Biscuit production is a multi-stage, highly controlled manufacturing process that transforms raw ingredients into delicious, shelf-stable biscuits. The process integrates food science, engineering, and quality assurance to produce consistent, safe, and tasty products. Let’s take an in-depth look at each stage of the biscuit production process, including technical considerations and industry best practices.
1. Raw Material Selection and Quality Control
The production of high-quality biscuits starts with selecting premium raw materials. The main ingredients typically include:
Flour: Usually refined wheat flour, which provides structure through gluten development. Different types of flour (soft, hard, whole wheat) impact the texture and taste.
Sugar: Granulated sugar, brown sugar, or syrups for sweetness and browning.
Fats and Oils: These contribute to tenderness, flavor, and shelf life. Common fats include hydrogenated vegetable oils, butter, margarine, or shortening.
Leavening Agents: Baking powder or baking soda to help the dough rise and create a light texture.
Milk Powder/Dairy: Improves flavor, nutritional profile, and browning.
Salt: Enhances flavor and strengthens gluten.
Flavorings and Additives: Vanilla, cocoa, spices, emulsifiers, and preservatives.
Quality Control of Raw Materials:
Moisture content is critical; too high moisture in flour or sugar can affect dough consistency and final biscuit quality.
Microbiological tests ensure raw materials are free from contaminants.
Particle size distribution in flour affects dough rheology and texture.
Suppliers’ certifications and batch traceability ensure consistency.
2. Ingredient Weighing and Mixing
Accurate weighing of ingredients is fundamental to batch consistency. Industrial production lines employ automated weighing systems linked to PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers) for precision.
Mixing Process
Mixing Order: Typically, dry ingredients (flour, sugar, leavening agents, salt) are mixed first to distribute components evenly.
Fat Incorporation: Fats are gradually added and mixed to coat flour particles. This “shortens” gluten strands, leading to a crumbly texture.
Liquid Addition: Water, milk, or eggs are added last to hydrate flour and create the dough.
Mixing Time and Speed: Controlled to develop optimal dough characteristics without overworking gluten, which would make biscuits tough.
Dough Rheology Testing
Producers often measure dough viscosity, elasticity, and stickiness using rheometers or texture analyzers to maintain product consistency.
3. Dough Resting and Conditioning
Some biscuit formulations require dough resting, allowing gluten to relax and fats to crystallize properly. This step improves dough machinability and final biscuit texture.
In automated lines, resting can be integrated via controlled conveyors or holding chambers with regulated temperature and humidity.
4. Dough Sheeting and Lamination
The dough is passed through rollers to produce sheets of uniform thickness. Thickness affects baking time, texture, and mouthfeel.
Sheeting: Multiple rollers reduce the dough thickness progressively.
Lamination: For certain biscuits like puff pastries, the dough is folded and rolled repeatedly to create alternating layers of dough and fat, resulting in flakiness.
Precise control over roller gap and speed ensures uniform sheet quality.
5. Cutting, Stamping, and Forming
The dough sheet proceeds to rotary cutters or presses that stamp out biscuits in the desired shapes and sizes. This step defines the biscuit’s appearance.
Cutters may be customized with logos or patterns.
Scrap dough leftover from cutting is gathered and often recycled to minimize waste.
Modern machines feature servo motors for exact positioning and cutting speed synchronization with dough feed.
6. Baking Process
Baking is arguably the most critical step, transforming dough into a crisp, flavorful biscuit.
Oven Types
Tunnel Ovens: Conveyer-based continuous ovens where biscuits pass through controlled temperature zones.
Rack Ovens: For batch baking, mainly in smaller operations.
Deck Ovens: Multiple shelves stacked vertically, also batch style.
Baking Parameters
Temperature: Usually between 160°C and 220°C depending on biscuit type.
Time: Typically 5 to 20 minutes, adjusted based on thickness and recipe.
Humidity: Controlled airflow and humidity prevent over-drying or uneven baking.
Proper baking achieves:
Maillard reaction (browning and flavor development)
Moisture reduction for crispness and shelf life
Proper expansion and structure setting
7. Cooling
Post-baking, biscuits are hot and vulnerable to damage. They pass through cooling tunnels or conveyors with forced airflow.
Cooling reduces product temperature to near ambient to prevent condensation insid
e packaging.
It also stabilizes texture and prevents breakage during handling.
8. Decoration, Coating, and Filling (Optional)
Many biscuits receive additional processing:
Icing or Glazing: Using sugar syrups or chocolate coatings applied by spraying or enrobing machines.
Sandwich Filling: Cream, jam, or chocolate fillings are deposited and sandwiched between two biscuit layers.
Toppings: Sprinkling nuts, seeds, or sugar crystals prior to baking or after.
Automation ensures uniformity and precise portioning.
9. Quality Assurance and Testing
Throughout production, quality checks are performed:
Visual Inspection: Detect surface defects, color variations.
Texture Analysis: Measuring hardness, crispness using instruments.
Moisture Content: Ensures proper drying.
Microbiological Testing: Critical for food safety, testing for pathogens and spoilage organisms.
Chemical Analysis: Verifies ingredient levels, additive compliance.
Some factories use vision systems with AI to automatically detect defects at high speed.
10. Packaging and Storage
Once cooled and inspected, biscuits are packaged to preserve freshness and protect from moisture and physical damage.
Primary Packaging: Flow wrap or foil packs sealing individual or multiple biscuits.
Secondary Packaging: Cartons or boxes for retail display.
Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP): Replacing oxygen with inert gases to prolong shelf life.
Storage conditions are controlled to avoid humidity and temperature fluctuations.
Summary
The biscuit production process is an intricate chain from raw material selection to packaging, involving precise control of each step to achieve consistent quality. Modern biscuit factories rely heavily on automation, data monitoring, and quality assurance systems to meet large-scale demand while ensuring safety and taste. Understanding each stage helps manufacturers innovate and improve efficiency, producing biscuits enjoyed worldwide.
