Baking & Snack - March 2023 - 38

ARTISAN BREAD
" They use a combination of sourdough
starter and commercial
yeast so that you can shorten
the fermentation time and
get a more reliable timing
on your product. And at the
same time, it reduces the
amount of sour, but it's still
technically a naturally leavened
bread with the addition
of what we call a yeast spike. "
Regardless of whether bakers
are making artisan bread,
pizza or bagels, the use of sourdough
is experiencing an upward
trajectory.
" Sourdough is here to stay, and it's going to
Sourdoughs are
rising in popularity
in the artisan bread
community. They're
by far the best
sellers at Farm to
Market Bread Co.
Farm to Market Bread Co.
grow because the customers want it, especially in the
artisan community, " Mr. Reinhart said. " Sourdough is
the new shibboleth of being in the artisan game, just like
working with whole grains and ancient grains. "
Clean and creative
Artisan bakers not only take pride in baking some of the
tastiest clean label breads in the world, but they are also
embracing sustainability practices.
" That's a differentiator for us, " Mr. Friend said. " That's
Artisan bakers
embrace clean
label ingredients
and sustainability
practices as a point
of differentiation.
©pbd Studio-stock.adobe.com
how we compete: on quality and the ability to offer that
clean label product. It definitely helps us on the retail
side as we continue to try to break into those bigger
retailers. "
When it comes to sustainability, Mr. Frenkel works
with upcycled ingredients, such as using garlic peels
" IF THERE'S A FARMER
WHO IS GROWING
SOMETHING AROUND ME
AND BRINGS IT TO THE
FARMERS MARKET, I'M
INTERESTED. "
Guy Frenkel, Ceor bakery
that are fermented for a few weeks and used for a focaccia
topping.
" In our heirloom country loaf, we use spent grains
from breweries, " he said, adding that they dry and mill
them in house. " We run it through the mill, and it makes
the most fragrant, gorgeous, delicious flour. "
Artisan bakeries build their reputations around producing
the highest quality breads and baked foods,
which comes from consistency, quality and creativity.
Mr. Frenkel draws inspiration from a wide variety of
sources for both the flavors and shapes of his breads. For
instance, he is interested in traditional Chinese medicine,
which prompted him to study and explore the subject,
finding out the best ways to implement ingredients
used in it in a functional way in bread.
" It doesn't even need to be culinary to inspire me. It
can be pottery, " Mr. Frenkel said. " So many things end
up being a part of the story of our breads that we take
inspiration from. Sometimes it's ingredients, and other
times it might be a geometric shape, and I think, 'That
would look amazing as a bread.' "
Mr. Davis said he and his team are constantly testing
things and trying to stay as nimble as possible. Supply
chain challenges have prompted the company to take a
good look at operations to ensure they are running as
efficiently as possible and producing the SKUs that are
most vital to customers and consumers.
" We're looking internally a lot and re-evaluating how
we do things, why we do things, " he said. " It's really
healthy to do that because you can't just set it and forget
it. You have to continually evolve. There's new competition
out there, there's new ingredients, there's new machinery,
there's all of these things we need to continually
look at that have very long lead times that we need to
start testing and evaluating. And that's what we're doing.
We're looking at what we do and how we do it and how
we can be better. "
Artisan bakers have so many ingredients and formats
they can explore, and those who can respond to
market challenges while staying true to their vision can
find success.
38 Baking & Snack March 2023 / www.bakingbusiness.com
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Baking & Snack - March 2023

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