Gluten-free still untapped in in-store bakeries, says Ulrick & Short

This presents lots of opportunities for manufacturers working with retailers to develop gluten-free options for in-store bakeries, said the director of the clean label specialist Adrian Short.

“There are an increasing number of people who want a reduced gluten or gluten-free diet because of the perceived health benefits. The people who are making the choice to have a free from diet are people who have more disposable income – they can afford to make that choice,”​ Short told BakeryandSnacks.com.

“There is immense potential for in-store bakeries to benefit from this growing trend by investing in a greater variety of products that meet consumer demand,”​ he said.

Consumers who have chosen to go gluten-free want choice and a perception of quality, Short said.

“They want to buy specialty cakes and bread. There’s a gap there and in-store bakeries could fulfil the needs of these consumers.”​

“…People perceive breads from in-store bakeries as higher quality than packaged,”​ he said.

Frozen and baked-off in store…​

The easiest option for in-store bakeries would be to buy frozen dough and bake it off during the day, Short said.

“Gluten-free has a tendency to have a shorter shelf-life, but if it can be baked off through the day there will be less waste,”​ he said.

There are obviously contamination issues that need to be addressed by retailers, he said, but it would be possible to store, bake and display the breads separately.

The technical challenge​

Part of the reason we haven’t seen a shift to gluten-free among in-store bakeries, is the technical challenge it presents, Short said.

“It seems natural to me that the sliced gluten-free loaf has been cracked and is doing very well,”​ he said, but noted that when it comes to gluten-free par-baked breads, the technical challenges are even more significant.

“For par-baked bread, even with gluten, it’s quite difficult to make a nice eating product let alone when you take out the key functional ingredient – gluten.”​

“You have to go back to the drawing board and almost forget the classic baking techniques and think about the functionality,”​ he said.

For gluten-free par-baked products, it is important that the final product is not too dense, Short said. This can be ensured by working with a combination of flours, starches and raising agents, he said.