Bread is a staple part of many people’s diets across the globe. Despite its importance in meals around the world, it’s a short-lived food with many ways that the quality can be impacted or made unpalatable.
With so many factors to consider, how to measure the quality of bread effectively and reliably can be a headache for producers if not done correctly. Luckily, C-Cell can eliminate guesswork and alleviate the demands of careful analysis.
Seven ways to measure the quality of bread
For some, texture is more important than taste. For others, the flavour of bread trumps mouthfeel. To capture the most whole view of the quality of your bread, several factors must be analysed simultaneously and the relations between each other need to be noted.
We’ve identified seven key factors to measure the quality of bread.
Crust
The crust of a loaf is quite literally the surface level feature, yet it’s important to be mindful of. A ‘good’ crust will differ from one kind of bread to another. For instance, a sliced white loaf should have a soft crust that’s almost as spongy and light as the crumb. A tiger loaf or a baguette, on the other hand, typically has a hard and crunchy crust.
The external colours and depths of these crusts also differ, sending subconscious signals about the general quality of the bread to the consumer. A rich golden-brown colour is expected for many loaves – anything lighter can suggest a loaf has been underbaked.
Crust colour can be analysed using the l*a*b* format, an accurate colour space that sees common use within the food industry.
Flavour
Though hard to describe in its entirety, the flavour of bread relies on a complex balance. The right levels of flour, yeast, and salt with other ingredients lend the ideal slice of bread its rich, warm flavour that rounds out sharper flavours and complements others.
Though flavour can’t be directly measured using a piece of equipment per se, the levels of ingredients in bread can be analysed alongside taste test feedback to ascertain where the appropriate quantities sit for each.
Shape
Is shape really important for bread? Aren’t flavour and texture and size all more important?
The shape of bread carries more significance than it might seem. A misshapen loaf can imply poor quality control. Buyers making this inference might also assume that if shape isn’t being monitored then neither is hygiene or flavour.
The best way to measure bread shape is by taking the dimensions of a slice, measuring height and width to obtain (and compare against) average dimensions. Shoulder roundness can also be measured using equipment such as C-Cell for more accurate shape data.
Colour
Colour is ultimately a matter of opinion between individual buyers, but objective colour values can be obtained using colour spaces such as the aforementioned l*a*b* space.
It’s not only bread crust that can be analysed for optimal colour. The crumb – the internal, softer section of bread – can also be measured for brightness and the levels of light reflected from internal structures like cells.
Expectations of colour come with the type of bread in question, allowing colour to be altered as necessary to reflect the qualities expected of the loaf, e.g. an ‘earthier’ colour for wholemeal or 50/50 loaves.
Air pockets
The number and size of air pockets is essential in certain loaves to prove that the bread has been properly aerated in the oven. A domed English-style loaf should have such large air pockets, for instance.
Air pockets can affect the crumb structure of bread and therefore the taste and texture of the finished product. Certain styles of bread rely on aeration amongst other qualities to set apart its particular aspects, often as a cultural staple.
Additionally, bread with excessive aeration is lacking in physical substance and may feel ‘empty’ to the consumer. Uneven distribution of air pockets can be a sign that too much yeast is being added to the dough, leading to fast fermentation that works before the flour can expand.
Size
Measuring the size of each bake can be a sign of improper ingredient mixes, too much dough being used, or other problems with portioning and quality control. Gathering size information can often be taken at the same time as measuring shape and dimensions of bread slices, and an average of sizes can highlight any issues or inconsistencies in production.
Crucially for producers, size must be reflective for the price consumers pay and the quality they receive balanced with the amount of product they get.
Cell size
Cell analysis might not even yield information that the average buyer consciously detects. Nevertheless, it yields important information regarding crumb structure. Measuring cell elongation can also provide information on the axis of elongation and the level of curvature in the internal crumb structure.
Furthermore, cell analysis can give bakery R&D essential information about ingredients and their behaviour in a bake, highlighting areas for improvement. Large cells can signal too much water or not enough salt, for example.
Measuring bread quality with C-Cell
To the question of how to measure the quality of bread, C-Cell is the answer. And not just the quality of bread; C-Cells high-definition images and powerful software can analyse a wealth of information from bread, cake, pastries, and other baked goods to give you the most in-depth view of quality possible.
Analyse cell structure and elongation, shape and dimension, and objective colour data amongst other data points to develop KPIs and support the development of your product.
To learn more about how to measure the quality of bread and the equipment you can use in your production, contact us today.