Sourdough is established as a growing, enduring trend. It is successfully transitioning from its staple applications in bread to innovation in other product ranges, savory and sweet. Dawn Foods observes the trend, for which it has developed solutions that help achieve the desired flavor profiles.
As global consumers get more accustomed to the flavor of sourdough, it is gaining popularity and becoming an emerging trend in sweet baked goods as well. Here, the biggest challenge lies in “Finding the right balance between the acidity, the sour notes of the sourdough with the sweetness of the pastry and getting the right flavor combinations on fillings and decorations,” explained Joana Ventura, Category Marketing Manager Dry, Europe & AMEAP, Dawn Foods.
Among the consumer trends that Dawn Foods has been observing over the past few years, a taste for experimenting was identified, which the company called ‘Mashup adventure’, characterized by consumers looking more and more for cross-cultural flavors, surprising combinations and twists that allow people to be adventurous and have a unique sensory experience. The cronut has opened the door to R&D for hybrid creations, and now sourdough is added into the mix for more innovation. The ingredient specialist has been developing solutions to support this trend. “This was, in combination with the rising popularity of sourdough, the reason behind the development of our Dawn Exceptional® Sourdoughnut Mix. It is a mashup between Yeast Raised and Sourdough that combines everything consumers love about sourdough bread and donuts,” Ventura illustrates.
Sweet sourdough? Yes, please
Not all sourdoughs are the same, and choosing the right one can make all the difference in the flavor and taste of the final product, depending on the type of goods under development. Each sourdough starter is a unique blend of different strains of yeasts and bacteria, resulting in a lot of different flavor profiles – all strong, aromatic and sour, with a big influence on the overall flavor profile of the application. In addition, “It is important to realize that sourdough is a fermentation process. The sourdough starter technically breaks down the flour, impacting the properties of the dough. Because of those dough properties and strong flavor profiles, it is still more common in savory and bread offerings, than it is in sweet bakery,” explains Christoph Rottmann, R&D Center of Excellence Manager Dry, Europe & AMEAP, Dawn Foods. As a sweet bakery ingredients manufacturer, the company works with sourdough suppliers to find ‘sweeter’ variants that create opportunities in the sweet bakery space. Thanks to its varying properties, sourdough makes it possible to develop new and different texture experiences that consumers seek. For example, Dawn’s Sourdougnut Mix is softer and richer than a traditional yeast-raised donut,” Rottmann illustrates, as one answer to the challenge sourdough poses in balancing the flavor by pairing the acidity of the sourdough with the traditional sweetness of pastry.
The Dawn Exceptional® Sourdoughnut Mix is a versatile choice for consistent results and can be used to create a wide variety of unique, sourdough offerings. Like any new product we bring to the market, we support our customers with inspiration on how to use it and what to create with it. “Dawn Foods has made several recipes and how-to-videos available, for inspiration on how to use it and what to create with it – all based on the creative ideas from our application chefs in all of our countries, who have extensively tested and tried out the mix before launch,” Ventura adds. The company can provide recommendations depending on the types of applications, combinations with fillings and icings, and local preferences. “Due to the distinctive flavor of the sourdough, the main recommendation is to combine with more neutral-flavored fillings and decorations,” she says.
Read the full article in Baking+Biscuit International, issue 2.
Photo credit: Dawn Foods
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