GrainsWest Summer 2018

The Food Issue 2018 Grains West 28 endure food trend swings, and she did predict big things in one particular area. “In large population centres, I see business in sourdough bread,” she said. GO SOURDOUGH Through the ups and downs of recent food trends, bread never went away. It accounted for 71 per cent of the value of the Canadian baked goods industry in 2017 at more than $4.5 billion in sales. Though sales have flattened as per-capita consumption has dropped, the value of bread sales is projected to increase by 1.7 per cent annually through 2021. As well, signs point to rising consumer interest in traditional, artisanal bread. The Restaurants Canada 2017 Chef Survey also suggests bread is again on the rise. The survey’s top-10 up-and- coming trends list put ancient grains at number one and the very bread-friendly “simplicity/back-to-basics” trend at number nine. A similar food industry hot-trends list produced by the New York-based Specialty Food Association predicted the 2018 comeback of traditional bread. The expert panel that compiled the list noted, “Bakers are using local grains … reinventing what good bread means.” COBS Bread Bakery product manager Tanya Hook suggested consumers are indeed turning toward certain types of bread that square with their desire for fresh, unprocessed foods with no preservatives. As of April, 2018 sales of the bakery’s Sunflower Flax Sourdough loaf increased 30 per cent over the previous year, and this spring COBS introduced an artisan- style focaccia bread likewise aimed at the consumer desire for simplicity and minimal ingredients. Also among COBS’ bestselling breads is a white loaf that has been specially bolstered with oat fibre. An Australian franchise that launched its Canadian operations in 2003, COBS had 100 Canuck locations in spring of 2018 and is aiming to launch a further 150 over five years. “We’ve been on a great trajectory with bread,” said Hook. “We believe customers are looking for simplicity—natural, made-from-scratch bread with limited ingredients. We’ve seen that shift from sandwich bread to sourdough and higher-fibre artisan types of breads.” The flipside of demand for health- conscious breads is what Hook terms “smart indulgences” such as cinnamon buns that remain a pillar of the business. “We’re finding that when customers indulge, they want to eat something smarter. They want little to no preservatives and high-quality ingredients.” For example, COBS uses real butter in its cinnamon buns. HEALTHY DEMAND Globally, baking businesses are responding to consumer demand for healthy bread. A Belgian baking ingredient supply company with Canadian headquarters in Mississauga, Ontario, Puratos also conducts product development consultation and consumer research. Its customers include large food makers that want to shrink their ingredient lists and make their products healthier as a means to build consumer trust. The company’s clients also include bakeries such as COBS and small artisanal bakers searching for new ideas and techniques. Puratos Canada marketing director Liesbet Vandepoel said though the big baking companies are more transparent about their ingredients via their packaging than neighbourhood bakeries and their bread often features very similar ingredients, independent bakeries are inherently trusted. In fact, while they can’t compete on price, the small artisanal bakery startups also possess the advantage that they are fast, lean and unencumbered by company rules. They can more quickly respond to changing tastes. Importantly, each has a story to tell about its bread. ACE Bakery was launched by bakers Martin Connell and Linda Haynes, who made European-style bread and baguettes in a backyard bake house in Caledon, Ontario. From the establishment of the first ACE shop in FEATURE Historically delicious Enjoying one of Alberta’s best and most historically informative bread experiences, 275,000 people visit the Alberta Bakery at Heritage Park Historical Village in Calgary annually. Modelled after a Calgary bakery operated by Charles Gilbert in the early 1900s, its staff, dressed in period-appropriate garb, serve park-goers sourdough, raisin, whole-wheat and multi-grain loaves as well as buns and pastries made with recipes that reflect the from- scratch versions made at the time. Park visitors are advised to expand their pioneer-era, farm- to-loaf experience with a stroll past the wheat field adjacent to the ranch house. Weather permitting, it will be harvested at the Country Kickback event on August 25 and 26. There is also a vintage grain elevator near the bakery. Transplanted from Shonts, where it was built in 1910, it is operated by historical interpreters who demonstrate the loading and unloading of an antique grain wagon. Photo:HeritageParkHistoricalVillage