EU-FRESH BAKE

Improving half-baked bread-making technology

Specific Targeted Research Project

Background/description of problem
The convenience food market uses refrigeration to store part-baked bread or frozen dough to produce freshly baked bread and rolls on the spot in local stores or supermarkets. Customers can also buy these chilled or frozen goods to bake at home. They are produced using the so-called Bake Off Technology (BOT), which is energy intensive and has mostly been used to make white bread of low nutritional value. Overall bread consumption is almost constant in Europe, but a shift in the market from traditional scratch baking to BOT has been observed for many years now. There is, therefore, a need to help the BOT industry to improve processes so as to produce more nutritious breads, whilst maintaining consumer acceptance.

BE

DE

Russia

FR
ES

PL HR

IT

Project profile
In the EU-FRESH BAKE project, academic food research organisations and industrial suppliers of equipment and ingredients for bread making are looking at ways to improve BOT. They will look at three products partially baked frozen, partially baked unfrozen and unfermented frozen dough seeking to improve the energy efficiency of each process pathway. They also aim to improve the nutritional quality of the bread, creating new recipes for the improved processes. They will then develop suitable new equipment to prepare them.

International aspects
Bread is a universal staple food. Therefore, improving production methods will benefit consumers everywhere, both in Europe and in non-European countries as well. The project will, moreover, ensure that its results are spread rapidly to third countries.

Socio-economic significance
EU-FRESH BAKE will have the following long-term socio-economic impacts: Reduction in the large amounts of energy presently used in fermenting, baking, freezing and reheating BOT products Better quality convenience foods for Europes consumers Improved health benefits for citizens New processes and equipment to market.

EU-FRESH BAKE

EU-FRESH BAKE

Specific Targeted Research Project

Basic project information

Full project title: Freshly baked breads with improvement of nutritional quality and low energy demands for the benefit of the consumer and of the environment Duration: 36 months Starting year: 2006 EU funding: 2 million FP6 instrument used: Specific Targeted Research Project Project coordinator: Alain Le Bail Ecole Nationale dIngnieurs des Industries Agricoles et Alimentaires, Nantes France lebail@enitiaa-nantes.fr Third country partner(s) involved: Russian Academy of Science, Moscow (Russia) Project website: http://eu-freshbake.eu/eufreshbake/ EC scientific officer: Jrgen Lucas, jurgen.lucas@ec.europa.eu

Scientific significance
The project will contribute to the following scientific areas: A consumer survey in four countries to canvass expectations The development of numerical indices for the nutritional quality of the bread produced, its organoleptic quality and the energy efficiency of the three innovative process pathways and formulations developed for gluten, glutenfree and organic products Thermo-mechanical models to examine the behaviour of fermented products and baked products The development of new equipment if required for the optimised processes.

European Communities, 2006 - Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged

Project outcomes
Optimisation of formulations and process pathways to produce high-quality breads using less energy New formulations to make gluten, gluten-free and organic products A Good Practice guide (brochure) for the BOT industry A conference, with published proceedings, to inform the industry of the results.

EU-FRESH BAKE