How Do Bakeries Quality Test Their Products?

Bakeries must quality test their products to ensure consistency and repeatable results.

One aspect of this is to assess and monitor the quality of raw ingredients. Another is to test the quality of finished bakery products.

Traditionally, a quality test for bakery products would be sensory, involving individuals touching and tasting them.

However, there is now a method for quality testing bakes that is scientific and objective. Increasingly, bakeries are using the C-Cell baking quality analyser to test bakery products.

How Does C-Cell Work?

C-Cell is a digital imaging system designed specifically to test the quality of baked goods.

It offers an objective approach to quality testing through dedicated image analysis of baked goods samples.

C-Cell uses high-resolution image capture and supporting software to analyse samples based on specific parameters:

  • ∙      Colour – l*a*b* colour results, internal crumb colour, external depth and crust colour

  • ∙      Dimensions – area, width, optimum packaging dimensions

  • ∙      Shape – concavity, shoulder and bottom roundness, oven spring

  • ∙      Softness – texture profile and analysis

  • ∙      Cell size – holes, cell areas, volumes, wall thickness

  • ∙      Elongation – crumb cell elongation measurement, the axis of elongation, level of curvature of internal crumb structure, specific degree of circulation.

What is the C-Cell Bread Scoring System?

C-Cell uses a bread scoring system. Bread scoring provides valuable information about the external features and internal structure of bakery products.

The system analyses and displays measurements and test results and translates them into scores. This provides a clear, quantifiable analysis of samples.

Bakeries can select which parameters they wish to score, typically between five and eight results.

This makes the bread scoring system highly customisable for different quality tests, depending on specific product quality requirements.

C-Cell’s scoring and measuring capabilities cover a range of bakery products, including:

  • Bread

  • Biscuits

  • Cake

  • Snack foods

  • Aerated baked products

  • Chocolate and confectionery.

How Should Bakeries Use C-Cell in Quality Testing?

C-Cell has certain core functions to support quality testing in bakeries

  • Internal and external structural measurements

  • L*a*b* crumb colour analysis

  • Bread scoring.

C-Cell can determine if there is an even distribution of external characteristics. It will record multiple measurements for individual samples, such as colour, shape, dimensions and softness.

The best use of C-Cell isn't as a complete replacement for sensory and subjective testing. But it can become a vital component in the entire quality testing process.

This process can involve various quality tests, including:

  • Compression

  • Bulk analysis

  • Extrusion

  • Penetrate and puncture

  • Shear

  • Bend and break

  • Tension.

Compression Test

To establish the firmness of products, bakeries use compression testing. In a standard compression test, a cylindrical probe compresses a slice of bread to 35% of its height.

It repeats this operation a second time, to measure the recovery of the sample as a way of gauging its springiness.

C-Cell will also score springiness when it measures the shape of a sample.

Bulk Analysis

This is especially useful where it’s not practical to measure a single sample, or where this wouldn’t give a detailed enough picture of the product’s quality.

C-Cell is very capable of measuring batches of samples, ensuring consistency in measurements and speeding up the quality testing process.

Extrusion

Extrusion measures the consistency of liquids and semi-solids. In bakeries, it is useful for quality testing custards, pastes and batters.

Penetrate and Puncture

This testing is similar to compression testing, except that the probe is small enough to penetrate the sample. This replicates a biting action to determine a product's crispness or hardness.

C-Cell will supply this data when it performs a texture profile analysis.

Shear

A shear test slices a product to assess its toughness and bite strength. It applies to bakery products such as croissants.

C-Cell’s texture profile analysis will provide objective data to support shear testing.

Bend and Break

To test how products bend and break, bakeries evaluate them based on their flexure and fracture properties. Typically, this involves a three-point bend test.

C-Cell can provide this data when measuring the sample’s features.

Tension

Traditionally, tension testing of bakery products uses a ball probe to measure the sample's tensile strength.

C-Cell will analyse the cell and structural data of a sample and its axis of elongation and level of curvature. It also measures features including softness.

The Future of Quality Testing for Bakeries

Physical and sensory testing of bakery products will always be essential for assessing their appeal to consumers.

But with C-Cell, bakeries can provide greater depth and detail to their quality testing, using objective, scientific measurements.

For more details about this advanced baking quality analyser, please call us on +44 (0) 1925 860 401, email info@bakingqualityanalyser.com or complete our contact form.