See also:

• BISCUIT (pronounced according to the old spelling " bisket," a Fr. form from Lat. bis, twice, and coctum, cooked, in reference to the original method of preparation; cf. Ital. biscotto, Sp. bizcocho, &c.)

BISCUIT (pronounced according to the old spelling " bisket," a Fr. See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form from See also:

• LAT

Lat. bis, twice, and coctum, cooked, in reference to the See also:

• ORIGINAL

original method of preparation; cf. Ital. biscotto, Sp. bizcocho, &c.)  , a See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form of unvesiculated See also:

• BREAD

bread (q.v.), which is made in thin cakes of various shapes and baked in such a way as to be crisp and See also:

• SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short . In the See also:

• UNITED

United States of See also:

• AMERICA

America biscuits of this See also:

• KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind are usually called crackers, but the word See also:

• BISCUIT (pronounced according to the old spelling " bisket," a Fr. form from Lat. bis, twice, and coctum, cooked, in reference to the original method of preparation; cf. Ital. biscotto, Sp. bizcocho, &c.)

biscuit is used there, as also in the See also:

• NORTH
• NORTH, BARONS
• NORTH, MARIANNE (1830—1890)
• NORTH, ROGER (1653-1734)
• NORTH, SIR THOMAS (1535?-16o1?)

north of See also:

• ENGLAND
• ENGLAND, THE CHURCH OF

England, for vesiculated bread baked in little See also:

• FLAT (a modification of O. Eng. flet, an obsolete word of Teutonic origin, meaning the ground beneath the feet)

flat loaves or cakes . Earthenware, See also:

• PORCELAIN

porcelain, &c., which has undergone its first See also:

• BAKING

baking and is ready to be glazed is also known as biscuit or See also:

• BISQUE (a French word of unknown origin, formerly spelt in English " bilk ")

bisque . The raw material chiefly used in biscuit manufacture is See also:

• FLOUR

flour, but many other substances, such as See also:

• BUTTER (Lat. butyrum, Gr. 0obrvpov, apparently connected with $ous, cow, and rvpbs, cheese, but, according to the New English Dictionary, perhaps of Scythian origin)

butter, See also:

• SUGAR

sugar, See also:

• SALT (a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch zout, Ger. Salz, Scand. salt; cognate with Gr. &Xs, Lat. sal)
• SALT, SIR TITUS, BART

salt, various flavouring essences, &c., are also employed . The flour used by the biscuit-maker differs somewhat from that preferred by the bread-See also:

• BAKER, HENRY (1698-1774)
• BAKER, SIR BENJAMIN (1840-1907)
• BAKER, SIR RICHARD (1568-1644/5)
• BAKER, SIR SAMUEL WHITE (1821-1893)
• BAKER, THOMAS (1656-1740)
• BAKER, VALENTINE [BAKER PASHA] (1827-1887)

baker . In the See also:

• MAIN (from the Aryan root which appears in " may " and " might," and Lat. magnus, great)
• MAIN (Lat. Moenus)

main the bread-baker wants flour of some strength, that is to say, flour capable of absorbing a considerable proportion of See also:

• WATER

water and of making a See also:

• LOAF

loaf of more or less See also:

• VOLUME

volume . For biscuits flour strength is not such a desideratum, and as a See also:

• MATTER

matter of fact such moisture as is used to make the dough is largely evaporated by the See also:

• OVEN (O. Eng. of n,Ger. Ofen, cf. Gr. Irvin, oven)

oven; but, except for the commoner kind of biscuits, See also:

• COLOUR (Lat. color, connected with celare, to hide, the root meaning, therefore, being that of a covering)

colour is most essential, as well as sweetness of flavour . In a large biscuit factory several See also:

• HUNDRED

hundred different kinds of biscuits are made, ranging from See also:

• PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain water biscuits to the daintiest See also:

• FANCY (a shortened form, dating from the 15th century, of " fantasy," which is derived through the O. Fr. fantasie, modern fantaisie. from the Latinized form of the Gr. cbavraoia, Oavrai'ecv, Oat Pais, to show)

fancy biscuits glistening in sugar and piping . The storage required for such an See also:

• ESTABLISHMENT (0. Fr. establissement, Fr. etablissement, late Norm. Fr. establishement, from O. Fr. establir, Fr. etablir, Lat. stabilire, to make stable)

establishment is extensive, but lifts serve to handle both raw material and finished products with a minimum of labour . The flour used by a See also:

• FIRM

firm which has a reputation to maintain is sifted as a precaution against the presence of bits of See also:

• STRING

string or other See also:

• FOREIGN

foreign bodies which will make their way into flour sacked by the most careful of millers, and like the butter, sugar and other raw materials, is carefully inspected and tested before being accepted . After blending it is run through a shoot or See also:

• SLEEVE (O. Eng. slieve, slyf, a word allied to " slip," cf. Dutch sloof, apron)

sleeve to the mixers, which may be of any type used in bakehouses (see BREAD) . From the mixers or kneaders the dough is delivered on a flat table, or it may go See also:

• DIRECT

direct to a pair of rolls .

These consist of See also:

• IRON [symbol Fe, atomic weight 55.85 (0=16)]

iron rollers with a See also:

• REVERSING

reversing See also:

• MOTION (Lat. motio, from movere, to move)
• MOTION, LAWS OF

motion, between which the dough is rolled backwards and forwards into sheets of See also:

• UNIFORM

uniform thickness . The next See also:

• STAGE (Fr. 6/age; from Lat. stare, to stand)

stage See also:

• BISECTRIX (fem. of Lat. bisector, from bi-, two, secare, to cut)

BISECTRIX is the feeding of portions of this slab of dough to a cutting and panning See also:

• MACHINE
• MACHINE (through Fr. from Lat. form machina of Gr. µnxavil)

machine . In details this apparatus differs as supplied by different makers, but the broad principle is the same in every See also:

• CASE
• CASE, JOHN (d. 1600)

case . The dough, after first passing through a pair of gauging rollers, which still further thin out the See also:

• SHEET

sheet and are capable of regulating its thickness with the utmost nicety, is received by an endless conveyor-See also:

• BAND

band of webbing or similar material . By this band it is carried forward by intermittent motion to a set of punches or stamps which descend on it in See also:

• QUICK

quick See also:

• SUCCESSION (Lat. successio, from succedere, to follow after)

succession, and serve to See also:

• MOULD

mould the See also:

• SURFACE

surface and cut the edges to the required See also:

• PATTERN

pattern . This operation completed, the moulded dough passes forward on the same endless band . The dough has now been cut into two distinct divisions, the moulded biscuits and the unworked portion which forms a continuous sheet of a sort of scrap . The latter is separated from the moulded dough, and is carried upwards by another band, which delivers it on a See also:

• TRAY

tray or See also:

• BOX
• BOX (Gr. irl or, Lat. buxus, box-wood; cf. 2r6Eir, a pyx)

box whence it is returned to the rollers to be reworked . The moulded dough intended for the oven is carried along by the first band and is gently deposited on trays of sheet iron or See also:

• WOVEN

woven See also:

• WIRE (A.S. wir, a wire; cf. Swed. vire, to twist, M.H.G. wiere, a gold ornament, Lat. viriae, armlets, ultimately from the root wi, to twist, bind)

wire . These trays are taken from the machine by boys and placed on the travelling-chains at the oven, or the trays may be automatically moved forward by a travelling-band and placed on the oven . The oven used for biscuit-baking is quite unlike any bread oven . It is much longer and is provided with sets of endless chains moving in parallel lines, and travelling over sprocket-See also:

• WHEEL (0. Eng. hweol, hweohl, &c., cognate with Icel. hjol, Dan. hiul, the Indo-European root is seen in Sanskrit chakra, Gr. r in Aos, circle, whence " cycle ")
• WHEEL, BREAKING ON THE

wheel terminals and intermediate supports .

The chains have See also:

• SPECIAL

special attachments on which the 'trays of biscuits are rested, and thus pass them through the oven, and See also:

• DISCHARGE (adapted from the O. Fr. discharge, modern decharge, from a med. Lat. discargare, to unload, dis- and earn care, to load, cf. " charge ")

discharge them at the opposite end . Some ovens are provided with a sort of endless See also:

• BELT (a word common to Teutonic languages, the Old Ger. form being bale, from which the Lat. balteus probably derived)
• BELT, THOMAS (1832-1878)

belt of iron plates on which the biscuits are placed . These travelling bands are used chiefly for See also:

• SHIP

ship and also for See also:

• DOG

dog biscuits, but the most usual type is the oven in which trays are moved on the travelling chains already described . The exact See also:

• RATE

rate of travel, or the See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time during which the biscuits are in the oven, can be easily adjusted by means of countershafts and See also:

• LEATHER (a word which appears in all Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Leder, Dutch leer or leder, Swed. leder, and in such Celtic forms as Welsh llader)
• LEATHER, ARTIFICIAL

leather belts See also:

• RUNNING

running on See also:

• CONE (Gr. Kwvos)

cone pulleys fitted at the discharging end . The See also:

• HEAT (0. E. haktu, which like " hot," Old Eng. hat, is from the Teutonic type haita, hit, to be hot; cf. Ger. hitze, heiss; Dutch, hitte, heet, &c.)

heat of the oven as well as the rate of travel is varied according to the kind of biscuit, some varieties requiring a See also:

• GENTLE (through the Fr. gentil, from Lat. gentilis, belonging to the same gens, or family)

gentle heat and a comparatively See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

long sojourn in the oven, while others must be exposed to a fierce heat, but only for a few minutes . The ovens, fired by See also:

• COKE (a northern English word, possibly connected with " colk," core)
• COKE, SIR EDWARD (1552-1634)
• COKE, SIR JOHN (1563-1644)
• COKE, THOMAS (1747-1814)

coke, may be 38 to 50 ft. in length . Their temperature is not generally raised above 50o degrees, but the See also:

• SPEED, JOHN (1552–1629)

speed of travel of the trays ranges between 32 and 25 minutes . The whole See also:

• PROCESS

process of biscuit-making is thus rapid and continuous . The dough is kneaded in the mixers in a few minutes, and when discharged on the dough table is rapidly moulded into the required form by the cutter and panner . By means of endless bands the material is kept moving forwards, whether on the cutter or in the oven . For certain fancy biscuits special processes are used . Piping and sugar decoration is still necessarily done by See also:

• HAND
• HAND (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Hand, Goth. handus)
• HAND, FERDINAND GOTTHELF (1786-185r)

hand, and the glaze on some fancy biscuits is imparted by spraying the moulded biscuit with very See also:

• FINE

fine jets of fresh See also:

• MILK (0. Eng. meoluc; from a common Indo-European root, cf. Lat. mulgere, Gr. ?t dXyetv)

milk .

Cracknels are made from a very stiff dough, and when cut out are thrown into coppers of boiling water . They speedily See also:

• FLOAT (in O. Eng. floc and flota, in the verbal form f eotan; the Teutonic root is flut-, another form of flu-, seen in " flow," cf. " fleet "; the root is seen in Gr. a-M e, to sail, Lat. pluere, to rain; the Lat, fluere and fluctus, wave, is not connect

float to the See also:

• TOP (cf. Dan. top, Ger. Topf, also meaning pot)

top, remaining apart and not forming irta See also:

• GROUPS
• GROUPS, THEORY

groups . From these coppers they are taken out in trays pierced sa as to drain off the water . Then they go into vats of See also:

• COLD (in O. Eng. cald and ceald, a word coming ultimately from a root cognate with the Lat. gelu, gelidus, and common in the Teutonic languages, which usually have two distinct forms for the substantive and the adjective, cf. Ger. Kolte, kalt, Dutch koude

cold water, from which they are again removed, and after being strained of their moisture are panned and baked in a fierce oven . (G . F .