These products are in fact a subset of the cereal family that is cooked to a moisture content of less than ٪ 5. The word biscuit is derived from the French word cuit or from the Latin word biscoctus, but in principle biscuit means double baked, ie the basis of baking biscuits is done in two stages. In the first stage, the biscuits are baked in a hot oven for a short time in a few minutes, and after leaving the hot oven, they are returned to the off and cooling down oven, so that the biscuits will be dried and can be stored in the open air.
The main ingredient in almost all biscuit dough is flour, which is enriched with two main ingredients, fat and sugar. But in general, the ingredients of biscuits are not limited to these cases and ingredients such as powdered milk, coconut powder, cocoa, emulsifiers and other additives are added to these ingredients and the dough is mixed with water. The more fat is included in the dough formulation, the less water will be needed. After mixing, the dough is cut and molded into small pieces with special shapes and sizes and baked as biscuits. The consistency of the dough is determined according to whether it is molded by machine or manually. The consistency, shape and condition of the dough are mainly determined by the amount of available water and also the temperature of the dough. Wet dough (with more water content) is warmer and softer. Mixing water with flour involves many changes, but basically the hydration of the flour components is a relatively slow process, meaning that some changes in dough consistency may continue even after the mixing operation is completed. During the formulation of biscuits, producers should pay special attention to this point.
Biscuit dough are basically classified into two groups: hard dough and soft dough
The difference between the two is determined by the amount of water needed to form the dough. When there is a higher amount of water in the dough (hence the amount of fat is relatively low) mixing water with flour requires the formation of a gluten network of hydrated protein. The formation of gluten requires mechanical kneading, so hard dough is the developed dough which for its preparation requires mechanical work.
Hard or expanded dough are used in the production of crackers and semi-sweet biscuits.
In this dough, the amount of fat and sugar is relatively low, and in all cases, continuous mixing is required to make gluten. In the case of crackers, after mixing the dough and forming a gluten network, this network is further modified and changed by the yeasts during the fermentation period, but in the case of semi-sweet biscuit dough, all gluten development operations take place inside the blender and mixing time is relatively long.
These products have low moisture and if properly packaged and prevent the penetration of moisture, they will have a long shelf life.
Biscuits are classified according to different methods:
- Classification by name, such as biscuits, crackers and cookies, which is actually based on the texture and firmness of the product.
- Classification based on the methods of molding, forming and dividing the dough, for example: fermentation, expansion, layering, shearing (by simple or embossed method), molding, extruded, precipitated, wire-cut and co-extruded.
Another way of classifying biscuits can be based on the secondary production process: that is, the prepared biscuit undergoes changes such as the following:
- With a creamy coating
- With chocolate coating
- Molded in chocolate
- Covered with icing (half of it is covered with diluted syrup that has dried)
- Add jam, marmalade or cream
Among the types of biscuits, including whole-grain biscuits, cream biscuits, and ..., one of the most common types of biscuits that has been considered by its special consumers in recent years, are Diet Biscuits.
