Raw Materials: Mixing and Kneading The Dough
Raw Materials: Mixing and Kneading The Dough
Raw Materials: Mixing and Kneading The Dough
Bread is made with three basic ingredients: grain, water, and bakers' yeast. The harvested
grain is ground according to the type of bread being made.
Fermentation
3 Three methods are used to ferment the dough. In some plants, the high-speed
machinery is designed to manipulate the dough at extreme speeds and with great
force, which forces the yeast cells to rapidly multiply. Fermentation can also be
induced by the addition of chemical additives such as 1-cysteine (a naturally
occurring amino acid) and vitamin C. Some breads are allowed to ferment naturally.
In this instance, the dough is placed in covered metal bowls and stored in a
temperature-controlled room until it rises.
4 After the dough has fermented, it is loaded into a divider with rotating blades that
cut the dough into pre-determined weights. A conveyer belt then moves the pieces of
dough to a molding machine. The molding machine shapes the dough into balls and
drops them onto a layered conveyer belt that is enclosed in a warm, humid cabinet
called a "prover." The dough moves slowly through the prover so that it may "rest,"
and so that the gas reproduction may progress.
5 When the dough emerges from the prover, it is conveyed to a second molding
machine which re-shapes the dough into loaves and drops them into pans. The pans
travel to another prover that is set at a high temperature and with a high level of
humidity. Here the dough regains the elasticity lost during fermentation and the
resting period.
6 From the prover, the pans enter a tunnel oven. The temperature and speed are
carefully calculated so that when the loaves emerge from the tunnel, they are
completely baked and partially cooled. While inside the tunnel, the loaves are
mechanically dumped from the pans onto shelves. The baking and cooling process
lasts approximately 30 minutes.
7 The bread continues to cool as it moves from the oven to the slicing machine. Here
vertical serrated blades move up and down at great speeds, slicing the bread into
consistently sized pieces.
8 Metal plates hold the slices together while picking up each loaf and passing it to the
wrapping machine. Pre-printed plastic bags are mechanically slipped over each loaf.
At some bakeries, workers close the bags with wire twists. Other plants seal the bags
with heat.
Quality Control
Commercial bread making is held to strict government guidelines regarding food production.
Further, consumer preferences compel bread producers to maintain a high quality standard of
appearance, texture, and flavor. Therefore, quality checks are performed at each step of the
production process. Producers employ a variety of taste tests, chemical analyses, and visual
observation to ensure quality.
Moisture content is particularly critical. A ratio of 12 to 14% is ideal for the prevention of
bacteria growth. However, freshly baked breads have a moisture content as high as 40%.
Therefore it is imperative that the bakery plants be kept scrupulously clean. The use of
fungicides and ultraviolet light are two popular practices.