Recipe optimization at scale
Recipe Optimization at Scale
The first
challenge in moving from lab or artisanal to industrial baking is adjusting
recipes for large-scale production. Ingredients behave sometimes differently in
larger quantities, and the texture, flavor, and appearance of products may
shift. Relative simple things as
environmental and raw material temperatures might be different, mixing and
kneading intensities are different and thus the dough might behave differently.
Where gluten development is required (such as bread, puff pastry, certain
crackers, etc.) this influences hydration levels and dough temperatures.
Sometimes also these parameters have to be adjusted to fixed process parameters
of a large line: it is challenging to have different fermentation times of
products if they move in a continuous way compared to a batch method. This
might even lead to small adjustments of ingredient proportions to facilitate
these fixed timings (think of more or less yeast or yeast food).
In cakes a
parameter might be the specific gravity or density of the batter. In the case
that mixing might be done in let’s say 6 minutes in 2nd gear (of 3),
a larger 400 or 600 liter mixing bowl with 2 tools or even a continuous aerator
will give completely different timings and intensities to reach to that value.
Evaluating viscosity and consistency then firstly leads to optimizing speed and
time, but sometimes also requires other adaptations such as the addition or
removal of certain ingredients (such as starch or hydrocolloids) or the
proportions within the recipe.
The better
familiar you are with the conditions on the larger scaled production, the more
you can try and solve for at lab scale: the degrees of freedom to adjust and
adapt are there huge with 2 or 5 kg batches, compared to 400 kg or more.
It is
always wise to compare end product to end product with a small trained team to
ensure that product quality attributes and consistencies can be met; despite
that in the processes steps had to be taken to deviate from what the expected
norm was.
Need to know more? Feel free to contact us!