Why do we test bread?

The analysis of bread is a vital part of the production process in bakeries, as quality control is essential for ensuring finished products that are both safe and of a consistent quality.

What influences the quality of bread?

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The right combination and balance of ingredients, along with an optimised baking process, will influence the quality of bread, although flour is the most critical in defining end-product quality.

In yeast-leavened bread products, flours require a medium to high protein content, and the structure of the dough must have both elasticity and extensibility which allows the fermenting dough to retain all of the developing gas and obtain the optimum bread volume.   

Where testing finds deficiencies in flour quality, bakers can partially offset these by using additives / improvers or modifying the production process.

What are the key quality attributes a bakers will assess when looking at bread quality?

Bread comes in wide range of styles and each one has a well-defined set of perceived standards relating to size/shape and internal structure that the purchaser uses to product type.

  • Crust – bread should have an even crust which should include a variety of hues, from deeper golden browns to lighter tones

  • Air cells – a properly kneaded, but not over-worked, dough will create air pockets in the finished loaf that will vary in size from 1mm up to 15mm depending on the type of bread being produced.

  • Elasticity – Fresh bread will spring back when you press your finger into it

  • Flavour – this is as much about smell as taste, so that you should be able to sense this before you actually taste it

Good bread comes from quality ingredients, and the baker must ensure each ingredient conforms to industry standards.

  • Flour is the main ingredient in bread, and the best flour for baking bread has a medium to high protein level with the correct ratio of Glutenin:Gliadin to produce an elastic cohesive dough that is able to retain the carbon dioxide produced during fermentation

  • Salt is a multifunctional ingredient, essential for giving bread its taste, as well as controlling the rate of fermentation, strengthening the gluten and improving the dough’s capability for holding gas. Not enough salt and the dough will be soft and difficult to process, while the resulting bread will be bland-tasting.

  • Fat stabilises the fermenting dough structure allowing individual seed cells to develop rather than coalesce into larger holes

  • Yeast is the leavening agent and is the reason the dough increases in size due to fermentation. Carbon dioxide and ethanol are prodcued through fermentation of the natural sugars produced by enzymatic breakdown of the starch granules.

Why is it important for the baker to test bread?

It is important to test bread as this ensures quality is being maintained or improved with small adjustments to the recipe or process.

There are various, highly effective scientific ways of testing the quality of these ingredients.

What tests are the specific tests carried out on flour and bread

  • NIR (near infrared) for Protein quantity and quality. + Ash content

  • Farinograph / Doughlab analysis for Water absorption and dough rheology

  • Falling number test for alpha-amalyse enzyme activity.

  • Extensograph measurement of the elastic and extensible properties of the mixed dough.

  • Air Jet sieves for quantifying Particle size distribution of flour particles.

  • Rheofermentometer for Gas production and retention.

  • Volume analysis to measure Loaf volume,

  • C-Cell evaluation for crumb structure

Can you inspect bread by sight alone?

The sensory evaluation of bread is an important aspect of inspecting finished bread, but it is only part of the overall testing process.

As we have already seen, the quality and balance of bread ingredients are fundamental to a successful bake, as are the processes for mixing them together.

Bread making is as much a science as it is a skill, and science provides the essential tools for effective bread testing.

For more information about our specialist bread testing equipment, please call us on +44 (0) 1925 860 401, email info@calibrecontrol.com, or fill in our online contact form.

Rachael Smith