Biscuits
The main ingredients in a biscuit are: flour, sugar and fat.
For this application the fat is called shortening. By coating of
the gluten of the flour, the dough will be not so elastic as a bread
dough: the dough stays “short”.
The fat or shortening can be supplied on three ways:
- crystallised fat in extruded blocks or bag-in-box
- crystallised fat in pumpable form
- hot fat (not crystallised).
For the application the level and the type of fat is important
for:
- homogeneous distribution in the dough
- possibly aeration of the dough
- final dough hardness
- spread in the oven
- hardness of the biscuit
- eating quality; texture and flavour
- shelf life of the biscuit
Main effects can be summarised as follows:
|
Dough hardness |
Spread in the oven
|
Hardness of the
biscuit |
Higher
N-values |
Harder
|
No influence
|
Harder |
Higher
fat level
|
Softer
|
More spread
|
Softer |
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