The baking processes are basically similar in all bakery products such as bread, cookies, cakes and biscuits. Baking is the last and most important stage of production for bread and biscuits. The last of the bread production stages is the baking process in which the dough gains a light, porous, easily digestible and delicious structure under the influence of heat. The most obvious effect of heat on the dough during this process, in which dough is transformed into bread, is volume growth, crust formation, end of activity of yeast and enzymes at certain temperatures, and partial gelling of starch by forming the necessary structure of dough protein. To produce the desired quality bread, careful and controlled baking is necessary. The proportion of heat applied to the dough during baking, the amount of steam to be introduced into the oven and the baking time play an important role in the final quality of the bread.

Modern ovens have generally been developed on the principle that the bread dough is exposed to varying temperatures and steam quantities over a period of time on trays, pans or conveyor belt. In the first step, which covers approximately one quarter of the total baking process, the dough is kept at 204 ° C. In this phase, the temperature of the portions of the bread close to the crust reaches 60 ° C with an increase of 8.5 ° C per minute. The first change on the dough by the effect of heat is the formation of an almost instant, thin and flexible surface layer. The rise in temperature first accelerates the activity of the yeast and the enzyme. The carbon dioxide gas thus released rapidly leads to a volume growth of approximately one third of the bread dough in the oven. At temperatures around 50-60 ° C, many enzymes lose their effect due to heat, while yeast and other bacteria die off.

At this temperature, necessary carbon dioxide gas is produced to achieve the required volume growth in the dough. The thin layer formed on the surface begins to thicken, lose its flexibility and become brown.

The second and third stages of baking constitute half of the total time. At this stage, the oven temperature is kept constant around 238 ° C. During the second stage, the temperature rises by 5.4 ° C per minute until it reaches 98.4-98.9 ° C and then remains constant with the start of the third stage. At this temperature level, the evaporation of the water in the dough and the necessary structural changes of the starch and protein occur at the maximum level.

BISCUIT PRODUCTION

In the past, fixed pans ovens were used in biscuit production. Today, when it comes to biscuit oven, only tunnel ovens that work continuously on a line comes to mind. There have been significant changes in ovens both in terms of technology and efficiency. As a result of these changes in the oven insulation, combustion and control systems, the efficiency of the ovens has increased, the production costs have decreased and the ovens have become safer.

As for the biscuits, the baking process is the step after the dough shaping step. After the biscuit is shaped, the baking process starts. The dough, which has been shaped differently, is transferred to the conveyor belt and taken into the oven after taking a certain distance and baked. Almost all types of biscuits are baked in conveyor belt ovens.

THE GLOBAL MARKET OF BAKERY PROCESSING EQUIPMENT

Various changes in dough occur during baking process. Product density is greatly reduced due to the open porous structure. The water (humidity) level drops to 1-4%. The maximum moisture content of the biscuit is 5%. Biscuits differ from other baked cereal products such as bread and cakes by having a low moisture content. Bread typically has 35 - 45% moisture, cake, 15 - 30%, and biscuits, 1 - 5% moisture.The product can maintain its freshness for as long as it is protected from moisture. The surface color changes. The production process of biscuit, which is a nutrient consumed by people of all ages in almost everywhere, ends with packaging.

The bakery processing equipment market is highly impacted by the changes in the bakery industry to produce complex & innovative bakery products of different shapes and sizes, thereby trying to meet the increasing demand from the processed food industry and cater to changing consumer demands.

Development of new machinery and enhancement of the existing ones are the key strategies adopted by many players in the bakery processing equipment market. In addition to this, the growing focus on facility expansion, marketing schemes, and information exchange programs to create awareness and enhance the applications of bakery processing equipment contribute to the growth of the market. The bakery processing equipment industry experiences a few restraints regarding cost structure and fixed cost involvement in a high investments market. However, the rapid growth and increase in demand from the bakery industry encourage manufacturers to sustain market competition.

The global market of bakery processing equipment is estimated to reach 10 billion 258 million dollars in 2023. The oven sets and helps in maintaining the proper conditions of heat flux, humidity, and temperature to carry out the baking process and remove moisture from the products. A wide range of bakery ovens are manufactured, which are designed using advanced technologies and research to offer products with low fuel consumption, affordable prices, excellent volume, shine, texture, and crust in the market. Manufacturers are providing ovens in various shapes and sizes to meet the various requirements of customers around the world, according to the recent market and consumption trends. Ovens are manufactured with trolleys fitted inside them to increase bakery production with less energy consumption. The various types of ovens used in commercial baking companies include direct-fired oven, indirect-fired oven, electric oven, peel brick oven, rack oven, deck oven, reel oven, tunnel oven, and hybrid oven. Ovens & proofers witness high demand and are widely used in the Asia Pacific market, due to the growth in the bakery industry in the region.