Author: Methena ／ Release Time: 2026-04-02 ／ Pageviews:
In the modern food processing industry, biscuits have long since transitioned from handmade production to highly automated manufacturing. Whether shortbread or chewy, the consistency of quality, production efficiency, and food safety all depend on specialized biscuit production equipment.
For buyers or food factories, simply understanding equipment parameters is far from sufficient. The real key question is—how does this biscuit making machine work? How does each step affect the final product?
This article will take a practical production perspective, guiding you through seven steps to systematically understand how a complete biscuit production line operates.
All great cookies begin with a perfect "dough fingerprint." In modern production lines, this step is typically done by a vertical or horizontal dough mixer.
Not all mixing is created equal. Hard cookies (like soda crackers) require long, high-intensity kneading to develop gluten, while chewy cookies require gentler mixing to maintain their crispness.
We often find customers neglecting temperature control during mixing. In fact, modern mixers are equipped with a water jacket to prevent the dough from overheating due to mechanical friction by regulating the circulating water temperature. If the temperature gets out of control, the fat will melt prematurely, resulting in a hard cookie texture.
The mixed dough is fed into a funnel and pressed into a uniform strip by a set of rotating rollers.
Precision Rolling: This is not a one-time process. To ensure the release of internal tension in the dough, the strip typically passes through 3 to 4 sets of gauge rolls.
The gap between each set of rollers gradually decreases. If you press the dough too thin at once, the gluten fibers will break, and cracks will appear on the surface of the cookie. Just like making ramen, it requires patience and a gradual process.
This is the most "visual" step in the entire production process.
Depending on the product type, forming methods are mainly divided into:
Suitable for tough biscuits, such as soda crackers.
Suitable for shortbread biscuits, such as cookies and digestive biscuits.
The equipment uses a mold to press the dough into a specific shape, and can also emboss patterns, logos, etc.
The oven is the heart of the entire production line. The current industry mainstream is the tunnel oven.
Three-stage temperature control:
Stage A (Proofing): Low temperature and high humidity allow the cookies to fully expand.
Stage B (Dehydration): Steady temperature increase removes excess moisture.
Stage C (Coloring): High temperature produces the Maillard reaction, giving the cookies an appealing golden color.
Technological trend: Hybrid heating (convection + infrared) is replacing pure gas heating because it is more energy efficient and ensures even heating from the center to the edges.
After baking, the cookies usually pass through a sprayer.
Why spray oil? Hot oil quickly penetrates the surface of the cookies, not only adding shine but also locking in moisture and improving the texture. For savory cookies, salt or seasoning powder is also sprinkled at this step.
A good paint sprayer should have a precise centrifugal nozzle to ensure even application and prevent wasted oil mist.
Many novice manufacturers rush into packaging, resulting in cookies becoming damp and moldy inside the bags. The length of the cooling conveyor belt is typically 1.5 to 2 times the length of the oven.
Cookies must be cooled to room temperature by natural air or controlled airflow. If the cooling is too rapid, the cookies will "check," meaning micro-cracks will appear on the surface, causing them to crumble within a few days.
Finally, the cookies pass through a star-wheel stacking machine, where they are neatly arranged and enter a fully automatic pillow-type packaging machine.
