Graham Crackers on a rotary - Does anyone have any tips for breakage of these crackers?

Question

Hello everyone,I am currently involved in an R and D project where we are attempting to make Graham crackers of two different sizes on a rotary, rather than sheeting.  To enable the dough to run on the rotary I've had to decrease the hydration of the dough and I've also lowered the mixing time to a point where the dough is not really being developed.  I'm getting crackers that are visually pleasing but are hard to the bite and also rather brittle.  The breakage of these crackers is my main concern.  I am wondering if anyone has any tips other than developing the gluten further as the mold will not fill out when I do that.  I am interested if there are possibly enzymes that could help in this situation.  Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.   Thank you for your time.

Lutz Popper · Accepted Answer

Hi Matthew,I agree with Amye. Xylanases (a subclass of pentosanases which are a subclass of hemicellulases) have been used for similar applications for decades. Ar sufficiently high dosages, they reduce the water holding capacity of the pentosans. This water becomes available for other substances and processes in the dough, and it may contribute to a modifications of the structure. However, the dosage is crucial, as too small amounts may even result in increased water absorption by the pentosans.  This is also the reason why most bread baking xylanases will not yield satisfying effects, because at reasonable dosages they rather are not aiming at extensive water release, because it would cause sticky bread doughs. But there are a few xylanase for biscuit and cracker applications.As all enzyme-driven reactions, the effects are time and temperature dependent, so you probably would have to run some trials.Regards,Lutz

Amye · Answer

Hi, Maybe you can try enzyme xylanase. It helps to redistribute the water in the cracker and help to eliminate checking of cracker.Hope this helps.Thank you.Regards,Amye