Quality Measures in Baking Assessing the quality of baked products requires the measurement of physical and chemical characteristics, textural properties, and attributes related to food safety and nutrition. Because many properties are related to the raw materials, they must be carefully screened for contaminants using specialized measurement techniques. This often requires communication in the form of certificates of analysis between the supplier and baker. Bakers need to take control of the physical and sensory qualities of their final product by specifying their own process settings and materials rather than relying on ingredient or equipment suppliers. Keeping detailed and consistent process data is vital to understanding what is happening during the baking process and obtaining the desired final product, and recording data is especially important when the process is operating smoothly. The importance of consistent bread quality to the sandwich industry, which has very small tolerances regarding slice size, shape, texture, and crumb, is discussed. |