Catch up on Congress

Bakery Congress touches down in Vancouver once every four years, and
excitement on the west coast was running high as the festivities got
underway early in May.

Bakery Congress touches down in Vancouver once every four years, and excitement on the west coast was running high as the festivities got underway early in May. Bakers had good reason to be smiling. The BAC hosted a great event, with no shortage of highlights to share with Bakers Journal readers.

Over 1,500 attendees walked among 125 exhibiting companies comprising of 170 booths, shared Gillian Blakey of the BAC. Craig Ponsford, proprietor of Ponsford’s Place in California, was the feature area special presenter in partnership with instructors
and students of Vancouver Island University. Ponsford is a past chair of the Bread Bakers Guild of America and previous winner of
Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie in Paris.

Notable observations

Appreciating the bread art at the always intriguing Dawn booth.

The thing that stuck out most at this show was a marked decrease in the presence of gluten-free products and booths when compared to the number of products on display at previous shows in the bakery and other foodservice industries. There was one dedicated gluten-free booth by our count, and three more that highlighted a gluten-free specific product in their show guide write-up. No definite conclusions can be drawn from this observation, but it is possible that gluten-free is separating into its own niche as more gluten-free events, shows and markets have been created. Ingredient and equipment companies had a dominant share of the show floor.

Sustainable palm oil, sodium reduction and alternative sweeteners were on the lips of west coast bakers and exhibitors. Bakers Journal encountered a variety of sweeteners, from coconut sugar to agave syrup.

Good news

Breadometer strives to fix uneven bread bake.

Mark Lalond, chief of marketing programs for the Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC) presented information on a matching investment program available to the bakery industry. The program supports formulation and reformulation with dairy, matching 50/50 investment to a maximum of $150,000 per project. The CDC has $1 million for the program this year. Bakeries with fewer than 25 employees may still qualify. There is a surplus of skim milk powder in Canada, notes Lalond, so the CDC is keen on projects using this dairy product in particular.

There was more reason to celebrate as Lesaffre Group marked its 160th anniversary this year as a privately held company. The company’s products are sold in over 180 countries on five continents. Congratulations on 160 years in business.

Nifty or new
Here are some of the latest and/or neatest bakery solutions Bakers Journal learned about from Congress exhibitors:

Puratos: The company’s O-tentic durum line of bread components is designed to replicate the Atamura bread process. Puratos collected sourdough cultures from southern Italy. The product is meant to help bakers make bread that tastes like it took a long time in a short amount of time. The product is also clean label and boasts a high tolerance against overproof.

Richardson Oilseed: Shorten-It Puff is a new line of roll-in shortenings and margarines for croissants, doughnuts and puff pastry. Richardson worked with scratch-bakeries to develop the product over three years. 

Pura Foods: This booth showcased a range of natural and flavoured organic agave syrups.

Krinos: The company was sampling its new Fillo Twisters and Mini Rolls for sweet or savoury applications. The product has zero trans fat, and no preservatives or additives.

Horizon Milling: This booth had three recent products to showcase. The new Oatmeal Cookie mix allows bakers to just add water while allowing for a variety of inclusions. Horizon’s Italian style flour is available with a high gluten structure, for example, a “00” flour, for pizza and flatbread applications. The new Fudgy Brownie Base just needs eggs and water and is clean label. 

BakeWatch: The Breadometer looks to solve the problem of unevenly baked products. This patent-pending device uses baking software, one air sensor and five dough sensors with a single probe insertion.

Weston Bakeries: Congress was an opportunity for Weston to introduce its All But Gluten range.

Innoseal Systems: The Innosealer Printer and Rewinder offers date code solutions for traceability,

Lallemand: The company showcased their innovations in yeast, with a special focus on vitamin D yeast, organic yeast, anti-mold yeast, clean label enzymes based dough conditioners and probiotics.

Sikat: This booth was generating buzz with banana flour, coconut flour and coconut sugar.

V-Tech: The Veno oven was on display, featuring doors on both sides for easy product handling.

The BAC will host Bakery Showcase in Toronto from May 4 to 6, 2014.