Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
3.4.4.2
Industrial Production
At the industrial level, processing is carried out continuously. All the different stages,
which are identical to those of the artisanal process, are connected via conveyor
belts that carry the semi-finished product to the next stage of the cycle. Rational solu-
tions (see
www.wpib.de/
;
www.itecaspa.com/
;
www.esmach.it/
) provide long horizon-
tal systems with linear transportation to avoid bends or turns. Modern plants consist
of completely automated systems of mixing area, controlled by a robotized centre that
exclude manual work for dosage of the ingredients, mixing and movement of the
bowls to the successive stages. After cutting and shaping, the dough comes to the
continuous proofing chamber, whose horizontal or vertical development is propor-
tional to the time needed to complete this stage. Baking under a continuous belt oven
is followed by a long cooling stage, which is controlled by circular net transporters.
3.5
Quality Assessment of Dough Baking Properties
Apart from information on the composition of the raw material, a complete knowl-
edge of the changes that occur during the whole technological process is necessary
to assess the quality of baked goods. Many instruments and techniques have been
developed for this purpose.
3.5.1
Rheology and Descriptive Empirical Measurements
Rheology is the study of the flow and deformation of materials in response to the appli-
cation of mechanical force. The force is usually defined in terms of stress, the amount
of force applied per unit area, with strain being the resulting deformation. The rheo-
logical features of the dough are important throughout the bread-making process and
determine the quality of baked goods [
54
]. Rheological measurements are carried out
to obtain a quantitative description of the mechanical properties of the materials as well
as information related to their molecular structure and composition [
54
] . Usually, rheo-
logical techniques are classified based on the type of strain imposed (e.g. compression,
extension, shear, torsion) and on the relative magnitude of the imposed deformation
(e.g. small or large deformation). The main techniques used for measuring the proper-
ties of cereals are descriptive empirical techniques and fundamental measurements.
3.5.1.1
Quality Assessment of Flour and Descriptive Rheology of Dough
After mixing, subjective manual assessments of the dough were used for a long time
to indicate whether it was suitable for processing and baking. Over time, a significant
