic tool for the baker, because
decreases the mixing time in a batch-process mixer. Thus, allowing more dough to be
processed in a shorter length of time. L-Cysteine, Sorbic acid,

Automating the mixing room

The challenges encountered in the mixing room are to

(i) reduce or eliminate the mixing room personnel,
(ii) minimize the tasks of the mixing room personnel,
(iii) maintain or improve product quality with no formulation changes,
(iv) ensure the consistency of product from batch to batch,
(v) produce products having different recipes, and
(vi) to accomplish points (i)–(v) with proven and reliable conventional mixing technology.

The major benefits and savings resulting from the automation of the batch mixing process;
• Labour savings
• Reasonable cost
• Inventory control
• Product consistency
• Simplified troubleshooting

Temperature control

• During the mixing process, the temperature of the dough rises due to heat generated by
the frictional forces and the heat of hydration of the flour.
• To cool down the dough and to remove the excess heat generated during the mixing
process, the baker can use one of the following methods:
Add ice to the dough, use chilled water to make the dough, refrigerate the mixing bowl, use a
saturated salt solution, cool down the ingredients;
Calculation of the friction factor:-
Imagine the temperature of the dough after mixing was 26 °C, the room temperature 23 °C,
flour temperature 33 °C, and the water temperature was 12 °C.

Then the friction factor:-

Calculation of the desired water temperature:

To make dough of 25 °C in a bakery where the temperature is 24 °C with flour which has a
temperature of 30 °C, water of the following temperature will be needed

Calculation of the quantity of ice needed

You have to make dough that contains 100 kg of flour, 62 kg of water, 2 kg of yeast, and 1.8
kg of salt. The temperature of the bakery is 28 °C, the temperature of the flour is 35 °C, and
the temperature of the available water is 6 °C. The desired dough temperature is 25 °C. The
friction factor for that particular mixer equals 18 °C. How much ice would be needed to
achieve this temperature?
First calculate the desired ice/water temperature

Second, The quantity of ice needed equals:

Degassing, Texturizing and Dough Making : Read by Yourself

Fermentation
The major microorganisms involved in fermentation are yeast and lactic acid bacteria.
The variation in fermented bakery products depends on the flour variety, ingredients,
and fermentation technology used.

1. Baker’s yeast fermentation

Today, baker’s yeast is regarded as Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Media for the inoculum
should be composed of sugars, minerals, vitamins and salts, and the number of yeast
cells can be effectively increased with intensive aeration.
In addition, the nutrient feed, pH regulation, and temperature monitoring should be
carefully controlled.

2. Lactic acid bacteria fermentation ;

Lactic acid bacteria used in traditional sourdough are employed variously to develop a
diversity of flavour and texture in bakery products.
Generally, these bacteria can be classified into three groups including obligate
homofermentative bacteria (such as Lactobacillus acidophilus); obligately
heterofermentative bacteria (such as La. brevis, La. fermentum,) and facultative
heterofermentive bacteria (such as La. plantarum, La. Pentosus).
Sourdough is a mixture of flour (usually wheat flour or rye flour) and water, fermented
with lactic acid bacteria with or without the addition of yeast.
Generation of carbon dioxide gas
• Carbon dioxide gas is generated during yeast fermentation. The generation rate is related
to the number of yeast cells and rate of metabolism of yeast. After carbon dioxide gas is
generated, it migrates towards the initial nuclei of air bubbles (which are formed during
mixing), to develop a foam-like structure with pores. As a result, dough volume is
expanded.

• The curve of dough volume expansion can be characterized in three phases including lag,
growth, and stationary phases. The lag phase is the time taken for the initial yeast
fermentation and for the carbon dioxide gas produced to diffuse towards the air nuclei.
The subsequent phase is where the dough expands to reach the maximum volume. In the
last phase, the gas generation rate is balanced by the rate of gas leaving the dough.
Therefore, the volume expansion remains constant.

Fermented dough making processes and monitoring systems

1. Straight dough processes
The straight dough process is simple and quick. All ingredients are mixed in a single
stage and allowed to bulk ferment for 3–4 h, therefore quality of the fermented dough
may be quite variable. Therefore, gas production rate is kept high and dough volume is
improved and controlled.

2. ‘No-time’ dough process

The ‘no-time’ dough process involves a very short fermentation time which is achieved
by increasing the number of fermentative microorganisms. The quality of the dough
developed through using the ‘no-time’ process may be poorer than that developed by the
straight dough process, due to insufficient fermentation time.

3. Sponge dough process

The first lot, including flour (around 50–80% of total), yeast, and other ingredients are
mixed with water, to obtain fairly stiff dough called ‘sponge’. The sponge is fermented
for 3–5 h to develop a web-like structure which enables gas retention. After 60–70% of
the fermentation time, the dough may collapse.
Then the second lot of ingredients is mixed with the sponge using high-speed mixing, and
this mix is allowed to ferment for another 15–30 min to complete the required volume
expansion.
Storage – quality characteristics and deterioration during storage

High Moisture Content Bakery Products;

• The shelf-life of bakery products can be as short as a few hours or as long as a year,
depending on the type of product and the storage and packaging conditions.
• Bakery products with high moisture content may also develop bacterial infection, the
most common of which is “ropiness” caused by Bacillus subtilis, a spore-forming
bacteria. Ropiness is usually detected by the discoloration and stickiness of the crumb and
the development of a characteristic Odor and taste in the loaf.
•
• In intermediate moisture products (aw = 0.6–0.85), osmophilic yeasts and Molds are the
predominant spoilage microorganisms; while in products with the highest moisture (aw =
0.94–0.99), almost all bacteria, yeasts, and Molds are capable of growth.
•
• Bakery products tend to dry out rapidly as water migrates from the crumb, and acquire a
firmer texture and a drier, harder eating character. The crust, however, tends to become
rubbery or soggy.
•
Low Moisture Bakery Products:
Products with low moisture content, such as biscuits, are susceptible to loss of crispness
and sensitive to (moisture) and oxygen reactions.

Since these products also contain high fat levels, they can also exhibit rancidity
phenomena when exposed to moisture and the atmosphere, which can be readily detected
by taste and odour even at fairly low levels.
Packaging

• Packaging plays a very important role in delivering safe, wholesome, and attractive
foods to customers. It includes the processes and materials employed to contain,
handle, protect, and transport a product
•