Modern baking is not just about preparing delicious treats anymore. As consumer demands keep changing and regulations in the food industry are becoming more stringent, baked goods are expected to check many boxes nowadays: they have to be healthy and nutritious, account for dietary restrictions, have a fair price, offer a great sensory experience, look good, taste even better, and be sustainable, on top of it all.
That’s a pretty long list to tackle, so bakeries have their work cut out for them. When it comes to chocolate products, one way bakeries manage to meet these requirements is by combining functional food powders, such as beetroot, matcha, pea protein, or maca, known for their health benefits, with premium quality, ethically sourced cocoa powder. That doesn’t come without challenges, though, so here’s what the process entails.
Blending functional powders and cocoa
It takes a special blending method to make sure that all the ingredients are properly mixed together and counter the bitterness and clumping that botanical powders might cause. First, the powders are either pre-blended or solubilised in cocoa butter or oils in order to prevent micronutrients from absorbing too much water and ruining the dough’s texture.
Then, special industrial mixers micro-dose the plant-based powders and distribute them evenly in the batter before the cocoa is added. This way, the strong aroma of premium cocoa conceals the grassy notes that some functional powders might give off.
Alkalization for flavour and colour perfection
Although they contain a lot of nutrients, functional plant powders are also highly acidic or alkaline, and that doesn’t pair well with the natural acids in cocoa, as it can dull its colour and sour its flavour.
To avoid this, instead of natural cocoa, bakeries use Dutch-processed alkalized cocoa powder, as it has a higher pH, somewhere between 7.5 and 9.0. That helps suppress the bitterness and keep that rich, dark colour that chocolate goods are expected to have.
Structure preservation
Plant powders that are high in protein and fibres also tend to dry out doughs because they absorb a lot of water, so the end product becomes brittle and is more likely to crumble. Obviously, this is not exactly a texture clients appreciate. The solution that most bakeries resort to is to include plant-based emulsifiers in the composition to bind the ingredients together and bring back elasticity.
Sustainability concerns
Finally, sustainability is an aspect that a lot of bakeries take very seriously now. With cocoa being an increasingly scarce ingredient whose production poses many challenges, bakeries are turning to suppliers who can ensure traceability and ethical sourcing. That way, they can make sure that the cocoa they’re using meets the standards for both quality and sustainability.
Creating healthy, high-quality chocolate baked goods isn’t easy, but the innovative solution that modern bakeries use shows that it is possible to strike a balance between practicality and pleasure.
