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I want to make hard biscuits like teething biscuits Now the biscuits which I have made is not so strong and observes moisture quickly I use all purpose flour, a little baking powder,oil , a little xanathan gum Please can anybody suggest me what additives should I add to make the biscuits stronger and unbreakable. which edible coating I can get waterproof coating so that it can withstand hot and cold water

Ben. Vicky
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    Not absorbing moisture from the air is different to withstanding hot and cold water. Actually waterproofing food is hard because our digestive systems are aqueous. What's the purpose? You say "like teething biscuits" - if this is for infants that might rule out some options that would be ok for you. Would a removable wax like on cheese be acceptable? – Chris H May 03 '18 at 11:42
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    This is two questions. One about adding an ingredient and one about a coating. It helps if you [edit] your question to make that clear. While you're at it: observe -> absorb. –  May 03 '18 at 12:12
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    Sealing food in waterproof could yield bad surprises with condensation inside the seal... – rackandboneman May 03 '18 at 14:05
  • Related: https://cooking.stackexchange.com/q/40024/67 ; https://cooking.stackexchange.com/q/43957/67 – Joe May 03 '18 at 16:37
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    And you’re never going to get “unbreakable”. You can get stronger by developing the gluten, – Joe May 03 '18 at 16:42
  • I agree with Jan. Are you asking about a coating for a "regular" biscuit, or do you want to make hardtack (like a teething biscuit)? – MaxW May 04 '18 at 05:44
  • @JanDoggen while gluten can be pretty much water-insoluble, developing it to a point where it waterproofs stuff would likely create something very inedible... – rackandboneman May 04 '18 at 19:41
  • Ahhh, there is a coating I can think of that will deal with cold water extremely well. It is called chocolate! – rackandboneman May 04 '18 at 19:42
  • Mr Max it's a hard tack biscuit but the hardness which I have got is not sufficient , I need quite stronger biscuits ,not that easy to break – Ben. Vicky May 06 '18 at 06:05

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Can you tell us what the purpose of the biscuits is? If you just want hard biscuits for decoration, then do not use any fat or egg. Pretzels are hard but brittle because they have oil in them. However, I have found that using just water and flour, and maybe salt to tighten the gluten mixture, the resulting cooked dough is hard (I shallow fried thin pieces of Chinese dumpling wrapper dough, which has just water and flour, nothing else. If you are baking it, I won't be able to tell you what temperature and duration to bake it for). Kneading the dough will create a tougher dough and when you bake it, it will be very hard, but it will not taste very good. If you want it for or teething, it will not be good for babies because if they do break it, the biscuit might cause choking as it is quite tough to chew.

If you are looking to stop the surface from absorbing moisture, then the less porous it is, the better. A few ways you can do that is:

-Do not use egg, milk, butter or oil in your biscuits. Biscuits with these ingredients have rough crumbs and rough surfaces caused by bubbles in the biscuits - these bubbles/gaps lets in moisture and the crumbs absorb the moisture.

-coat the surface with an egg wash, this can create a thin barrier between the inside of the biscuit and the air

-coat it with some form of agar jelly - gelatin melts in heat so can melt if placed in water depending on the temperature. Agar is tougher and does not melt with low heat.

-Coat it in hard candy coating - the type you get on the outside of MnMs chocolate. It is not water proof but it will create a seal around your biscuit to stop it from absorbing moisture.

Experiment to see which combination works for your purpose.

I have many questions
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  • You're welcome. If you try the different methods, please let us know the results here. – I have many questions May 06 '18 at 06:04
  • This biscuits are used by military person living in minus degree , they say the biscuits is brittle and easily breaks and not hard , the biscuits should be soaked in coffee or tea for atleast 10 to 15 minutes after that they want to eat – Ben. Vicky May 06 '18 at 06:10
  • If the your biscuits are soft and brittle, why do they need to be soaked in coffee? Do the people want the biscuits to be hard? The problem is, any edible flour product will eventually absorb moisture if it is exposed to air. This is why biscuit packages always says to keep it in a dry place, or air tight container, to prevent moisture entering. If your goal is to provide the people with with a hard biscuit that you can store for a long time, I think your only option is to put them in individual airtight packaging. – I have many questions May 08 '18 at 03:13