Cover: Baking Technology and Nutrition, by Stanley P. Cauvain and Rosie H. Clark

Baking Technology and Nutrition

Towards a Healthier World



Stanley P. Cauvain and Rosie H. Clark

BakeTran
Witney








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Preface

There is no doubt that we are living at a time of global food crises; food depravation and malnutrition continue, for various reasons, to blight some parts of the world while elsewhere consumer obesity has become a major issue. Bakery food products have a significant role to play in both scenarios because of the ubiquitous nature of baked products manufacture. In the case of potential malnutrition, the fortification of wheat flour can make major contributions to improving health. In the case of the obesity epidemic, there is the potential for bakery foods to contribute to nutritional enhancement and health through reformulation to increase fibre, reduce energy density, salt, sugar, and fat. In setting out to write this book we recognised the dual role that the development of healthier bakery food products could play, as a response by bakers to government‐led initiatives (fortification) and interventions (reformulation), and from consumers seeking healthier lifestyles (consumer‐pull).

The manufacture of bakery products involves changes of state (e.g. dough to bread) which are the result of complex interactions between ingredients, recipe, and processing. The different sub‐groups of bakery products are delivered through the management of these complex interactions This means that changes in one aspect in the different bakery product relationships has significant ‘knock‐on’ effects for the processing requirements and final product quality. Such complexities are not always immediately recognised when potential dietary changes are only recommended or implemented from a nutritional viewpoint. Even when nutritionists and bakery technologists work closely together, the product development road is a long and often arduous one.

In writing this book we have considered the potential for the nutritional enhancement of baked products from a number of different viewpoints. We have attempted to enlighten nutritionists as to the complexities of baking and bakery product quality and, at the same time, present to bakers the opportunities that new ‘healthier’ bakery products could bring to their businesses. In identifying the latter, we have illustrated a few of the possible paths for the development of new products, some traditional and some less so.

Ultimately the success or otherwise, of nutritionally enhanced bakery products in the market place lies with consumers. There will be huge differences in attitude between consumers requiring improved basic nutrition and those fortunate enough to live in parts of the world with largely unrestricted food sources. For the latter group of consumers, the abundance and variety of bakery products available, results in greater emphasis being placed on the sensory pleasure associated with the eating of the products, rather than the needs for basic nutrition. Within the fortunate consumer groups the challenges for improving the nutritional background of bakery foods are greater for bakers. However, many bakers are cognisant of their potential contribution to reducing the global obesity crisis and its related health issues, and will no doubt continue to make positive efforts to meet nutritional targets. We hope that in some way this book will help them meet the challenges of developing those healthier bakery products.

Stanley P. Cauvain
Rosie H. Clark