BISCUIT MANUFACTURE

BISCUIT
MANUFACT·URE
fundamentals of in-line production

by
PETER R. WHITELEY
DIP. F.E., F.lnst. B.B.
Head of the Department of Baking.
Rush Green Technical College.
Rmriford. Essex

APPLIED SCIENCE PUBLISHERS LTD

LONDON
 APPLIED SCIENCE PUBLISHERS LTD
RIPPLE ROAD, BARKING, ESSEX, ENGLAND

ISBN: 0-444-20072-X

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER 70-122961

WITH 121 ILLUSTRATIONS AND 5 TABLES
Cl 1971 ELSEVIER PUBLISHING COMPANY LTD

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,

stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of the publishers, Applied
Science Publishers Ltd, Ripple Road, Barking, Essex, England
 Author's preface

THE intention of this book is to provide a guide for

potential management and supervisors and for those
who wish to understand the fundamental principles of
biscuit manufacture. It does not set out to be a learned
treatise. The purpose of the book is to simplify and
explain processes and materials so that the 'mystique'is
replaced by logic. Once the mystique is removed the
biscuit maker is one step closer to anticipating and
solving problems.
In attempting to cover this subject within one concise
volume, it is difficult to avoid over-simplification or
generalisation, and apologies must be offered in advance
where these occur. To wallow in the fine details of
specialisation is to defeat the object of the book, and
less would be achieved if the issues were confused. The
reader's attention is drawn to the interpretation of
formulae (recipes). Raw materials, equipment, methods,
processes, and conditions vary considerably; the
formulae are intended as blue prints from which, with a
knowledge of the materials and aims of the processes,
and by trial and error, a biscuit can be produced bearing
some semblance to the original. All formulae should be
interpreted in conjunction with the 'Guide to using
formulae' at the beginning of Chapter 12.
As the biscuit industry advances towards complete
automation, plant and equipment become more
advanced and sophisticated. Training of a very high
standard is necessary to use sophisticated machinery
efficiently, and where skills of this exacting degree are
not available, then the simpler, less advanced equip-
ment, should be used. It is with this in mind that
processes have been dealt with in such a way that they
can be carried out by hand or through varying degrees
of mechanisation.
Similarly, the legislation regarding foods becomes so
involved and changes so frequently that it is impossible
to review for inclusion in a book of this nature. It is
essential to be aware that there is legislation pertaining

v
vi AUTHOR'S PREFACE

to practically every aspect of biscuit making and

marketing, and as the legislation differs from country to
country, further confusion arises. All governments issue
pamphlets about their laws, and the appropriate
Ministry or information office (in the United Kingdom,
Her Majesty's Stationery Office) or legation should be
approached for the current regulations.

Upminster, 1970 PETER R. WHITELEY

 Acknowledgements

AN expression of thanks and gratitude is due to all

those who helped with advice, information and
photographs to make this book possible, including:
Baker Perkins Ltd, Peterborough
British Cellophane Ltd, Twickenham
Co-operative Wholesale Society Ltd, Biscuit Factory,
Harlow
Walter Denis Contacts Co., Ltd, Blackpool
Flour Milling and Baking Research Association,
Chorleywood
J. Alan Goddard Ltd (Hecrona), Croydon
J. W. Greer Co., Ltd, Bromley
Kek Ltd., Macclesfield
A. M. Lock & Co. Ltd, Oldham
Machinery Continental Packaging Ltd (Aucouturier),
Rochester
Morton Machine Co. Ltd, Wi shaw
E. T. Oakes, Ltd, Macclesfield
Radyne Ltd, Wokingham
Rank Precision Industries Ltd, Brentford
Rose Forgrove Ltd, Leeds
SIG Wrapping Machines Ltd, Croydon
Simon-Vicars Ltd, Newton-Ie-Willows
.Spooner Food Machinery Engineering Co., Ltd, Ilkley
My greatest appreciation is due to my wife, whose
untiring efforts of encouragement and help spurred me
on at all times.

Upminster, 1970 PETER R. WHITELEY

vii.
 Contents

AUTHOR'S PREFACE v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii

LIST OF FIGURES IN THE TEXT xi

LIST OF TABLES xii

LI ST 0 F PL ATE S xiii

PART I RAW MATERIALS

1 Flour and cereal products 1

2 Fats and oils 22
3 Sweetening agents 34
4 Aerating agents 42
5 Dairy products 50
6 Fruits and nuts 59
7 Setting materials 69
8 Chocolate and cocoa products 73
9 Flavouring materials 81
10 Colouring materials 94

PAR T II CLASSIFICATION AND METHODS

11 Classification of biscuit types and methods of

production 103

PAR T III FORMULAE-QUALITY CONTROL AND

DEVELOPMENT

12 Basic ingredient proportions of biscuit doughs 127

13 Basic ingredient proportions of wafers, marsh-
mallows, creams, and fillings 148

ix
x CONTENTS

14 Quality control 161

15 Re-use and disposal of unsatisfactory products 189
16 Development 193

PART IV PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

17 Raw materials storage and handling 201

18 Mixing room equipment 209
19 Machine room equipment 219
20 Ovens and baking 230
21 Wafers and second process equipment 241
22 Ancillary equipment and automation 250
23 Packaging of biscuits 258

PART V GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

24 Factory layout and hygiene 269

BIBLIOGRAPHY 289

INDEX 290
 List of figures in the text
1. Longitudinal section of a wheat grain 4
2. The pH scale 47
3. Sketch of a yeast cell 106
4. Yeast reproducing by budding 107
5. Colony of yeast cells 108
6. Diagram showing enzymic activity during
fennentation 111
7. Structure of a farinogram 163
8a. Farinogram: Manitoba flour 163
8b. Farinogram: strong English flour 164
8e. Farinogram: soft English flour 164
9a. Extensogram: Manitoba flour 166
9b. Extensogram: strong English flour 167
ge. Extensogram: soft English flour 167
10. Typical alveograms: (a) Manitoba flour;
(b) strong English flour; (c) soft English
flour 168
11. Typical graphs of extensometer: (a) Manitoba
flour; (b) strong English flour; (e) soft
English flour 170
12. Line drawing of Simon-Vicars vertically
integrated dough feeding, gauging and
laminating unit 221
13. Examples of wire band patterns (Baker
Perkins) 231
14. Air blast gas burners for direct fired oven
(Baker Perkins) 235
15. Diagrams illustrating the principle of forced
air convection baking used in a Spooner
oven section 236
16. Line drawing of a Walden refrigerated air
blast cooling tunnel 248
17. Diagrams illustrating how metals affect the
electromagnetic field of an electronic metal
detector 254

xi
 List of tables
1. Structural composition of wheat 3
2. Typical analyses of flour samples 9
3. Typical analyses of milk and milk products 53
4. Table converting ingredient percentages to
pounds when based on flour weight of 280 Ib
(i.e. one sack) and vice versa 128/129
5. Examples of texture meter readings obtained
on retail samples of various types of biscuits 181

xii
 List of Plates
(between pages 140 and 141)
1a. Shortcake fingers
1b. Round shortcake biscuits
2a. Shortcake biscuits: 'Royal Duchess'
2b. Lincoln (Lincoln Creams)
3a. Nice
3b. Finger creams
4a. Custard creams
4b. Bourbon creams
5a. Digestive (Sweetmeal)
5b. Currant biscuits
6a. Gingernu ts
6b. Half-coated (chocolate) sweet biscuits
7a. Coconut cookies (wire-cut)
7b. Cookies with chocolate, nuts and currants
included
8. Cream crackers
9a. Savoury crackers
9b. Creamed puff shells
lOa. Rich Tea biscuits
lOb. Morning Tea biscuits
11 a. Marie biscuits
11 b. Finger-shaped, semi-sweet, hard dough
biscuits
l2a. Garibaldi biscuits
12b. Morning tea biscuit showing hair-line
fracture known as 'checking'
13a. Coconut mallows
13b. Chocolate teacakes
14a. Jam rings
14b. Fig bars
15a. Cream filled wafers
1Sb. Bag-type pack.of coconut cookies
16a. Tray-type pack for mallows using a
preformed liner
16b. Tray-type pack for assorted biscuits using
a preformed liner
(between pages 204 and 205)
17a. Brabender Farinograph

xiii
xiv UST OF PLATES

17b. Brabender Extensograph

18a. Chopin Alveograph
18b. Simon Research Testing Unit
19a. Baker Perkins Texture Meter
19b. Baker Perkins Texture Meter showing
interior
20a. Douglas bulk fat storage vessels
20b. Douglas fat processing equipment with
mixing tanks on the right and the emulsifier-
cooler on the left
21a. Douglas silos for storage of plasticised
blended fats
21 b. Control room for bulk handling of
ingredients
22a. Syrup blending tanks
22b. Morton HD 120 three-speed vertical mixer
of the planetary type
23. Simon-Vicars two-spindle vertical mixers
24a Morton Duplex 4V2 horizontal 'Z' blade
mixer
24b. Morton Gridlap GL 70 horizontal mixer
with control console
25a. Simon-Vicars high-speed mixer showing
interior
25b. Simon-Vicars high-speed mixer ejecting
biscuit dough directly into a floor mounted
hopper
26a. The Oakes continuous mixer/modifier for
bread and biscuit doughs
26b. Mixing rotor shaft of the Oakes continuous
mixer/modifier
27a. The Oakes continuous automatic mixer for
batters, marshmallow and fluid mixings
27b. Stator and rotor of mixing head of the
Oakes continuous automatic mixer
28a. Morton 100 two-speed air pressure whisk
28b. Simon-Vicars floor mounted tub discharger
29a. Simon-Vicars tub elevator and discharge
unit to dough feeder
 UST OF PLATES xv

29b. Simon-Vicars dough feed to sheeter showing

scrap return
30a. Morton heavy duty reversing dough brake
30b. Simon-Vicars right-angle laminator
31. Hecrona vertical laminator
32. Simon-Vicars, cutting machine showing
dough feed, pre-sheeter, three pairs of
precision gauge rolls and cutting machine
cross head
33. Baker Perkins rotary cutting unit showing
the pressure roller situated beneath the
impression and cutting rollers
34a. Simon-Vicars rotary cutting unit in use
with the guards removed
34b. Simon-Vicars fig bar extrusion unit situated
directly above the oven band
35. Baker Perkins 88 BT rotary moulder
with dough feed
36. Baker Perkins 88 BT rotary moulder
with hopper opened showing the moulding
roller and the grooved forcing roller
37. Baker Perkins Turboradiant oven with
direct-fired boost on the first section
38a. Oil-fired heat sources for one section of a
Baker Perkins Turboradiant oven
38b. Tower-type tensioning for oven band
(Simon-Vicars)
39. Spooner forced air convection oven with
wire band
40. Oven control panel for a Simon-Vicars
gas-fired oven (in the background can be
seen a radial reverse turn carrying the
biscuits to an overhead cooling conveyor)
41. Radyne OCD 30 I electronic baking unit
42. Simon-Vicars Mark n wafer oven
43a. Simon-Vicars wafer sandwich building
machine with creamer in the background
43b. Simon-Vicars wafer saw
44. A battery of Simon-Vicars quality creamers
xvi LIST OF PLATES

being fed directly from the cooling conveyor

of the oven
45. Oakes oven pacer depositor producing
marshmallow teacakes
46a. Walden automatic chocolate kettle
46b. Walden continuous trickle feed and
tempering machine
47a. Goddard automatic chocolate tempering
machine
47b. The Walden Supreme Mark 7 automatic
enrober
48. Baker-Sollich 76CQ enrober, a sophisticated
piece of equipment capable of control by
computer
(between pages 236 and 237)
49a. Walden refrigerated air blast cooling tunnel
49b. Peck Mix for biscuit crumbing and raw
materials sieving
50. Kek Ltd. laboratory-size grinding mill
showing the discs and arrangement of
the pegs
51a. Simon-Vicars Mark III oil spray unit with
cover removed to show interior
51 b. Close up of the Baker Perkins oil spray
unit showing the oil dispersers above and
below the wire band
52. Greer spiral conveying system
53a. A Lock electronic metal detecting unit
monitoring fully coated wafer sandwiches
53b. An example of automatic control by Baker
Perkins Developments Ltd. (the instrument
in the top centre of the photograph, by
means of sensitive feelers, keeps the biscuit
rows and the stacker guides in constant
alignment)
54. Aucouturier wrapping machine, fed direct
from the cooling conveyor, for round
biscuits
 LIST OF PLATES xvii

55. Aucouturier wrapping machine for round

packets with end seals
56. Aucouturier wrapping machine hand fed
for ,square biscuits in piles using corrugated
grease-proof paper and a heat-seal overwrap
(mode of wrapping is also illustrated)
57. Rose F orgrove wrapping machine for pillow-
type packages
58. 'Sendform' thermoforming machine for
producing moulded plastic packing trays
59. SIG roll wrapping machine with automatic
feeder
60. Close up of a SIG automatic loader
(type ZH)
61. SIG automatic wrapping machine for fin-
sealed packets with automatic feeder
62. SIG automatic wafer wrapping machine
63. Jones-Rose constant motion cartoning
machine
64. Rose Forgrove bag forming and filling
machine for tumble packs