ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF Bakery, Pasta & Snack Food Technology: practice questions

1 · Functions of bakery ingredients: flour, water, yeast, salt, sugar, fat and improvers · hard

Why is L-cysteine or sodium metabisulphite added to some biscuit and cracker doughs?

1. To prevent mould growth in the packed biscuits
2. To strengthen gluten for higher volume
3. To feed yeast in long fermentations
4. To relax the gluten

2 · Baking: heat transfer and physicochemical changes · hard

During baking, closed gas cells in dough become an interconnected sponge because:

1. Yeast digests the walls between cells
2. Steam injection dissolves the crumb
3. Fat melts and dissolves the gluten
4. Cells rupture as the structure sets

3 · Baking: heat transfer and physicochemical changes · hard

Why is steam injected at the start of baking for some breads?

1. To cool the dough and slow oven spring
2. To kill the yeast before baking starts
3. To delay crust setting
4. To dissolve sugar on the crust and stop browning

4 · Biscuits, cookies and crackers · hard

Radio-frequency post-baking dryers reduce checking because they:

1. Add moisture to the biscuit edges
2. Dry the moist centre preferentially
3. Melt the fat to fill the cracks
4. Cool biscuits rapidly to room temperature

5 · Gluten-free and high-fibre bakery products · hard

Why are gluten-free breads made from batters rather than doughs?

1. Batters prevent cross-contact with wheat
2. Doughs cannot be baked without gluten
3. Gluten-free flours contain too much protein
4. No gluten network forms a dough

6 · Gluten-free and high-fibre bakery products · hard

Transglutaminase is used in some gluten-free products to:

1. Cross-link proteins
2. Hydrolyse starch to sugars
3. Break down phytate
4. Prevent Maillard browning

7 · Snack foods: chips, extruded and fried snacks · medium

Kettle chips are harder and crunchier than continuously fried chips because:

1. They are baked rather than fried
2. They are fried at much higher constant temperatures
3. Oil temperature drops in batch frying
4. They are made from dehydrated potato dough

8 · Deep-fat frying: heat and mass transfer and oil uptake · hard

Too low a frying temperature generally causes:

1. Less oil uptake and darker colour
2. More oil uptake and pale colour
3. Burnt surfaces and raw centres
4. Faster oil degradation and smoking

9 · Bakery equipment and quality control · hard

Why are statistical process control charts used for loaf weight?

1. To control yeast activity during proof
2. To predict staling rate from weight
3. To measure crumb grain automatically
4. To keep weights within specification