In the dough - Lesaffre April 2021 - 1

D RE
D S TA R Y E A S T

Dough
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IN THE

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Why the Need for ESL?
Extended Shelf Life (ESL)
is imperative to success
in today's marketplace
because of the immediate
need for bakery products
that achieve the sweet
spot of at least 5 days
shelf life, a market need
brought on by the effects
of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is also worth noting
that pizza and flat bread
are often difficult to
produce when using
automated equipment,
given their appearance
and form: the dough may
tear or shrink right up
until the baking phase.
If the fermentation is
poorly handled, the
taste and rheological
properties of the dough
are adversely affected.
Finally, to preserve the
flexibility of the dough,
the level of water must
be high, which makes it
especially sensitive to
mold growth.
Lesaffre Saf Pro® pizza
and flat bread improvers take into account
the specificities of each
manufacturing process
(straight process, controlled proofing, freezing
techniques, etc.) and
adapt formulations to
preserve intact the characteristics specific to flat

bread: flexibility, shelf life,
and consistency.
This is important to understand because tortillas and flatbreads have
benefitted from growing
interest in global cuisines, the popularity of
Mexican foods, and the
persistent perception of a
healthy halo. However, it
is the ripple effects of the
COVID-19 pandemic that
will significantly increase
sales of such bakery items,
as consumers bake, cook,
and eat at home.
Tortillas and flatbreads are
outperforming the entire
bakery aisle as compared
with bread, English muffins and bakery snacks,
both during the height
of pandemic and most
recently, according to IRI.
In the 52 weeks ending
Nov. 20, 2020, sales for
tortillas jumped more
than 22% to $2.7 billion,
outpacing the overall bakery aisle, which grew 9.4%,
according to IRI. Though a
smaller subcategory, pita/
flatbreads also topped
overall bakery growth
rate with 13.5% increase.
More than 60% of the
dollar growth in the latest
period was due to new
buyers for pita/flatbreads

with roughly 1.8 million
new consumers entering
the category, as compared with about 4 million
new buyers for tortillas,
according to the IRI data.
While health and wellness
have played a role in both
categories, heightened
usage occasions seem to
be a key driver for flatbreads. At the end of the
day, it will be important
for producers of both
categories to understand
their new buyers to repeat
purchases even when the
pandemic subsides.
Naan has experienced
explosive expansion,
posting 20% growth rates
for the past three years.
Consumers discovered
the distinctive nature of
the product, and they
use it to elevate everyday
meals and snacks.
Saf-Pro® Ingredients
brand bread improvers
impact every stage of the
bakery process to help
you succeed. Whether
you're looking to reduce
mixing time, improve
shelf life or increase loaf
volume and uniformity,
Lesaffre offers baking
solutions to solve your
most critical baking
challenges.

" WHETHER
YOU'RE
LOOKING
TO REDUCE
MIXING TIME,
IMPROVE
SHELF LIFE OR
INCREASE LOAF
VOLUME AND
UNIFORMITY,
LESAFFRE
OFFERS
BAKING
SOLUTIONS TO
SOLVE YOUR
MOST CRITICAL
BAKING
CHALLENGES. "

TOM BENNER,
PRESIDENT AND CEO OF
L E S A F F R E C O R P O R AT I O N /
R E D S TA R Y E A S T
In the dough - Lesaffre April 2021

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