BAKI NG+BI SCUI T I SSUE 04 2011

R E S E A R C H
Continuous biscuit doughs
HA R D B I S C U I T S A R E NO R MA L LY MA N UF A C T U R E D ON C ONT I N UOU S LY OP E R AT I NG L I N E S Y S T E MS .
H O WE V E R , T H E D O U G H P R E P A R A T I O N P R O C E S S S T E P S T I L L R E MA I N S T H E D O MA I N O F T H E
S P I R A L MI X E R . T H A T C O U L D C H A N G E : T H E Z E P P E L I N R E I ME LT G MB H C O MP A N Y, R D E R MA R K ,
G E R MA N Y, H A S D E V E L O P E D A C O N T I N U O U S MI X I N G S Y S T E M
3 0
M G
legend:
1 high-performance pre-mixer for dry products
2 depositor TS-Premix (gravimetric)
3 butter dosing unit; tempered (gravimetric)
4 pre-storage container glucose (tempered)
5 pre-storage container for leavening agent solution (alternatively)
6 dosing pump for liquids
7 CODOS

(tempered) with special kneading attachements and restructured catchment area

8 dough resting belt (approx. 2030 min)
M
1 3
6
5
8
M
tempered
(ice) water
7
Flour, sugar, skimmed milk powder,
salt if necessary, leavening agent
Block of butter,
chilled
Glucose syrup,
temperature-controlled
Solution of leavening
agent if necessary
30 m
in
4
6 6
2
Technological solution for the butter biscuit type of hard biscuits
(dough temperature max. 25C)
+
Spiral mixers are so popular in the biscuit industry
because their very compact, robust construction and
their tool design, which is aimed very much at the input of
shear energy, enables the manufacture of hard biscuit doughs
of the appropriate quality. The main reason why no con-
tinuously operating mixing system has so far gained accept-
ance in the manufacture of hard biscuit doughs across the
entire breadth of the product range lies essentially in the wide
range of variability in the main recipe ingredients (flour,
sugar, fat and water) and the consequent special require-
ments applying to the mixing process. An additional factor
is that even slight changes in the main recipe ingredients
can lead to very considerable changes in the development of
structure by the doughs during mixing.
In addition, the formation of doughs for hard biscuits is
especially affected, in particular, by the following influencing
parameters:
1. Te proportion of water required to develop a gluten matrix
is small (max. 4050 % of the possible water absorption
according to the ICC Standard No. 115/1, Method for using
the Brabender Farinograph) however the formation of
a gluten matrix is also undesirable, which is why low-
protein flours are used. The recipe design, which is on the
whole low in water and fat, delays the creation of dough
structures. From the machine technology viewpoint, this
is reflected in most cases in the mixture of ingredients be-
having poorly at the point of intake into the mixing tools
(especially at the start of the mixing process), which has
up to now led to long mixing times.
When being implemented in continuous mixing systems,
this results in long residence times and the associated
corresponding requirements applying to the technical sizing
of the mixing system.
2. As a rule, a large input of shear energy is needed to develop
the doughs, resulting essentially from the small propor-
tion of water.
a. The presence of fat (in a plastic, pasty and possibly liquid
form) hinders the hydration of the endosperm and thus
the development of the gluten network. Depending on
the amount of fat, aggregation may even be preventable
++ figure 1

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by encapsulating the flour particles, which is specifi-
cally exploited to achieve the required plastic dough
structures.
b. The additional presence of rather large amounts of sugar
(in different states) further delays dough development
(by up to 30 min in batch mixing processes).
3. For the majority of hard biscuit doughs, dough temperatures
around 40 C are associated with considerable effects on
swelling and dissolution processes during dough develop-
ment, as well as with the possible triggering of chemically
induced leavening effects (raising agent).
Recipe demarcation of hard biscuit groups
Biscuits, especially hard biscuits, are long-life baked goods;
a distinction is usually made between biscuits and crackers.
SEIBEL [1991] distinguishes between the following groups
of hard biscuit doughs: butter biscuits, Albert biscuits and
cake biscuits. The essential recipe characteristics that dis-
tinguish between these hard biscuit representatives are the
proportions of fat and sugar, involving a decrease in the
proportion of fat from 20 % through 14 % to 10 %, while the
proportion of sugar increases from 22 % through 25 % to 28 %.
Alternatively, the proportion of water remains unchanged at
around 20 %. At least with regard to butter biscuits, this shift
in the ingredients leads to a completely different dough
structure development.
A butter biscuit dough containing 20 % butter, 22 % sugar
and around 20 % water behaves like a short pastry in dough
preparation. In this respect it differs completely from the
hard biscuit types in the Albert or cake biscuit group,
both of which have a dough temperature around 40 C. Con-
sequently a distinction between cold and warm dough with
regard to the target dough temperature is mandatory for
technological reasons and is more sensible than the distinction
between soft and hard biscuit dough often encountered in
the specialist literature.
The basic technical-technological concept of the
butter biscuit type of hard biscuit (cold dough)
However, due to the distinctly lower fat content compared to
a classical short pastry (e.g. 1-1-2 with 5 % water for short
pastry piecrusts [Kaiser, 2011]), the dough pasting properties
play a particular role, especially when implementing con-
tinuous dough preparation using Zeppelin Reimelts CODOS
continuous mixing system. Without a suitable adaptation of
the tool design, the raw materials are insufficiently pulled
into the mixing tools. Congestion occurs in the intake region,
which can only be compensated by raising the mixer rotation
speed. However, the input of mixer energy is of only secondary
importance for this dough type. Consequently it was necessary
to make a technical change to the tools that were suitable for
the dough system to avoid the congestion.
R E S E A R C H 3 1
BAKI NG+BI SCUI T I SSUE 04 2011
BAKI NG+BI SCUI T I SSUE 04 2011
Marie biscuit
++ figure 2
R E S E A R C H 3 2
Since many industrial applications for butter biscuits (cold
dough) contain sugar in the form of powdered sugar, which
is also often ground in the bakerys own sugar mills and
thus frequently also needs to be processed at temperatures
> 40 C, adherence to the dough temperature is a serious
problem.
This problem can be exacerbated if liquid sugar (e.g. glucose)
is processed. The temperature of the glucose needs to be ad-
justed to approx. 35 C to enable it to be metered in. The
thermal physical potential of the remaining bulk water (dis-
pensed as ice water) together with the temperature-con-
trolled butter, in conjunction with the mixing systems
trough wall cooling, must then be sufficient to guarantee the
required temperature with an adequate mixing intensity.
Te usual form in which the raising agent is added as a solution
represents another problem. Part of the bulk water is used
for this purpose. For example six, or better still seven parts
of water are needed to dissolve one part of ammonium hy-
drogen carbonate in water, which reduces the available cooling
potential of the remaining bulk water. A suitable process
technology solution to dispense a homogeneous dispersion
of the raising agent in the CODOS system was developed
for this purpose.
Achieving a uniform (i.e. gravimetrically controlled) dis-
pensing of plasticised, cooled butter is technically challeng-
ing but urgently necessary.
Based on the achieved thermal management of the raw ma-
terials batches to be dispensed and the design of the CODOS
systems mixing tools specifically adapted to the dough, a
technical-technological process concept (figure 1 on page 34)
for butter biscuit dough (cold dough) was developed by the
IGV GmbH Company, Bergholz-Rehbrcke, Germany, and
technically implemented by the Zeppelin Reimelt GmbH
Company. The concept enables this typical market represent-
ative of hard biscuits to be manufactured industrially using
the CODOS system.
First of all the technical-technological concept was trialled
on the IGV pilot plant. Subsequent full-scale tests using
Zeppelin Reimelts test plant allowed the laboratory test
results to be confirmed on an industrial scale.
The production test was operated at plant throughputs of up
to 2.5 t of dough per hour.
The prospects for the continuous manu facture of hard
biscuits of the warm dough type, e.g. the Marie biscuit
Due to the even smaller proportion of water and fat in hard
biscuit dough of the warm dough type, the 1st phase of
mixing (dough pasting) plays an even more important role.
In addition to the special design of the mixing tools in the
intake area, dough pasting is achieved by a targeted thermal
process management of raw materials batches with a selected
composition. A distinct partial acceleration of the dough
pasting process is achieved by targeting prior temperature
adjustment (in this case warming) batches of raw materials
specifically matched to the respective recipe. In addition to
the prior temperature adjustment of the raw materials
batches, this process can be further assisted by specific tem-
perature control of the mixer trough, as figure 2 shows.
Both the dough physics data (measured with a Texture Ana-
lyser) and the fracture data (also measured with a Texture
Analyser) of the biscuits manufactured were very largely
comparable as a result of implementing this concept.
Te key strategy when implementing hard biscuit applications
(type: warm dough) to a continuous production method
Dough production takes place in a temperature controlled laboratory spiral mixer with a trough volume of 10 l. The target dough temperature should be 42.5 C.
mixer untempered/without targeted tempering
mixing time: 20:52 min; dough temperature 42.5 C
mixer tempered: 45 C /batches tempered
mixing time: 5:20 min; dough temperature: 42.5 C
stress-strain
dough profile
stress-strain
dough profile
biscuit
break test

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force (g) force (g) force (g)
biscuit
break test
force (g)
length (mm) length (mm) length (mm) length (mm)
using the CODOS system is based in principle on partially compensating the
mechanically induced energy input into the biscuit dough material system by
thermally induced energy. The aim of this is not to replace the input of mechanical
shear energy by thermal energy but to utilise this process technology element in
such a way as to achieve a meaningful acceleration of the 1st mixing phase (dough
pasting). In practice this can de facto make a large reduction in the mixing time
(by up to a maximum of 50 % compared to the batch process), with the result that
the residence times achievable in the CODOS system are suf cient.
The IGV GmbH Company is currently working to further optimise this process
strategy (assignment of recipe groups) and is expected to be able to complete the
work by the end of the year.
Literature references
+ Seibel, W.: Fine baked goods, Fundamentals and progress of foodstuffs testing
and food technology, Verlag Paul Parey, Berlin und Hamburg, 1991, p. 54
+ Kaiser, H.: Fundamentals of fine baked goods, Training material, series of
courses: Technischer Bcker Module 3: Fine baked goods, Volume 2011, IGV
GmbH, Nuthetal
+ Monohar, R.; Rao, H.: Effects of Sugar on the Rheological Characteristics of
Biscuit Doughs and Quality of Biscuits, J Sci Food Agric 1997, issue 75, pages
383-390
+ Manohar, R.S. and Rao, P.H.: Effect of emulsifiers, fat level and type on the
rheological characteristics of biscuit dough and quality of biscuits. J. Sci. Food
Agric., 1999, Issue 79, pages 1223-1231.
+ Chevallier, S.; Colonna, A.; Della Valle, G.; Lourdin, D.: Contribution of
Major Ingredients during Baking of Biscuit Dough Systems, Journal of Cereal
Science, 31 (2000), pages 241-252
The studies are funded in the context of the R&D project (Reg. No.: EP091243)
by the German Federal Ministry of Economics. The project will be completed in
October 2011. +++
R E S E A R C H
Authors
Dipl. Ing. Frank Zehle (IGV GmbH);
Thomas Ismar (Zeppelin Reimelt GmbH) +++

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++ figure 3
The laboraty test results
have been confirmed on an
industrial scale at the
CODOS

system; here a
typical installation
++ figure 3
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