Lucas Cuni-Mertz

Even when a cooler or freezer has been designed to maximize capacity and product quality, there will eventually come a time when problems arise and maintenance is needed. And with the labor shortages and growing knowledge gap found in many baking and snack facilities, it’s easier for these problems to snowball.

While most baked goods can be frozen and still maintain their quality, not all freezing is equal. Baked products react differently to the freezing process depending on their shape, size, format, ingredients and more.

Bakers looking to get the greatest cost efficiency out of their dairy and egg ingredients must carefully consider the needs of the baked goods they’re making.

Bakers producing a high volume of frozen goods must decide whether they want a single freezer for their lines or a dedicated freezer for each line. Each option comes with its advantages and disadvantages, depending on the needs of an operation.

While reductions of eggs and dairy in a formulation can be accomplished fairly easily, producers must account for the functionality they’re losing and how it may impact their baked goods. Failing to do so can result in a lower quality finished product that consumers won’t accept or product waste and rework that drives up costs.

The belts that run through a cooler or freezer, and how efficiently they’re used, can have a big impact throughput and product quality.

Fifty-year food industry veteran Rob Berube began his career at a co-manufacturer specializing in consumer packed goods.

Bundy Baking Solutions, a supplier of bakeware, pan coatings and refurbishment services to the industrial baking industry, celebrated its 60 th anniversary this month.

Bakers are feeling the pain of a real brain drain throughout their production. Experienced doughheads are retiring or leaving the industry, and of the workers bakers can find to replace them, many are increasingly inexperienced and lacking in key baking skills.

Today’s consumer is snacking more than ever. Fifty-six percent of Americans say they can’t finish the day without a snack, and snacks now account for half of all eating occasions, according to the Hartman Group.