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Digital Re-print - November | December 2010 ‘Profiling’ flours and their value to end users

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Flour quality control is not an easy task. Many parameters have an influence, starting from

the protein (quantity, quality …), the starch (damaged or not…), the enzymes (amylases, proteases…) and many other components.

Chopin Technologies has been working on the quality control of cereals and flours for more than 80 years, providing solutions for cereal chemistry with the help of interna-tional association such as AACC, ICC.

You may be familiar with the Chopin Technologies’ Alveo-consistograph, SDmatic for damaged starch determination, labora-tory mills for flour (CD1 & CD1 Auto), the new NIR Infraneo and much more.

The company launched recently the revo-lutionary ‘Profiler’, based on the Mixolab sys-tem, that both creates a new scoring system and inverse the QC as it currently exists by scoring the raw material in function of prod-uct end value and the processing consistency rather than the raw material alone.

Mixolab measures the consistency of the dough during mixing and submitted to a gradual increase and decrease of the mixer temperature.

With just one single test, the operator has information concerning the protein and gluten quality (water absorption, dough sta-bility during mixing, mixing time, strength of

the dough), but also concerning the starch (gelatinisation temperature, retrogradation, diastasic activity …) and some enzymatic activities (proteases on the first part of the test, amylases on the second).

This tool is interesting for the all grain-flour-bread chain thanks to its 50g mixing bowl. It also gives interesting and fast results from whole meal flour (obtain by grinding the wheat).

Pure gluten or pure starch has also been successfully tested.

Successful testingAfter a six years successful life and a

wide acceptance over customers such as

additives manufacturers, breeders, universi-ties, industrial bakeries and millers, the company has improved the software facility of the device.

The repeatability and reproducibility of the Mixolab allows users to manage the three-part software (all included) package with the device called Mixolab System.

It is composed of the Mixolab Standard (ICC173), comprehensive tool for the R&D where the curve interpretation remains free, but requires cereal chemistry-skilled users; the Mixolab Simulator, that simulates the Farinograph® values and the Mixolab Profiler which is the perfect tool for daily QC purposes for it helps the millers and bakers scoring their flours on six very comprehen-sive indexes.

Fundamental rheology: ‘The cereal chemistry minded tool’

The Mixolab senses, in real time, the torque in Nm produced by the dough between the two mixing blades. All informa-tion is transmitted to the computer for data treatment and visualisation.

The Mixolab can work either at constant hydration or at constant consistency.

For constant consistency, the Chopin standard target is 1.1Nm: it is adaptable to other targets as needed. Once the dough is formed, the device measures its behaviour

‘PROFILING’ FLOURS AND THEIR VALUE TO END USERS

by Charles Loubersac D’hotel, Chopin Technologies SAS, France

Figure 1: The Profiler software facility

Grain&feed millinG technoloGy18 | november - december 2010

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as a function of time, mixing development and temperature. This allows for:

• The analysis of the quality of the protein network: hydration, stabil-ity, elasticity, mixing power

• The analysis of starch behav-iour: gelatinisation and gelation temperatures, modification of consistency by additives, etc

• The analysis of enzymatic activity: proteolitic, amylasic and other

In order to be assured of getting a good analysis of temperature influence on the dough, a sensor is located at the dough/mixer interface (dough temperature): this complements the information given by a second temperature sensor situated near the heating element (mixer temperature).Dough development: Starting at constant temperature, the beginning of the test checks the water absorption level of flours and measures the characteristics of dough during mixing: stability, elasticity, water absorptionProtein breakdown: As the dough tempera-ture increases, the consistency decreases. This part of the curve shows that the weak-ening depends on protein/gluten qualityStarch gelatinisation: When a certain tem-perature is reached, starch gelatinization begins. Additives can influence this gelati-nization temperature and/or the maximum consistency of gelatinized flourMeasure of amylase activity: The consist-ency value at the end of heating depends on the naturally occurring and/or added amylase activityCooling the dough down, beginning of starch gelling: When cooling, starch retro-grades and the product con-sistency increases. Some addi-tives have an effect on this phenomenon and can modify its behaviour. These additives can help avoid early staling, and increase the softness of the end product, and their effect can be measured

The Mixolab is very flexible and can adapt itself to every single problematics.

The user can choose between the Chopin protocol proposed as a standard method or can create its own test. In this last case, he will be able to set different temperature cycles,

play with mixing speed (from 55 to 250rpm), modify the target torque, etc. This in order to be the closest of industrial use condi-tions of his flour.

The Mixolab is very simple to use. The analysis is com-pletely automated. The only steps are to weigh the flour, put it in the dough mixer and position the water injector. The device is completely driven from a PC thanks to user-friendly software working on Windows 98, 2000, NT, XP, Vista, 7. It is possible to get all the results under Excel sheets.

The Mixolab design has been optimised in order to guaranty to the end-user maximum safety. Before each test, the Mixolab checks that all test condi-tions are respected. Once all set values are reached, the system takes the

necessary amount of water for hydration and injects it.

A conrtol menu allows the adjustment and monitoring of all the Mixolab features

Figure 2

Grain&feed millinG technoloGy november - december 2010 | 19

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+1 515-254-1260 • Email: ascott@insta-pro.com • www.insta-pro.com

Figure 3: The Mixolab device

index, an amylases index and a retrograda-tion index.

Flour tested shall be identified such as, for example, 352-345. This Index, thanks to the reproducibility and the repeatability of the device, becomes the flour fingerprint.

Designing your own profilesBased on that, the bakers will be able to

design their own profiles for each of their end products with tolerances values on the Chopin Index.

They need, like a calibration, to process on the Mixolab 12 to 20 samples of well performing flours for a dedicated end prod-uct. That includes the process used for that end product. They will design, like this, the Profiler they need.

From that preliminary work you shall be able to ensure 100 percent consistency in your production line. As soon as you have the profile, you can make it easy, whatever the skills of the user: you know if the flour is “in” the Profile or “out”. If in, no worries, if out, the profiler shows where the problem comes from, on which index and how it can be fixed with your supplier.

Indeed, that provides the bakers, in one single test, a better understanding, avoid trouble shootings from arising and allow communications with suppliers to be accu-rate and precise.

The revolutionary Profiler creates a new scoring system and inverses the QC as it exists actually. It scores the raw material in its function at the end product and the process itself rather than just the raw material.

However, in the end, few tools are avail-able that help them to assess not just the qual-ity but the functionality of their flours as well.

Trouble shooting with the Profiler

Then there is the Profiler on the Mixolab. The quality parameters mentioned above are most of the time focusing on gluten, few are considering the starch fraction. Most the trouble shooting is coming from starch ‘miscontrol’. For example, if you just consider the water absorption you can obtain using common rheological methods, they don’t translate precisely into what is the actual water absorption in an industrial mixer.

Again, Mixolab is measuring the consist-ency on a dough, a real dough, not a slurry or batter, where interaction between gluten and starch are critical with a limited amount of water available, where the quality of the gluten can influence the starch behaviour during the warming phase.

This is actually a very good way to mimic the actual process.

And this is the reason why the Mixolab is so valuable for bakers, as there is no other such device that is close to their processes.

The standard curve from the Mixolab requires a pretty good knowledge of dough rheology; the baker needs fast and simple

method in one test.The aim of the

Profiler is to trans-late this raw curve into a comprehen-sive and under-standable test.

Six indexes are ranked from 0 to

9 (see Figure 2), an absorption index, a

mixing index, a gluten quality index, a viscosity

and particularly calibration of the different sensors: temperature, torque, etc.

The Mixolab is particularly adapted for a wide range of applications in Research laboratories.

Functional rheologyFunctional rheology is the ultimate tool

for Industrial baker.The cereal chemistry-minded tool trans-

lates into a daily use, routine and functional control all the flours tested. This is typically the kind of requirement industrial bakers, having various suppliers, are asking for. This what Chopin technology achieved with its software facility on the Mixolab. Millers, sup-pliers of bakeries, are giving quality param-eters, such as protein, ash, starch damage, sedimentation, Hagberg, water absorption (from the Farinograph) or even Alveograph values such as W&P/L, that most of the time complies with bakers requirements.

Still, some trouble shooting is possible.In a world where customers requirements

are moving fast, new products developments are a critical competitive point for industrial bakers who are following new trends such as gluten-free, high-fiber, digestibility, whole grain, enriched flours etc.

“The revolutionary Profiler creates a new scoring system

and inverses the QC as it exists actually. It scores the

raw material in its function at the end product and the

process itself rather than just the raw material”

More inforMation:Chopin Technologies20 avenue Marcelin BerthelotVilleneuve-la-Garenne Cedex, 92396 France

Website: www.chopin.fr

Grain&feed millinG technoloGy20 | november - december 2010

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• Global grain & feed markets

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November 2010

• Newdimensionintheproductionofhygienisedfeedmeal

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