Par-baked Bread Technology: Formulation and Process Studies to Improve Quality

Abstract

Extending the shelf-life of bakery products has been an important requirement resulting from the mechanization of this industry and the need to increase the distance for the distribution of final products, caused by the increase in production and consumer demand. Technologies based on the interruption of the breadmaking process represent an alternative to overcome product staling and microbiological deterioration. The production of par-baked breads is one of these technologies. It consists of baking the bread in two stages, and due to the possibility of retarding the second stage, it can be said that the bread can always be offered fresh to the consumer. The technology inserts logistics as part of the production process and creates the "hot point" concept, these being the locations where the bread is finalized, such as in the consumers' homes or sales locations. In this work, a review of the papers published on this subject was carried out, and aspects related to both the formulation and the process were considered. This technology still faces a few challenges, such as solving bread quality problems that appear due to process modifications, and these will also be considered. The market for these breads has grown rapidly and the bakery industry searches innovations related to par-baked bread technology.

Keywords: Par-baked bread; baking; freezing; modified atmosphere; refrigeration; storage.