Premixing and transportation

Premixing and transportation

During premixing and transportation, one can also employ the method of flour and meal cooling. Silo manufacturers provide systems that allow cooling of flour and  whole meal during transportation. Similarly, it should also be possible to heat flour when it is too cold. This can be particularly desirable for dough and batters that are temperature-sensitive and have few other ingredients with which to adjust the dough temperature. When flour is transported with warm or cold outside air, the temperature influence is often greater than desired, necessitating a correction method.

In the particular case of bread dough, warm flour is challenging to correct with water alone because there needs to be room for the heat generated during kneading. In puff pastry, this is somewhat the case, and when the dough temperature is too high, the incorporated fat becomes softer. For cake batters, both too cold and too warm flour can negatively affect batter viscosity and homogeneity.

Another point to consider when pre-processing flour before weighing is sieving. Sieving has been a tool in artisanal bakeries during dough and batter preparation. Sieving flour just before adding it to the dough or batter makes it easier and faster to mix, especially in sponge cake batters due to aeration. Another and more crucial point for industrial bakeries is that sieving flour allows for the removal of foreign materials. However, sieves should be adapted for whole wheat flour.

When a company frequently uses similar mixtures of baking soda and leavening agents, it is worthwhile to create a premix of the mentioned raw materials. Keep in mind that the moisture content of the starch should be low to prevent a loss of leavening power due to moisture influences. It is also possible to purchase existing baking powders from the supply industry.

For various reasons, small ingredients are often mixed in advance with each other or with another ingredient that serves as a carrier substance. Many suppliers of auxiliary ingredients have specialized in producing premixes of smaller additions. From small to large bakeries, they become dependent on the knowledge provided by the supply industry. Knowledge should also be present within the bakery itself.

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