The Bread Board

People and bread, a beautiful love story that has been going on for years. Bread occupies a predominant place on our tables, it is even inseparable from our daily lives as of 1 in 2 Australians confesses not to be able to do without it. 

95% of consumers are satisfied with the bread they buy, so no way to do without it. It must be said that there is a wide variety of bread, so it is difficult to resist and in fact, Australians have consumed 8 different types of bread over the last 3 months.

Mixed messages are noticed when asked about the role of bread and its nutritional benefits. This is the result of a new study by the CSA (Consumer Science & Analytics) Institute that shows a strong ignorance of the population about the nutritional contributions and realities of bread. The bread observatory warns of the perverse effects of this perception, which could lead Australians to substitute breads, for more high in fat products and less rich nutrients.

Knowledge of the nutritional properties of bread:

In typical French tradition, a day's old croissant is more often than not turned into a brand new sugared almond croissant by adding a layer of frangipane, sprinkling with confectioner's sugar, and re-baked.  

This tradition and the excitement of on-the-go consumers have pushed Bakers Maison to developed a Croissant range that caters to the markets ongoing love and need of “fast food” with a French twist.

Successive food scandals have undermined consumer confidence. Now suspicious, customers are expecting from their food suppliers exemplary and honest responses.

The questioning is not new. Australians began to wonder about the content of their plate for the past couple of years. Their questions have continued to grow. What is new in the recipe? is it organic? is it made from imported ingredients? and the list goes on.

What are Meal Kits?

Meal kits contain pre-portioned ingredients and recipe instructions for a complete meal, that shoppers prepare and cook themselves. 

Coffee has buzzed its way in the heart of Australians: polls show that it is their favourite drink, just after water.
But how has coffee become such an important drink in our Australian culture?

Around 93% of Australians are gourmands who like to enjoy a croissant or a sweet treat with their coffee.

Going green means caring for the environment by making a deliberate effort to be part of the change. It is about limiting your footprint on the environment and also encouraging others to follow your example.

However, note that going green is not limited to recycling, but living a sustainable lifestyle. Going green is about making small adjustments in your daily life to achieve this goal.

In our previous blog The impact and benefits of being local, we touched on Australia’s new Country of Origin labelling requirements introduced on July 1, 2018. In this blog we delve deeper in to what the labels mean and the effect they are having on food producers and the foodservice industry.

On July 1, 2016 the Australian government introduced a new Country of Origin food labelling system. Businesses were given two years to comply with the new labelling requirements for any foods being produced in, or introduced to, Australia.

Do you know where your food comes from? Do the terms ‘sustainable farming’ or ‘ethically and responsibly sourced’ mean anything to you? Do your customers care about any of this, or is price the most important thing to them?

Over the past decade the food and agriculture industry has undergone major change. That’s no surprise considering the impact of rapid population growth on agricultural land use, the rising cost of food production, climate change, and the shifting geo-political landscape.

A lot of thought and planning goes in to a menu. From creating and implementing certain dishes that capitalise on seasons and seasonal ingredients, to special events or an establishment’s theme (Greek, Italian, etc…). Menus will always need to go through some form of change to remain fresh, exciting and relevant. One way in which menus are changing is by providing alternatives for those who have special dietary requirements.

What kind of dietary requirements should you take in to consideration?

When it comes to bread, do you know how many variations there are? There’s a lot. Sure, it’s not a definitive number, but when you consider there are well over 300 variations in Germany alone, of which some even have regional variations , you can kind of get the picture.

But one of the most confusing questions anyone has asked in regard to bread is: “Which bread is the best?”

In this blog, we focus on the three most common types of grain bread – wholemeal, wholegrains and multigrain, which are typically considered to have the most health benefits. So, what’s the difference between these grain breads and is there one that stands out superior to all the rest?

The festive season brings out the baker in all of us. It’s the family get-togethers, the warm nostalgia of an annual reunion of far-flung family members, the sharing, the air of positivity, the reflection on the year that was and the promise of the year that will be.

With the festive season comes an influx of mouths to feed. With that in mind, here are three inventive festive season baking ideas that are sure to delight you and yours this Christmas.

At Bakers Maison we take our sandwiches pretty seriously. Sandwiches are our metaphorical bread and butter, after all. So when we compile a list of sandwiches from all over the world, we do so comprehensively. While many lists across the internet tick the boxes, they often focus on the ‘wiches we know and love while forgetting their lesser-known counterparts.

With this in mind, we have curated the following listicle of between-bread comestibles, scouring the knowledge of our team and the online community of sando lovers to bring it all together.

Like every other manufacturing sector, baking continually faces challenges and competition to stay relevant and become more efficient. Aside from business and community pressures, there are also environmental pressures as well.

Once an industry that focused on the manual ‘hands-on’ approach, where the only way to increase production was to get up earlier and work longer hours, now, the baking industry has embraced technology.

With Spring already sprung and Summer hot on its heels, the weather is warming up and becoming more agreeable for entertaining. So. what’s a girl, or guy, to do?

This month we are taking a look at some of the most popular breads and pastries to serve and supply for the entertaining season. And how can we start this blog without featuring our finest and most popular product the…

While many tend to have them for breakfast with a coffee on the run, the humble croissant is far more versatile than you may think. Aside from the standard ham and cheese croissant, there are other toppings and fillings that can be used to add a great twist to such a classic.

 Charting the rise of the sandwich, from invention to evolution, from where it’s been to where it’s going.

The humble sandwich. The ‘sando’. Two slices with the hearty stuff in between.

Whether you’re the person preparing the food or the person consuming it – or the person running the hospitality business that serves it – the shifting perceptions around fresh and frozen food are real. Perceptions are changing. And fast.

The changing image of fresh food and frozen food in the world of baking is being facilitated by the evolution and widespread industry adoption of par-baked and ready to prove bread products.

According to Coeliac Australia, approximately one in 70 Australians are affected by coeliac disease , a significant medical condition that can cause serious problems if it not diagnosed and treated. Coeliac disease is now four times more common in Australia than it was five decades ago. Recent research has also found that around 2.4 million Australians, or 10 per cent of the population, are following a gluten-free diet.

The term ‘food intolerance’ is becoming more widely known. The blanket term, covering intolerances and allergies is ‘food hypersensitivity’, and although some of the symptoms may be similar, food intolerances and allergies are not the same.

When it comes to bread, regardless of its final form, we all subliminally know it has been around for quite some time. However, some types of breads have a very interesting history and evolution, like sourdough.

The first recorded civilization to have used sourdough was the ancient Egyptians around 1500BC. Like many inventions, it was believed that Sourdough was discovered and created by accident.

It stands as a testament to humanity’s pursuit of finding more opportunities to eat that we came up with a new terminology and time slot to eat, like Brunch.

So, where did the term Brunch come from?

When you ask those in the food industry there is a lot of confusion surrounding its origins. Some say it originated in England, while others say New York, yet it can be confirmed the word brunch first appeared in print in an 1895 Hunter’s Weekly article by British author Guy Beringer, in an article aptly titled ‘Brunch: A Plea’.¹