Understanding the biscuit production line

12-08-2025 73

The biscuit production line is an advanced technological solution that helps improve production efficiency and ensure product quality. From mixing, shaping to baking and packaging, automated equipment not only helps reduce labor costs but also optimizes the process, meeting market demand for delicious, crispy and uniform biscuit products.

Mục lục

Main ingredients in the biscuit production line

The basic ingredients in the biscuit production process include: flour, sugar, fat, raising agent, salt and water.

Flour: Depending on the type of cake, flour is selected with the appropriate protein content. Biscuits made from chewy dough often use flour with a protein content of about 9-10%, with moderately elastic gluten. Meanwhile, cookies and dough groups prioritize flour containing about 8% protein, with weak gluten. At the factory, flour is imported into silos and passed through a vibrating screen to remove impurities.
Raising agents: Substances such as yeast, ammonium bicarbonate and sodium bicarbonate are used in the fermentation and baking stages to help the dough rise evenly.
Sugar: Not only does it create sweetness, sugar also contributes to the development of the cake's texture. Some products use additional sugar in syrup form.
Fat: Helps improve the structure, flavor and feeling when taking the first bite. Butter and shortening are two common types of fat. Before being added to the dough, the fat is often mixed with an emulsifier to ensure even distribution in the mixture.

Operational process in the biscuit production line

Although there are many types of biscuits with diverse recipes and shaping methods, the general production process is still quite simple and follows three main stages: kneading, shaping and baking.

Of which, the kneading and baking stages have the greatest influence on the quality of the finished product, while the shaping stage determines the production capacity.

- Mixing

This stage aims to prepare the dough for the shaping step and contributes to perfecting the quality criteria of the finished product. The goal is to create a dough with the necessary structure, color and uniformity.

Depending on the process of each factory, the ingredients can be mixed using the "one-step" or "multi-step" method. The final temperature of the dough must reach the standard level, this is an important parameter that needs to be controlled during the kneading process.

- Forming

This process helps to divide the dough into relatively uniform sized pieces, and also shapes the cake according to aesthetic requirements.

After the fermentation stage, the dough is rolled into many layers, usually from 4 to 6 layers with a thickness of about 4mm. Then, the dough will be passed through the thickness reduction rollers ("gauge rolls") to reach the desired size. Finally, the cutting roller will shape the cake into the appropriate style. Controlling the weight of the dough and the condition after fermentation is an important factor to ensure the quality when baking.

- Baking

Baking not only helps to cook the dough but also shapes the color, flavor, and characteristic structure of the cake, while reducing moisture and destroying microorganisms, helping the product to be preserved longer.

After shaping, the cake is put into an oven from 25 to 100m long, which can be heated directly or indirectly. The oven is usually divided into 5-6 heat zones, with each zone adjusting the temperature and humidity differently.

The baking mode depends on the dough formula, thickness, cake mass and baking equipment structure. Parameters that need to be controlled include:

Humidity in the baking chamber
Temperature of each zone
Baking time

In addition, air velocity, conveyor speed and baking tray rotation also affect the quality of the cake.

- Oil Spraying

When the baking or drying stage is completed, the cookies are put into the oil spraying and seasoning stage to enhance the flavor of the product.

Vegetable oil is often sprayed while the cake is still hot to absorb quickly and help the seasoning stick more firmly. Depending on the type of cake, the amount of oil can account for 5% to 17% of the total weight. The oil sprayer is designed to spray from above, below or both sides. The oil is heated in tanks before spraying to achieve the right viscosity for even coating on the surface of the cake.

- Cooling

The cake after oil spraying needs to be cooled to a temperature close to the environment before packaging. The cooling time is usually 1.5 to 2 times longer than the baking time.

This process helps to balance the moisture between the core and the surface of the cake. If the difference in moisture is too large, the cake may develop small cracks after packaging, affecting the quality and aesthetics.

- Packing

The production process ends when the cookies are fed into the automatic packaging system. Some factories use vertical packaging machines, while others prefer horizontal ones.

Close control of the tightness of the packaging is an important factor to prevent the product from leaking or collapsing. Nitrogen gas is often added to packaging as a preservation method to maintain crispness and extend product shelf life.

Main equipment in the biscuit production line

Modern biscuit production lines include many specialized equipment, designed to automate and optimize each stage from raw material preparation, kneading to baking, cooling and packaging. Some of the main equipment in this production line:

- Dough mixer

The dough mixer is an important equipment that helps mix ingredients such as flour, sugar, fat and other ingredients to form a homogeneous dough. Depending on the technological requirements, the machine can perform a single-step or multi-step mixing process with the ability to control the mixing speed and dough temperature.

- Rolling and shaping machine

This equipment is responsible for rolling the dough into uniform layers, then cutting and shaping the cookies to the desired size and style. The cutting shaft can be flexibly adjusted to create many different shapes of cookies such as round, square, or special patterns.

- Oven

The cookie oven is usually a long tunnel, divided into many different temperature zones to ensure that the cookies are evenly cooked, have beautiful colors and a crispy, spongy structure. The oven can operate with a direct or indirect heating system, depending on the type of cookies being produced.

- Oil and seasoning sprayer

After baking, the cookies are transferred to the oil sprayer to enhance the flavor and create a glossy surface. Seasonings can also be added during this stage. The oil spray system is designed to evenly coat both the top and bottom of the cookies.

- Cooling system

After baking, the cookies need to be cooled to ambient temperature before packaging. The cooling conveyor system is often long and operates continuously, helping to balance the moisture inside the cake, avoiding cracking after packaging.

- Packaging machine

Automatic packaging machines help wrap products quickly and effectively. Depending on the design of the line, the factory can use vertical or horizontal packaging machines. Automatic packaging systems often integrate nitrogen gas injection technology to better preserve the cake, maintain crispness and extend shelf life.

- Quality control system

This equipment helps detect defective products such as cracked cakes, uneven size or lack of seasoning. Modern sensors and cameras support automatic monitoring, helping to minimize errors and improve the quality of finished products.

In summary

Thanks to the development of technology and automation, the biscuit production line is increasingly perfected, becoming an important foundation to help businesses increase production capacity and improve product quality.

With its outstanding advantages, this production line not only serves domestic consumption needs well but also contributes to affirming the position of the Vietnamese food industry in the international market.

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