client
Oats Biscuits
Our Role
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Today’s Task
What We did Today?
Event: Clean Label Snack R&D – Oat & Naturally Sweetened Biscuit Formulation
Today’s task involved the development of a clean-label, naturally sweetened oat biscuit, using a blend of rolled oats, whole wheat flour, jaggery, and honey. The goal was to create oat biscuits that avoid eggs, synthetic sweeteners, and artificial additives while maintaining taste, texture, and nutritional functionality. Oats are an excellent source of dietary fiber, particularly the soluble fiber β-glucan that supports cholesterol reduction, blood sugar control, and heart health. Moreover, their fibrous structure contributes to improved satiety and digestive health, making them an ideal modern snack for health-conscious consumers.
Our approach involved replacing sugar with natural sweeteners like honey and jaggery. We chose them for their pleasant sweetness and functional properties. Honey contributes to moisture retention in dough, shelf life, and sustained energy release, while jaggery provides trace minerals and a deeper flavor profile. Unlike synthetic sweeteners or highly refined sugars, honey has a lower glycemic index that causes a slower and more moderate rise in blood sugar levels. This formulation ensures the delivery of wholesome nutrition, a clean label, and a multisensory experience that maintains a balance between healthy wellness and indulgence.
How I Felt Before Starting – Baking Without Refined Sugar
Reformulating a traditional baked product with nutrient-dense and naturally sweet ingredients posed several technical challenges, such as balancing dough structure, sweetness intensity, and moisture retention without using eggs and sugar. Furthermore, I was concerned about coarse fibers in oats, as this impacts the dough’s integrity and texture after baking. I also carefully paid attention to using jaggery and honey at a precise level to prevent overspread and maintain bake stability. Despite all these challenges, I was genuinely excited about taking this opportunity to apply food science principles to create a modern snack.
🧪 What We Did Today
Product Development Plan
Our plans for this work were to develop oat biscuits in four stages:
- To experiment with combinations of wheat and oats, and proportions of jaggery and honey.
- To standardise a process to ensure uniform shape, thickness, and prevent overspread during baking.
- To determine controlled temperatures and timings to get the best browning and texture.
- To assess results based on visual appearance, bite, flavour profile, and spread ratio.
Key Steps Followed Today:
Rolled oats were coarsely ground and blended with whole wheat flour in three different combinations (25:75, 50:50, 75:25). The natural sweeteners, including honey and jaggery, were mixed in combination of 2:1 ratio to replace sugar.
Butter was creamed first, followed by the gradual addition of oil, vanilla extract, and sweeteners. This created a smooth, semi-liquid base. The flour blend and baking powder were mixed with the liquid base to form a cohesive dough using a whisk. Purified water is added in the required quantity.
The dough was then refrigerated to improve workability. It was then rolled out with a rolling pin to a uniform thickness and cut into round shapes using a biscuit cutter.
The biscuits were placed on a baking tray with a baking sheet at an inch distance and were baked at a moderate time and temperature range suitable for achieving golden browning without hardening the crumb.
After cooling at ambient temperature, the biscuits were placed in an airtight container and stored for quality analysis and sensory evaluation.
📚 What I Learned?
- Impact of Sweetener on Dough: Jaggery provides rich aroma and flavor; however, adding honey increased moisture and required more chilling time to handle the dough easily.
- Flavor-Matrix Balance: The 50:50 oat–wheat base added with natural sweeteners and vanilla flavor helped to achieve the ideal balance of sweetness, aromas, and mouthfeel.
- Spread Control: Resting and re-chilling the dough helped to control the biscuit spread and maintain its shape integrity during baking.
Outcome:
The naturally sweetened oat biscuits were well achieved, including their clean label profile, gentle sweetness, and earthy flavor. The biscuit texture was mildly crips with a slight chew from the oat. Of all variants equal balance of oat and wheat resulted in the best balance of sensory qualities and dough handling.
✅ What Went Well?
- Butter and oil combination helped to achieve a good base for creaming without eggs.
- Better control over adding honey helped to maintain the level of spread, appearance, and hardness of the biscuits.
- Rolled oats in equal proportion with wheat helped to achieve the desired physical and sensory quality.
⚠️ What Could I Have Done Better
- Should have tracked the spread ratio and thickness more systematically to understand the clear relationship between flour blend and baking behaviour.
- Should have explored the addition of binding agents like plant proteins or fibres to enhance the structural cohesion.
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