Studies show the demand for these products is only going to increase

What bakery shoppers see, smell, and hear affects what they decide to buy.

The spring-loaded Surprise Cake Stand includes a gift pod large enough to hold a smart phone or other small gift. With the pull of a ring or the crank of a music box, the secret gift pops through the cake.

Cross-merchandising is a highly effective tool to bolster incremental sales.

The percentage of adults who eat several smaller meals throughout the day has risen.

Batory Foods announced it has acquired the assets of Minneapolis-based Polypro International, Inc., one of the largest distributors of hydrocolloids in the United States and the Americas. With the addition of the Polypro business, Batory is positioned to become the largest distributor of clean label texturants in the United States. Polypro has been in business for 37 years and is a prominent supplier of Procol food grade guar gum, which is used as a thickening, stabilizing, suspending and binding agent.

Two key factors drive the movement: increased supply of local specialty grains to support local and regional mills, and new mills at the retail and wholesale bakery level in efforts to complement — but not replace — existing flour supplies.

“Sourdough is deeply embedded in human history. For tens of thousands of years, we have been basing our culture on microbial ecology,” says Erin McKenney, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher at North Carolina State University.

A new initiative involves a national group of craft bakers, millers, teachers, students and wheat breeders who joined forces to create pure and simple whole wheat sandwich bread that appeals to all.

Welcome to the wonderful world of bread experimentation, where bakers are pushing the envelope of creative expression with unique flavors of sourdough and whole grain breads.