Computrac® Moisture Analysis In The Baking Industry

By Arizona Instrument LLC

Providing a quality product is a complex problem that bakers must solve to be successful in a competitive market. Concerns about the taste, texture, appearance and freshness are just a few of the riddles, and at the heart of these is moisture. Too much water in a baker's product can lead to problems with shaping, a soggy texture, and mold and spore formations in packaging. Too little water creates stale, brittle and hard goods.

Along with the obstacles associated with water content, determining the moisture level has proved to be just as complicated. Deciding when to test, what parts of the product to test and where to test are all difficult choices that need to be made, and changes in these decisions will affect the results obtained from testing. For instance, does the baker test the loaf of bread immediately after it is removed from the oven, before water migration is complete and estimate the moisture of the product; or does the baker wait until the migration has occurred and then test for moisture? Additionally, the historical methods used for moisture determination are lengthy processes that hinder the flow of information needed to decide if a product is ready for release or if there is a problem in the baking process.