Trends in the field of baking


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In recent times, going back to roughly 2020 there was a dramatic up turn in the interest in what was already considered one of the kings of the bread world, sourdough.

Now sourdough is nothing new in fact all breads were sourdoughs before the introduction of commercial yeast during world war 2 by Fleischmann's and then the introduction of instant dry yeast in 1973 by the French company Lesaffre.

Sourdough is a truly slow food that takes a long time to make, which is the main reason these commercial yeasts labelled "fast acting", "rapid rise" all but replaced sourdough out side of the home and some small niche bakeries and factory bread dethroned the original king.

During the pandemic many people took to sourdough baking which lead to flour shortage, which is hard to believe in one of the worlds biggest wheat growing countries. Canada has produced 4% of the worlds wheat supply for the last 20 years, producing roughly 3.5 million tons per year, and was predicted to rise in production by 1-2% in 2023.

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/240513/dq240513b-eng.htm

Pandemics and flour shortages aside, now, thanks to "crumb shots" on social media sourdough is on the rise...👈.....(see what I did there)....again, and more and more people are beginning to discover the health benefits associated with sourdough breads and are expressing the interest in the grains used in these sourdoughs. More people are taking note and more people want to know more.

The trend of nutritious alternatives in baking is nothing new, but our customers are interested in products that benefit long term health and wellness ....as well as that of the environment. Making your own or buying a bio dynamic, gut friendly nutritious power house sour dough made with freshly milled organic grain fits this bill perfectly.

A recent article on Vox media's eater.com a website devoted to all things food and dining, spoke about the popularity of sourdough and a recent surge in the interest of health aspects of sourdough and freshly milled grain. 

https://www.eater.com/24094642/sourdough-bread-trending-again

In addition to these health benefits, enthusiasts are now showing serious interest in fresh milled grains, A trend that has seen significant growth all across North America are bakeries that mill their own flour. There are some bakeries here in Vancouver that specialize in milling grains for baking, Flourist in East Vancouver and Tommy's whole grain in the downtown eastside, both specializing in stone grinding of organic grains. 

https://flourist.com/  https://www.tommyswholegrain.com/

So what does this mean for the field of education in the baking world? An increased focus on nutrition, alternative forms of baking such as vegan, and gluten free has become the norm in baking programs.

With this new interest in sourdough many people are more or less seeing ..."what else will sourdough?" "can you make a croissant healthier?" with interest in bringing the health benefits of sourdough to other products. As an artisan baker I have taken the time to help people understand the benefits of sourdough and food in general made with good ingredients and respect. I certainly hope that this trend is here to stay! 





https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/240513/dq240513b-eng.htm



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