Cultured wheat is a powerful ingredient for any baker's toolbox. Here is a strong preservative that is natural, allowing you to have a solid shelf life without chemicals like sorbates or benzoates. Here’s why you should bake with cultured wheat: Texture-building Anti-staling Fights bacteria, yeast and molds Natural! How does preserve products? Wheat flour is [...]
There are a lot of things you should be paying attention to when it comes to extending your product's shelf life: water activity, acidity control, artificial preservatives and sanitation for starters. But looking for that extra leg up? You should definitely check out antimicrobial packaging. What are the benefits of antimicrobial packaging? Longer product shelf [...]
Calcium propionate, or cal pro, is a highly popular preservative that gives an impressive shelf life to bread products. Since the 1930s, bakeries have been using it to stop outbreaks of ropy bacteria. Here are a few tips for baking with it: Works best at a pH below 5.5. If higher, add in salts of benzoic [...]
Do you have issues trying to prevent mold on your product? Or maybe some of your baked products later have a small amount of water gathered? Water activity is one of the biggest reasons why breads and pastries have fast mold growth. So on today’s podcast Richard Charpentier and Dr. Lin answer your mold [...]
Antimicrobial Packaging What is Antimicrobial Packaging? Antimicrobial packaging (AP) is a relatively new packaging technology that focuses on extending the shelf life of highly perishable food products. It allows food processors to reduce dependence on mold inhibitors and chemical preservatives, as well as reduce refrigeration costs at certain stages within the supply [...]
No one likes to deal with mold. That’s why bakers work so hard to stop it before it shows up. But sometimes it’s about working smarter instead of harder. Mold is an opportunistic living microorganism that feeds on organic matter. It can live in almost any ecosystem or environment. So here are some ways to keep ahead [...]
At BAKERpedia, we hear a lot of questions from bakers. And like most questions, we find that a lot of other people are wondering the same thing. That’s why we spend time each week answering questions on social media and our forum. A few questions keep coming up. So in this episode, Dr. Lin [...]
The cooling process allows the bread loaf to reach optimum slicing temperature and achieve moisture equilibration between the crumb and the crust. However, sealing in visible moisture condensation on the packaging is not a desirable way to ship product. Thermal profiling data is the solution for validating optimum cooling lines performance in the bakery. [...]
Let's dive into the science of cultured wheat for a minute. Thanks to fermentation, an ordinary wheat takes on extraordinary powers, becoming a natural mold inhibitor and shelf life extender! So here are three ways science makes this form of wheat awesome: 1. Fermentation Cultured wheat is flour that’s been fermented with Propionibacterium freudenreichii, usually found in cheese and milk production. [...]
There’s a relationship between the time spent in the oven and the moisture of your product. This relationship is best illustrated with what’s known in the industry as thermal profiling, or the S Curve. Here’s the break down: The product goes into the oven. As the oven goes through it’s mechanisms of convection, conduction and [...]
