Modern Baking - December Issue

The December issue of Modern Baking is out and available online...read it here!

http://modern-baking.com/dec2011/

Gear Up For 2012 - BakingTech

Register now for the BakingTech conference in March of 2012! A trade show, meetings, training sessions, and more...it is a great way for a bakery to start the new year!

http://www.asbe.org/

Daily Deals for Bakeries?

A great article about bakeries using Daily Deal services like Groupon and more...very interesting!

http://www.bakersjournal.com/content/view/3435/132/

Slice Cake Triangles Inside A Pan

FoodTools can now cut triangle shapes inside quarter sheet pans with an economical stand alone machine.

In the past, the only way to achieve this slice was to purchase a high production, inline machine, a considerable investment for baking facilities.

The new accessories on the CS-10E bring this cutting process to the larger market, making it easier for all bakeries to accomplish.

SLICE IN THE PAN!
4 Quarter Sheets Per Minute
240 Quarter Sheets Per Hour

The CS-10E is a proven machine in the baking industry and is used to portion and slice sheets of brownies, rice crispy treats, granola bars, biscotti, and more. Most often the machine is used to slice products that are removed from the pan and placed on a product holder. Custom accessories allow a facility to slice these bakery products inside the pan.

The photos here show the new setup slicing chocolate cake in a quarter sheet foil pan. The cake is baked in the pan and moved to the cutting station. Next the products still in the pans are taken to the packaging station to be packaged and shipped for consumer sales.

The benefit to this upgrade is that bakeries shipping quarter sheet products in baking pans can now portion the products without the extra step of removing the products from the pan and then repackaging for shipping. Save time and investment by using an all in one solution.

Smaller Portions a Growing Trend

In recent months many publications have touted the growing trend of portion control and smaller serving sizes with articles, editorials, and reports from research and surveys. The trend seems to continue to grow and in the November issue of Baking Management another article focused on trends and statistics regarding smaller portions. The article titled “Everything in Moderation” sited data from Mintel Reports as well as Infoscan Reviews. As with past articles, the cause of this change in consumer behavior is attributed to customers seeking more healthy alternatives as well as the economic recession. Hugh Brooks, senior business manager for Dawn Food Products, was quoted saying “Pre-sliced products continue to grow quickly in terms of retailer shelf space.” Full cakes or large portions are beginning to look wasteful as most American consumers are living in smaller households. If a full cake is purchased there is a good chance that some will be wasted or thrown away. The drive for smaller pre-portioned cakes and desserts can be tricky for bakeries slicing products by hand. Bakeries that have FoodTools equipment can often order custom accessories to quickly and easily change cut patterns to achieve smaller portions. Bakeries without cutting and slicing equipment can contact FoodTools to work with a sales representative to find a machine that will work best for their products.

Source: Baking Management November 2011
Everything In Moderation by Maggie Hennessy

Day Two of Sweet & SnackTec India

Today is day two of the baking trade show in India!

Sweet & SnackTec India: http://www.sweetandsnacktecindia.com/index.html