3.

Bakedgoods
Nutritionalsignificance
Production
Processing
Packagingandstorage
Suitabilityforsmallscaleproduction
Bakedgoodsarewidelyavailableinmanycountries.Generallytheyfallintothemain
categoriesofbreads,biscuits,cakes,andpastries,andareconsumedbypeoplefrommost
incomegroups.
Sellingbakedgoodsfromabicycle
Bakedgoodsalsomakeupaproportionofstreetfoods.Inthisform,theyofferconvenience
andprovideacheapsourceofenergy,whichisimportantforthosewhotraveltoworkand
relyonsuchfoodsfortheirfirstmealoftheday.
Grainsandflourshavearelativelylongshelflife.Thepurposeofbakingisthereforenotfor
preservation,buttochangetheeatingqualityofstaplefoodstuffsandtoaddvarietytothe
diet.Thegrowthoffoodpoisoningorganismsislesslikelytooccurinbakedgoodsthanin
otherlowacidfoodssuchasmeat,milk,andfish.However,itisstillnecessarytocheckthe
qualityofrawmaterialsandhygienicconditionsduringprocessing.
Bakedgoodssuchasbreadsandpastrieshaveashelflifeintherangeof25days,whereas
others,suchasbiscuitsandsometypesofcake,haveashelflifeofseveralmonths,when
correctlypackaged.

Nutritionalsignificance
Themainingredientsinbakedgoodsarefloursfromcerealssuchaswheat,maize,and
sorghum.Ingeneral,allflourscontainvaluableamountsofenergy,protein,ironandvitamins,
butthedegreeofmillingwillinfluencethefinalnutritionalcontent.
Traditionalmillingproducesaflourwhichcontainsallofthecrushedgrain.Althoughthese
floursoftenhaveacoarsetextureandanoffwhitecolour,theycontainmanyBvitamins,
minerals,andalsofibre.Thedesireforwhiteflourhowever,hasledtoamillingprocess
whichremovesthebranand,asaresult,manynutrientsarelost.
Manybakedproductsincorporatehighlevelsoffat,sugar,andsometimesfruitornuts,and
thiswillincreasetheenergycontentoftheproducts.

Production
Bakingisaprocesswhichusesheatedairtoaltertheeatingqualityoffoods.Asecondary
purposeispreservation,bydestroyingmicroorganismsandreducingthemoisturecontentat
thesurfaceofthefood.
Inthischapter,'bakedgoods'referstobreadsandflourconfectionery,butitisalsopossible
toapplytheprocesstomeat,fruits,andvegetables.Theprocessinthesecasesisoften
referredtoas'roasting'.

Bakedgoodsareproducedfromeitherdoughsorbatters,whichareamixtureofflourand
watermadebymixing,beating,kneading,orfolding.Theprocesswilldependontheproduct
beingmadeandtheingredientsused.
Thetablesoverleafoutlinethetypesofprocessandtheequipmentrequiredtomakea
representativerangeofproducts.
Processingstages
Process/product Mix Ferment Form Prove Knockback Bake Pack
Leavenedbread

Buns

Biscuits

Pastries

Cake

Unleavenedbread *

Equipmentrequired
Processingstage
Mix
Ferment

Equipment

Sectionreference

Liquidmixer

43.1

Solidmixer

43.2

Proofingcabinet

Bread:
Doughmoulder

45.2

Biscuits:

Form

Rollingmachinery

59.0

Depositor

20.0

Doughcutter

45.2

Pastry:
Rollingmachinery

59.0

Pastrymould

45.2

Cakes:
Bakingtints

45.3

Sameasforthefermentingstage

Bake

Oven

46.0

Pack

Polyethyleneorcellophanewrapping/sealingmachines 47.1

Prove
Knockback

Processing
Rawmaterials
Wheatflourcontainsasubstancecalledgluten.Thisisresponsibleforprovidingtheinternal
structureofproductssuchasbreadandsomebiscuits.Dependingonthevarietyandthe
climateinwhichitisgrown,wheatwillcontaindifferentquantitiesofgluten.Forexample,
flourswhichcontainlowlevelsareknownas'soft'or'week'flours,andthosewithhighlevels
areknownas'strong'flours.
Thetypeofwheatflourusedwilldependontheproductbeingmade.Breadandbiscuits
requireastrongflour,whereascakefloursareusuallymediumtoweakinstrength.

Floursfromcassavaandricemaybeusedasasubstituteforwheat,butastheydonot
containgluten,amaximumsubstitutionrateof25percentispossiblebeforedifferencesin
tasteandtexturebecomeverynoticeable.Additionally,therearemanyotherproductsthat
aremadecompletelyfromflourssuchasmaizeorrice.
Mixingdough
Mixing
Alldoughsandbattersaremixedtoachieveasmoothconsistencyandtoensureaneven
distributionofingredients.Thisisusuallydoneusingsimplehandoperatedtools,butifa
largequantityistobeproduceditmaybemoreconvenienttouseapoweredmixer.
Mixersareclassifiedaccordingtothetypeofproductthattheyareusedfor,i.e.eithersolids
orliquids.Acommonsolidsmixeroperateswithaplanetaryactionandcanbefittedwitha
hookforpastryordough,ora'Kbeater'fordrypowders.Liquidmixersincludeaballoon
whiskattachmentforbattersorpropellertypemixersforthinliquidssuchassugarsolutions.
Fermentation
Forsomeproductsitisnotnecessaryforthedoughtorise,orforthefinaltexturetobeopen
andporous.Suchexamplesareunleavenedbreadssuchasroti,chapatti,andtacos,which
asthegroupnamesuggestsdonotrequirefermentation.Otherproducts,suchassconesor
sodabread,relyongasproducedbyaddedsodiumbicarbonatetoraisethedoughand
producethedesiredcrumbtexture.Incakes,airisincorporatedintothebatterduringmixing
togiveanopenstructuretothecrumbafterbaking.
Onlybreadandbunsarefermentedtoproducetheopenporouscrumb.Inthiscaseadded
yeastferments(breaksdown)thesugarsintheflour(and/oraddedsugar)toproduceagas,
calledcarbondioxide,whichraisesthedough.Nospecialequipmentisrequiredtobring
aboutfermentation.Thedoughiscoveredwithadampclothorpolytheneandlefttorestata
temperatureof3235Cuntilitbecomesfullyinflatedwithcarbondioxide.Toachievethis,
thedoughmaybeleftneartotheovenwhereitiswarm,orinatemperaturecontrolled
cabinetknownasaprovingcabinet.
Provingisthenamegiventoaprocessofsecondaryfermentationwhichisappliedtobread
andbundough.Itisnecessarybecauseasthedoughisbeingshapedsomeofthecarbon
dioxideislostandthedoughstructurepartiallycollapses.Theaimofprovingistofermentthe
doughalittlemoreandregainthecarbondioxidelevelsandthereforetheopenstructure.
Kneading/forming/moulding
Kneadingisaprocessofstretchingandfoldingdough.Indoingsotheglutenfibresare
stretchedandtheconsistencyofthedoughbecomessmooth.Kneadingismostusuallydone
byhand,butifalargequantityisbeingproduceditcanbeatiringtaskandapowered
kneadermaybepreferred.
Afterkneading,thedoughhastobeformedintothedesiredshapeandsize.Themethodfor
doingthiswilldependuponthetypeofproduct,forexample,breaddoughcaneitherbecut,
folded,orplaitedintoshape.Forproductionabovethehouseholdlevel,amachineknownas
adoughdividercanbeusedtocutthedoughintoaccuratelyweighedpieces,outofwhich
theindividualloavesorbunswillbeproduced.
Biscuitdoughsarerolledoutandcutusingeitheraknifeorashapedbiscuitcutter.Pastry
doughcanbehandledinasimilarway.Intheproductionofpies,apastrymouldisusedto
retaintheshapeofthedoughduringbaking.
Baking
Duringbaking,foodisheatedbythehotair,andalsobytheovenfloorandtrays.Moistureat
thesurfaceofthefoodisevaporatedbythehotair,andthisleadstoadrycrustinproducts
suchasbreadandmanybiscuits.Ifaglazedproductisdesiredthenitwillbenecessaryto

eitherinjectsteam,orplaceapanofwaterintheoven.Oventemperaturesforbaking
dependonthetype,size,andshapeoftheproduct,andthenatureoftheingredients.
Thetableoutlinessometypicalcombinations:
Mouldingdough
Oventemperaturesforbaking
Product DegreesF DegreesC Time(minutes)
Cake

350

176

4560

Pastry

450

232

1520

Biscuits 425450

218232

1015

Bread

204

3040

400

Arangeofwood,charcoal,gas,orelectricovensisavailable.Thechoicewilldependonthe
cheapestandmostwidelyavailablefuelinaparticulararea.

Packagingandstorage
Ingeneral,bakedgoodshaveashortshelflife,butforproductssuchasbiscuits,thiscanbe
extendedfromafewdaystoseveralweeks,ormonths,ifpackagedcorrectly.
Manybiscuitsarecharacterizedbytheircrispness,andasaresultneedalowmoisture
content.Inordertopreventthebiscuitfrombecomingsoggy,itisimportantthatthe
packagingmaterialpreventstheuptakeofmoisturefromthesurroundingair.Inaddition,
biscuitsthatcontainfatshouldbeprotectedfromlight,air,andheattopreventdevelopment
of'off'flavoursduetorancidity.Plasticfilms,glassjars,ormetaltinsareallacceptable
packagingmaterials.
Puttingbreadintotheoven
Asbreadisusuallyeatenwithinoneortwodaysafterpurchase,themainpurposeof
packagingistokeepthebreadclean.Simplepaperorpolythenewrappingisoftenused.If
polytheneisused,thebreadshouldbepackedafterithascooledtopreventcondensationof
waterinsidethepackandresultingwetspotswhichcausemouldgrowth.
Thepackagingandstorageconditionsforcakesdependontheirmoisturecontentandthe
relativehumidityofthesurroundingair.Eachcakemustbejudgedbyitscompositionandthe
intendedshelflife.Lightcakes,suchasthosemadefromflour,sugar,andegg,haveashelf
lifeofonlyafewdaysifnotpackaged.Fruitcakeshoweverhaveamoredensestructureand
alongershelflife.Thiscanbeextendedtoseveralyearsbycoatingthecakeinmarzipan
(groundalmondpaste)andicingsugar,bothofwhichactasamoisturebarrier.

Suitabilityforsmallscaleproduction
Bakedgoodsprovideplentyofscopefortheproducertouselocallyavailableingredientsto
createavarietyofvalueaddedproducts.Ingeneral,itismoreprofitabletoproducebuns,
biscuits,andcakesthanbread.However,itisverydifficulttopredicttheprofitabilityforsuch
goodsinspecificareas,aspricesforwheatflourvaryfromcountrytocountryandareheavily
affectedbypriceandimportsubsidies.Packagingrequirementsareoftenminimalasmanyof
theproductsareforimmediateconsumption.Thisthereforereducessomeoftheproblems
forproducersintermsofavailabilityandaccesstopackagingmaterials.