Prepare and mix flour confectionery in bakery operations
Overview
This standard covers the skills and knowledge needed to prepare and mix flour confectionery, in craft or artisan bakery operations. Flour confectionery mixtures typically include; cake, sponge, almond based confectionery, meringue, and a variety of sweet fillings and toppings.
You need to show and understand how you check and adjust the condition of ingredients required by a product specification or recipe and prepare for mixing. You will need to show and know how to mix ingredients correctly using different types of mixers, adjust mixtures to meet final specifications and store dough ready for further processing. You need to know how to recognise and prevent contamination during mixing, and recognise when mixtures are at the required specification. You need to know how blending takes place during the mixing process, how mixture structures begin development and how this is different depending upon the type of mixture required. You also need to know what factors effect mixing and how critical the mixing process is to the quality of the eventual product. Complying with and understanding health and safety, food safety and organisational requirements are essential features of this standard.
This standard is for you if you work in bakery operations, and is applied in the context of flour confectionery production.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
1. obtain the correct recipe instructions and specifications for mixing needs
3. isolate and report any substandard ingredients, obtain authority to source replacement supplies in accordance with procedures
4. check and report the safe availability of the mixing area and mixing equipment in accordance with health and safety and food safety procedures
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
1. the standards of health and safety and food safety you are required to comply with, why it is important that you do so, and what might happen if standards are not met
4. how to seek advice and make mixing adjustments, to take into account minor changes in ingredient performance, production timing and environmental conditions, necessary to keep mixtures within specification
5. how to prevent contamination and cross contamination and what might happen if this is not done
6. what the lines and methods of effective communication are and why it is important to use them correctly
7. what the documentation requirements are and why it is important to meet them
8. personal protective clothing/equipment and working practices which are useful in combating the potentially harmful effects of dust and allergies resulting from breathing or skin contact with ingredients or mixtures
9. the importance of mixing to the required specifications for mixing equipment, recipe, ingredients, and process control
10. the purpose of the mixing process for flour confectionery mixtures and the importance of achieving the specified outcome
11. the importance of loading ingredients at the correct temperatures, in the correct weights/volumes and the correct order
12. what problems result from overloading the mixer, using an inappropriate mixer or selecting the incorrect mixer attachments
13. basic principles whisking, beating and blending to produce specific mixture structures and textures and how this is critical to achieving product quality
15. the principles of chemical aeration and the agents used in typical flour confectionery mixtures
16. how to recognise a mixture which is not conforming to specification and what basic corrective actions may be relevant