LALLEMAND

BAKING UPDATE Cookies andBiscuits

VOLUME 2 / NUMBER 19

AMERICANYEASTSALES

Practical technology from Lallemand Inc., parent of American Yeast Sales,producers and distributors of Eagle yeast, fresh and instant.

Continued

StructureBuilders andTenderizers

Ingredients used in baked goods such ascookies, biscuits, crackers, and cakes aresometimes categorized as structure build-ers or tenderizers. Structure builders are,in general, the ingredients that strongly in-teract to build the continuous structure ina product that keeps the product togetherand gives it its firmness. Tenderizers are in-gredients that interrupt this structure, thusmaking the product more soft and tender.While the classification of ingredients intostructure builders and tenderizers differsfrom one product to another, it can still bea useful concept when adjusting a formulato obtain certain product characteristics.

Flour is a structure builder in most bakedgoods (cookies, cakes, crackers, and bread).Gluten protein develops during mixing toform a continuous structure in the dough sothe baked product can become very hardand tough when specific volume of the prod-uct or its moisture content is low. This is un-desirable for cookies, crackers, and biscuits,and, therefore, tenderizers are added that in-terrupt the continuous gluten structure orprevent the formation of such a continuousgluten structure.

Shortening (oil), when used at highlevels, is the main ingredient used as a ten-derizer. It shortens the gluten structure bypreventing proper hydration of the flourparticles, the first step in the developmentof a continuous gluten structure.

Proteases break down the continuousgluten protein and are used to improve ten-derness of cookies and crackers.

Sugar lowers water activity, and highlevels prevent a quick hydration of glutenprotein. High sugar levels in cookies willalso prevent the starch from gelatinizingduring baking so it cannot set up a continu-ous structure in the product. Therefore,sugar usually acts as a tenderizer. In sugar-snap cookies, however, sugar (sucrose)

THE WORD biscuit is of Frenchorigin and means twice cooked.In earlier times some dough prod-ucts were baked twice, once to set the struc-ture of the product and again to further re-duce the moisture content so the productacquired a long shelf life. This way travelers,soldiers, and sailors could use these storage-stable products as their principal foodsource. Nowadays, only a few products arebaked twice (for example, rusks, biscotti,croutons, and Melba toast), while most bis-cuits and cookies are baked only once.

In Europe the word biscuit is used forlow-moisture products that are made withhigh levels of sugar and shorteningprod-ucts that are called cookies in the UnitedStates. In the U.S., biscuit refers to a uniqueAmerican product that was introduced byeighteenth century colonists and has be-come especially popular in the South. TheU.S. biscuit is a chemically leavened prod-uct with a moisture content similar to bread,but produced by a different process and withquite a different taste and texture. To avoidconfusion, the U.S. terminology for biscuitsand cookies will be used from here on.

COOKIESIn general, cookies are made from soft wheatflour, contain high levels of sugar and short-ening, and have a low moisture content.

All cookies are produced from low-proteinsoft flours, using gentle mixing to producea dough without developing the gluten pro-tein. Industrially produced cookies can becategorized into three general types by theway the cookie dough is divided and placedon the band of a long tunnel oven.

Rotary-mold cookies are produced fromdough that is forced into the molds of arotating drum. While the drum turns, theexcess dough is scraped off, and the doughpieces with the imprint from the mold areextracted from the cavity and placed on theband of the tunnel oven for baking. Theconsistency of the cookie dough is criticalfor this type of operation and has to be care-fully controlled. Rotary-mold cookie for-mulations contain intermediate levels ofshortening and sugar, but low levels of wa-ter. These cookies do not expand muchduring baking, so the imprint from the moldremains visible after baking. Because of thelow water content in the dough, less energyis required during baking. The low watercontent in the dough and the high outputof the line make rotary-type cookies themost economical to produce.

Cutting-machine cookies are producedfrom dough with less sugar, less shortening,and more water than rotary-mold cookies.Therefore, some gluten is developed duringmixing that holds the dough together

COOKIE FORMULAS

ROTARY MOLD CUTTING MACHINE WIRE-CUT AND DEPOSIT

Flour 100% 100% 100%

Sugar 2050% 25% 3075% (varies)

Shortening 2540% 25% 3060% (varies)

Water 10% (varies) 1020% (varies) 1020% (varies)

Baking powder 5% (varies) 5% (varies) 5% (varies)

Salt 1.5% 1.5% 1.5%

Eggs 05% (varies) 05% (varies) 7.510%

Flavoring varies varies varies

Milk powder 02% (varies) 02% (varies) 02% (varies)

Cookie and Biscuit Production

Continued

Lallemand Baking Update Volume 2/Number 19

AMERICANYEASTSALES

Lallemand Baking Update is produced byLallemand Inc. to provide bakers with asource of practical technology for solvingproblems. If you would like to be on ourmailing list to receive future copies, or ifyou have questions or comments, pleasecontact us at:

LALLEMAND Inc.1620 PrfontaineMontral, QC H1W 2N8 CANADAtel: (800) 840-4047 (514) 522-2133fax: (514) 255-6861

To the best of our knowledge, the information inLallemand Baking Update is true and accurate. How-ever, any recommendations or suggestions are madewithout warranty or guarantee.

2000 Lallemand Inc.

LALLEMAND products are distributed by itssubsidiaries, AMERICAN YEAST SALES andLALLEMAND DISTRIBUTION.

LALLEMAND

BAKING UPDATELALLEMAND

Cookies and Biscuits (Continued)

Lallemand Baking Ingredients

LALLEMAND Inc. is a leading pro- ducer of yeast, baking powders, and dough conditioners and supplies acomplete assortment of baking ingredientsdistributed through Lallemand Distributionand American Yeast Sales. All Lallemandproducts are backed with problem-solvingtechnical support from experienced bakingtechnicians.

For producers of cookies and biscuits,the following products are of interest:

Eagle Double Acting Baking Powderand Eagle Bakers Cream are supplied inten-pound pails and fifty-pound bags.

Special baking powders tailored to specificrequirements of the particular product orbakery can be provided.

LBI 2130 and LBI 2133 are flavorproducts based on inactive yeast that areused for taste and flavor enhancement inbaked goods such as biscuits and cookies.

Fermaid is a range of enzyme-baseddough conditioners for improving the prod-uct characteristics of baked goods includ-ing bread, cakes, crackers, cookies, andbiscuits.

TYPICAL BISCUIT FORMULA AND PROCESS

FORMULA

Flour 100%

Shortening 20 (1040)%

Sugar 4 (015)%

Baking powder 5 (46)%

Salt 2 (13)%

(Butter)milk 65 (6070)%

Whole eggs 0% (varies)

PROCESS

Mixing Short time and doughtemperature of 6065F

Resting 15 minutes (varies)

Sheeting 3/8 inch (varies)

Cutting 231/4 inch

Baking 1015 minutes at 475F

during sheeting, so the cookies can be cutout, with the scrap dough returning to themixer. The partial development of glutenalso prevents the cookie from spreadingduring baking and tends to make the cookiehard.

Wire-cut cookies are produced by ex-truding soft dough containing high levelsof sugar, shortening, and eggs through anorifice and cutting disk-shaped cookies bya wire. Wire-cut cookies spread and increasein size during baking. When levels of sugarand water of a wire-cut cookie formula areincreased further, the cookie dough be-comes viscous so the dough can be depos-ited directly on the band of the oven so itwill spread out before and during baking.

BISCUITSThe U.S. biscuit uses a simple process toproduce a dough that is sheeted, cut intodisk-shaped pieces, placed on a sheet, andbaked in an oven. Biscuit dough is quitedifferent from bread dough. Low-proteinsoft wheat flours are preferred and chemi-cal leavening is used for gas production,while a mixing procedure is used to opti-mize dough machinability and sheetingproperties. This gives the finished producta much lower specific volume, thicker cellwalls, and coarser grain. The taste isstrongly influenced by the baking soda andthe leavening acids of the baking powder.

High-quality biscuits are preferablyconsumed when fresh and have a soft andtender bite. Here are some recommenda-tions for optimal biscuit quality:

Use a soft, low-protein flour and limitgluten development. Gluten, when de-veloped during mixing, becomes thecontinuous structure in the biscuitdough, making the bite firmer. The useof baking powder (soda) ensures that the

pH during dough mixing will be highenough to prevent rapid gluten develop-ment. Mixing times should be adjustedto optimize sheeting properties of thedough, not to develop the gluten protein.

Use shortening at relatively high levels.Shortening will give the biscuit its desir-able tender eating quality. Any type ofhydrogenated vegetable shortening canbe used, while oil is not recommendedbecause it makes the dough sticky. Toohigh a level of shortening (greater than30 percent) should be avoided because itreduces the volume of the biscuit andprevents proper setting of the biscuitstructure during baking.

Control dough temperature. This is im-portant because dough temperature willaffect sheeting properties, especiallywhen high levels of shortening are used.

Use baking powder to optimize biscuitvolume. Usually baking powders withlow levels of MCP work best, especiallywhen buttermilk is used containing lac-tic acid as a fast-acting leavening acid.Baking powders used for biscuits usuallycontain SALP and/or SAPP to producecarbon dioxide gas mainly during baking.Optimal loaf volume will result in a lessdense biscuit that is soft and tender.

crystallization in the baked product causesthe cookie to become hard and brittle overtime.

Baking powder or yeast is used in manybaked goods to increase specific volume,thus making a product less firm and dense.Baking powder also gives the dough an al-kaline pH that interferes with a quick hy-dration and development of a continuousgluten structure.

Water is required to develop a continu-ous gluten structure during mixing and acontinuous starch structure during baking,but it can also act as a plasticizer/tenderizerin the final baked product. For this reason,cookies become softer when stored outsidethe package in a humid environment.

Structure Builders andTenderizers (Continued)