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Lame quick & Spongolit – Major innovations
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Tuesday, 16 April, 2013, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Sumit Pant & Tom Thomas
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From ancient Egyptians (the first to make a leavened bread) to the Roman empire which had numerous pastry chefs working and making finest pieces of craft for the big banquet functions to the smaller portion and gastronomical advancement of modern times, bakery has evolved over the centuries.
However, compared to past few years when sugar sculptures, bread displays and big tier cakes used to be the centre point, now smaller portions with change of texture and more vivid presentations are in focus.
Further, with the quick food culture catching up, demand for bakery products has increased tremendously. The bakery industry or for that matter all the businesses catering to bakery are witnessing a sort of revolution. Gone are the days of small artisan bakeries, now more and more chain bakeries are mushrooming, which cater to the need of the niche customers.
There has been a significant change in the demands of the consumers as well. They are looking for new bakery products, which not only taste good, but also offer great eye appeal - products which are healthy but do not diminish their sweet tooth. This has significantly contributed to the use of innovative bakery ingredients in order to add fibre and increase the shelf life of the products—all the while retaining softness and taste. To meet the demands of the consumers bakeries are taking out new products that are healthy, sugar free and easy to make, use of enzymes and emulsifiers that delay staling are also being used.
Whipping Agent & Emulsifier
A very recent and major innovation in bakery ingredients has been the introduction of Lame quick and Spongolit. Made largely from healthier mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids, Lame quick whipping agents create a pleasant mouth feel and light, creamy texture in products like whipped desserts, cream fillings and cake decorating, ice cream, and frozen desserts. In decorating creams, it is said to produce sharp edges during piping, smooth texture during spreading and stability during serving. Lame quick comes as spray-dried powder that can be whipped up with milk or water.
Another ingredient, Spongolit, is an aerating emulsifier that not only allows cakes to be produced faster and with consistent quality, but also creates excellent stability, volume, and crumb structure. Spongolit comes as spray-dried powder and is ideal for small bakeries, large-scale cake manufacturing, and home-use cake mixes.
Gluten-Free
Gluten-free breads is one of the latest trends in bakery, for people suffering from celiac disease or gluten allergy. Corn, potatoes, rice, and tapioca (derived from cassava) are substitutes for wheat and grains. Other grains and starch sources generally considered suitable for gluten-free include soyabean, nut flours and corn.
Multigrain
With health food becoming the top priority of the consumers, bakeries have also introduced multigrain products. Multigrain is a product in which more than one grain is used in the baking process. Some multigrain breads may have up to five or more grains within them. What makes multigrain bread multigrain is that it is not enriched and uses whole grain.
In some breads, the grain is refined and parts of it have been removed. A whole grain contains the germ, endosperm and bran parts of the grain. The key is to eat multigrain bread with whole grains. Multigrain foods will be high in complex carbohydrates and protein.
Complex carbs are great for energy production, and this can help with exercise and losing weight. They break down slower so they can provide energy over a longer period of time. They can be found in foods in their most natural condition like breads with multiple whole grains. The levels of protein will aid the body in tissue repair and production of antibodies that will help fight sickness or infection. In addition, they will contain nutrients, fibre and essential minerals like magnesium, copper and iron. Multigrain that contains whole grains will be filled with essential fatty acids, B-vitamins, starch and fibre. Magnesium will help build strong bones and teeth. It will also help with metabolism. Fibre is great in helping the body stay regular and maintaining a healthy colon.
Frozen treats
Frozen desserts with minimal use of milk and eggs are also becoming preferred choice of consumers. These desserts are light on the palate and are usually egg-free so can be catered to the demands of vegan customers. There are different types of frozen desserts, which are available:
Sorbet - Dairy-free and egg-free, sorbets are made from fruit juice or flavoured water and simple syrup. They are churned like ice cream to give them a soft and snowy texture (Sherbet usually contains some amount of milk or cream in addition to the fruit juice).
Granita - Granitas are exactly like sorbets except they are made by hand. The liquid base is poured into a shallow dish and frozen. At intervals, the base is stirred or racked with a fork to break up the ice crystals as they form. The result is a frozen dessert with a coarse and flaky texture.
Egg replacers
Egg replacers is a new trend that has been introduced in the bakery and confectionery segments.
Soy-based egg replacers are generally as good as whole eggs at controlling water activity. Shelf life also is equal or improved, as a result of the added bound water and improved freezing quality. As far as colour, soy resists browning, and finished products using soy-based egg replacers tend to be slightly lighter.
Premixes
Nowadays premixes are most variedly used in bakery and confectionery, classical French desserts like crème brulee, crème caramel can all be easily made using premixes which have to be just taken out from the packs mixed with water or milk and frozen to set. Favourites like brownies can be made by using powdered mixes, which are egg-free to suit vegetarians.
Packaging
In addition to enhancing the final product, the bakery industry is constantly developing innovative bakery packaging solutions. The use of sealants for low-temperature seal initiation, outstanding hot-tack strength and minimising the impact of packaging on the environment has been marked as a tremendously innovative effort for the preservation of bakery products.
Expectations and demands
The kind of ingredients and processes involved in the baking industry are the result of the kind of expectations and demands from the consumers. This is a new challenge to the baker and he needs to update his information, technology, products and services to meet the changing needs of the Indian consumer. To meet the new challenges, the Government of India has encouraged Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with very attractive financing schemes, to modernise and upgrade their units. This has opened up opportunities not only to SMEs but also to those in the bakery trade to supply the new technologies. The baking industry in India now is one of the fastest-growing industries, perhaps third only to wheat flour, fruits and vegetables processing sectors.
Challenges
One of the key deterrents of a faster food retail revolution is the lack of well-developed cold chain logistics solution providers. However, the key to building brands in the bakery industry is an effective cold chain distribution. Although the technology for packaging products and increasing their shelf life is being developed and adopted rapidly, the high transportation cost is a concern for bakery chains. The bakery products have to be transported to outlets in cold vans and vehicles, twice or thrice in a day, which is a costly affair.
There are other challenges too like procuring highest quality of ingredients, maintaining consistency in standards of food, managing efficient service in terms of hospitality, high inventory carrying cost, high taxation and high packaging costs. Going forward, the future of bakery industry in India looks bright with more than 60 per cent of the market still served by the unorganised segments, there is a huge potential waiting to be tapped.
(The writers are assistant professors, Banarsidas Chandiwala Institute of Hotel Management & Catering Technology)
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