This week we will be celebrating bread across our social media platforms, starting with sourdough.
Sourdough has been growing in popularity for the last decade and is now available from artisan bakers, farmers markets, high street bakeries and supermarkets.
During the recent periods of lockdown there has been a huge rise in baking sourdough at home, for Electric Lit Jess Zimmerman writes:
‘…we turned to bread-making in such numbers that yeast became impossible to find. Denied commercial yeast, we thundered forward with sourdough, which relies instead on a starter made of flour and water, fermented by wild yeast and lactobacillus bacteria.’
In a recent interview with International Bakery, Stefan Capelle, Business Unit Director at Puratos goes further and links soudough’s lockdown popularity with the nations desire for good health and wellbeing:
‘There is a big request from the consumer’s side for transparency, simplicity and authenticity. Ingredients used in baking are more and more ‘clean label’ and inspired by nature. People look for more grains and seeds to improve nutritional value. But we have to go beyond just a grain and a seed… Fermenting them lactic acid bacteria in a sourdough unleashes the full potential of grains.’
Now we are coming our of the pandemic restrictions and people return to work, will their elevated appreciation of sourdough take them back to the bakery shelves to get their fix? Are we set to see sourdough sales flourish?
Stefan Capelle explained to International Bakery that whether you are an artisan baker or a large-scale commercial baker there are two aspects which must be considered:
‘We should start from the needs of consumers and reflect on short versus long fermentation processes. When thinking about their needs for quality and nutrition, I believe they would opt for long fermentation! It does not matter if it is produced in big scale or small scale. Both should produce better bread and serve the ever-growing world population searching for more nutritious and better tasting bread.
Another trend that might further grow soon is the focus on local ingredients. We see the disadvantages of globalisation in terms of climate change, food safety and health. ‘Going local’ allows for an improved sustainability and well-being.’
Are you already experiencing an increase in sourdough sales? Have your customers taste for sourdough changed over the last year? We would love to hear about your experiences, tell us by tagging us in your Instagram posts using #mybakerysolutions or send us a direct message.
If you would like to speak with a member of our team about baking equipment suitable for baking perfect sourdough please email info@bakerysolutions.com or call a member of our team on 0800 083 5639.