American Baked Delights – from Indispensables to Indulgence

Bringing new technology to the bakery

The advent of the industrial revolution brought along machines that aided bakers. Innovations in industrial ovens and ingredients such as preservatives and food additives ensured baked products could be mass-produced and stay fresh longer.

Adolph Levitt, a Bulgarian immigrant living in New York, along with an engineer, devised what he called the Wonderful Almost Human Automatic Doughnut Machine [3] that could produce 1,000 doughnuts per hour in the early 1920s! Since then, industry pioneers Krispy Kreme and Dunkin’ Donuts have revolutionized mass production, and a single store has the capacity to produce 12,000 doughnuts per hour!

With an eye towards the future, chefs at the Culinary Institute of America are getting trained in cutting-edge technology that applies to bakery products as well. The latest being: utilization of 3D printing to create experience in desserts, such as printing the glass in which desserts are served from sugar, or whipping up intricate cake decorations in minutes.

A sheer display of American ingenuity

One of the pioneers of cake mixes, P. Duff and Sons, had an idea that involved the use of molasses and flour. While their original patent for a cake mix required consumers to just add water, later studies showed that consumers were not “emotionally invested” enough in the process. The psychologist Ernest Dichter told cake companies to switch up the recipe so that home bakers would have to add fresh eggs, and this simple tweak was considered a major breakthrough in the modern cake mix – leading to companies like General Mills, Pillsbury and others earning millions in profits from these products[4]!

American bakery influences in the Middle East

The bakery trends in the Middle East is heavily influenced by various cultures which call the place home. Chief among these is the snacking trend, and American snacks are extremely popular across the Middle East[5].

These include bars, snack products with chia seeds, sesame seeds, bagels, among others. In sync with the trend in the U.S., Middle Eastern consumers also seek healthier options when it comes to baked goods, but don’t mind the occasional indulgence. Millennials are catching on to brands that resonate with them on social media, offer holistic health options, and are Instagram-worthy[6].