How to make quality Biscuit

How to make quality biscuit, examples of hard sweet biscuits are Marie, Petit Buerre, RichTea biscuit etc. They are characterized by an even, attractive colour and texture and good volume. Doughs for hard sweet biscuits have the following features:

● Doughs have strong, developed gluten which gives an elastic dough, which is sheeted and cut. It often shrinks in the first stage of baking

● Doughs have low sugar and fat

● Doughs have water contents typically of around 12%

● Biscuits are normally baked on a wire-mesh band (except for Marie which is traditionally baked on a steel band)

● Humidity in the first part of the baking is important to achieve good volume and a smooth surface sheen

● Biscuits are baked to low moisture contents, around 1.5–3.0%. PROCESS FOR HARD SWEET BISCUITS Example- Marie biscuit. It has a light, crisp, delicate texture, with pale colour and clear smooth surface.

● Product Specification Dimensions 66.0 mm diameter Thickness 6.0 mm Weight 8.3 g Appearance Smooth surface, clear printing Colour Pale golden Texture Crisp and light Moisture 1.5%

● Marie biscuits are made with medium protein flour and contain sodium metabisulphate (SMS) to develop a soft extensible dough. The doughs are mixed on horizontal mixers to a temperature of 40–42°C. The dough is sheeted and cut and is traditionally baked on a wire mesh or steel band.

● Critical Ingredients

1. Flour should not exceed 9.0% protein. Higher protein will result in a hard biscuit

2. Cornflour and maize flour are used to reduce the total gluten content and make a more tender eating biscuit

3. SMS will modify the protein to make a soft extensible dough.

Mixing is critical to developing the soft extensible dough. A mixing action which kneads the dough without too much tearing and extruding is ideal. Mixing time on a typical highspeed mixer will be 20–25 minutes. Marie doughs are mixed until the required temperature is achieved. The dough should reach 40–42°C. At this temperature, it should be well kneaded and of correct consistency for machining. Higher dough temperatures result in unstable doughs. The dough is used straight away without standing, and it is important to maintain the temperature.

Dough scrap incorporation is very important and should be very even and consistent. The temperature of the scrap dough should be as close as possible to the temperature of the new dough.

The doughs shrink and require good relaxation before cutting Separate cutting and printing rolls on the rotary cutter are recommended to achieve good, clear printing and docker holes (piercing of holes in the dough pieces).Baking Steam may be used at the oven entry to achieve a high humidity. This will improve the surface finish of the biscuit.

Baking time 5.0–6.5 minutes Temperatures 200/220/180°C Moisture 1.5%

info from Kent's Technology of Cereals (Fifth Edition), 2018