Merve Burcu AKBULUT

“Frozen bakery products are the safest to consume amongst frozen foods, unless they contain a raw or unprocessed protein source. They just need to be defrosted and baked properly. Even if the Only the defrosting and cooking process are done in the final consumption area.rosting duration is mistaken or they are forgotten at the room temperature for 1-2 hours, it is not possible for them to become as dangerous as chicken or meat products unless there is cross contamination. Our mistake will negatively affect only the end product quality and eating feature.”

Frozen Bakery Products are long-lasting food products with a frozen shelf life of 6 months to 18 months, by preventing the movement of the water contained in the product, turning the water into ice crystals, thereby preventing microbiological degradation of food.

It is the most practical and "efficient form of production, consumption and storage” that reaches the final consumption area without any physical deformation unless the cold chain network is broken from production to storage and then from shipment to storage conditions.

The healthiest way to store bakery products for a long time is deep freezing. Freezing is the most natural form of storage.

The best freezing technology for sustainable quality in the production of frozen bakery products is IQF, that is, the Individual Quick Frozen technology.

Deep and fast freezing method is an extremely safe method without any shelf life increasing additives.

For a healthy freezing of bakery products, it is necessary to freeze each product individually at -40 °C very quickly. In fact, frozen bakery products are safe foods that do not contain preservatives or additives that increase shelf life, contrary to popular belief.

So frozen production technology is the most natural preservative to sustain freshness.

A correctly manufactured and sustainable quality frozen bakery product is a high-tech product.

Frozen bakery products are kept below -18 ° C and micro-organisms are prevented from growing and spoiling the products.

In addition, frozen bakery products have a shipping convenience that cannot be compared with fresh bakery products in terms of logistics and shipment. Cold chain continuity, which will also be provided in logistics, ensures the shipment of the product produced in the facility between cities, countries and even continents.

This is an important feature of frozen bakery products that contributes to the transfer of our cuisine culture between geographies. It makes me very excited that a frozen industrial pastry produced with a quality close to the fine and crispy hand-made pastry is being consumed and appreciated in any city of the world.

In addition, frozen bakery products are the safest to consume amongst frozen foods, unless they contain a raw or unprocessed protein source. They just need to be defrosted and baked properly. Even if the Only the defrosting and cooking process are done in the final consumption area.rosting duration is mistaken or they are forgotten at the room temperature for 1-2 hours, it is not possible for them to become as dangerous as chicken or meat products unless there is cross contamination. Our mistake will negatively affect only the end product quality and eating feature.

Production with 5 different technologies Today, industrial frozen bakery products are produced with 5 different technologies. Although the final consumption areas change, the technology with which frozen bakery products are produced is the most important factor, and this last point will shape our product preparation process and needs.

Today, it is possible to produce all bakery and pastry products such as sourdough bread, bun, simit, croissant or pastry in this frozen method.

1) Unfermented Frozen Products i. In the production process, the dough is prepared, cut and shaped respectively according to the product weight, and sent to the freezer. ii. In the final product consumption area, the product is defrosted, fermented -if there is ferment is the content-, cooked and consumed respectively in accordance with the product structure. Pastries are produced with this technology. 2) Pre-fermented Frozen Products or Rady to Bake i. In addition to the first method, it is a freezing technique performed at the production facility after fermentation. ii. Only the defrosting and cooking process are done in the final consumption area. As the fermentation time is saved, it is the best method to achieve more practical and homemade product quality. Pastries and Croissants are suitable for this technology. 3) Par- Baked Frozen Products i. In addition to the second method, the product is frozen after semi-cooking. ii. It is defrosted in the final consumption area according to the product type and the final touch is made with baking and then is served. It is the most suitable method for sourdough thick crust bread types. 4) Fully Baked Frozen Products i. They are almost 100% cooked products. ii. In the final consumption area, only 2-3 minutes color is given or the product is made crispy. It is one of the least time consuming methods in the service phase. Bread and bagel types with thin crust are well suited for this technology. 5) Thaw and Serve Products i. It is the most accurate technology for products, that are completely ready for service only after being defrosted, but don't need to be consumed hot. It may not yield what is expected in hot or crispy products. It is suitable for cookies.

If we look at how we reach frozen bakery products today,

1. We buy packaged frozen products from any retail or e-commerce sales channel and cook at home. 2. We consume products prepared and served by business personnel in restaurant and cafe chains, catering areas and hotels. 3. We buy bake-off products that are prepared with fresh cooking method on site from bakery sales points.

We make our choice of frozen purchase ourselves in the first method, while we do not even know that the bakery product that is served to us in other forms of consumption or that we buy is frozen originally.

The benefits of frozen technology No matter which side we are on or how we consume frozen bakery products, we encounter many benefits of this technology;

* Continuous fresh product. * Production and consumption without compromising health and hygiene. * Products that do not contain various shelf-life enhancing and protective chemicals. * Zero-touch frozen production in industrial production areas. * Continuous accessibility. * Sustainability and standardization in quality. * To reach the final product by only cooking without the need for long preparation times in our fast daily life. * Diversity on the shelf of the point where we buy bakery products. * Product variety in menus with only frozen end product without raw material variety * No need for production space. * Easy adaptation and differentiation to current trends. * Product suitable for every meal, from breakfast to snack. * Products suitable for all daily needs and activities... Sometimes just a loaf of bread or a tray of pastry suitable for offering to guests. * Products suitable for all concepts, whether you own a fast food chain or a 5-star hotel * Economic. * Frozen storage method to prevent waste. * Luxury of cooking as much as you need. * Culinary transfer.

Consumption of Frozen Bakery Products and Our Habits Many factors such as the time we spend at work and in traffic, the behavior of constantly trying to rush for something, and of course, stress filled our daily lives and the time we would allocate for ourselves became restricted. This causes us to search for fast -in fact, very fast- and easy solutions in food consumption as in all divisions of life.

We know that frozen fruits and vegetables hold the greatest share in frozen food production in Turkey. Another important product group that has emerged in the frozen food products sector in recent years is frozen bakery products.

In various studies, it has been determined that there are more purchases for pizza and puff pastry dough in bakery products for domestic consumption. This shows us that we are mostly buying the products that we cannot produce at home.

Pizza and puff pastry dough are followed by products such as pastries, Turkish ravioli, bread types and muffins.

In other words, the pastries, which have been traditionally prepared by women at home, are starting to be replaced by industrial pastries with thinner dough. Due to globalization, the types of muffins with frozen ferment are indispensable in the hotel industry, and they have also become widespread products that we started to consume in our homes particularly in the weekend breakfasts. We wish the same for pastry will dill and simit in other countries.

Besides, we see that bakery products are the most commonly sold ones among all frozen foods. This is not something new, we love bakery products anyway, but it is reassuring that this information is always proving correct.

The most important reasons why consumers buy and consume frozen bakery products are the ease of preparation and ensuring saving on time. Nowadays, the fact that increasingly all members of the household are working and the fact that we are in a daily busy life pace are phenomena that constantly leads us towards products that can be prepared easily and save time.

It is true that we have started to prefer easy and practical products even for our guests. Sometimes aren't we saying that it was us who made that delicious pastry and try to receive applause? Doesn't this make us very happy? Also, if we consider the number of likes we will get on social media, there is nothing happy like this. Isn't being able to make tasty food one of the most premium personal ability in our culture? If you cannot do it, if you do not have the equipment, ingredients, know-how or time, let someone else produce and freeze them safely and hygienically on your behalf.

Let all you have to do to reach the final product be to defrost and bake the product. Sometimes spread eggs on your salty products to create products of your own taste, sprinkle black seed, sesame seeds or linseeds in this particular period, sprinkle sugar on sweet products, fill your croissants with chocolate cream after cooking, cut your pastries and fill them with small cream cheese and prepare single-bite presentations. In other words, customize them. Okay, frozen products are very nice, practical and so on, but they should be different from the way everyone consumes and customized. And this should be the chef's return.

In addition, it should not be forgotten that people who use frozen foods are not only people who work hard. Thanks to its long shelf life, practical and rational use, many hotels and restaurants and retail channels in the service industry and also many local and national groceries benefit from frozen bakery products. Tiny bread types, sourdough breads that require a long time to prepare and naturally croissants which are hard to make, bagels and simits are highly preferred products.

The easiest way to offer tiny and warm additions in a la carte service has become the Frozen Industrial products. Here, I see that single mini baguette type should be abandoned and people should move towards more artisan products that seem like handmade. In fact, the wide range of products offered by the manufacturers should be reconsidered.

In other words, if they produce and bring the product to the door of your enterprise, I would tell you to look at their product range to increase their motivation on the new product and to help them bring differences to the market. Otherwise, I guess everyone who eats out will be fed up. Okay, the standard products are nice, but it isn't possible that thousands of Horeca points are making the same mini baguette bread, is it? Consumers are now reaching the information that these breads are frozen products from many sources of information. For this reason, I think it should be industrial again, but we should diversify things. Let the eyes and stomach of the consumer enjoy the food in the restaurant. Mini baguette, mini baguette, mini baguette for years... Until when?

The points that should be presented to the consumer On the other hand, we encounter that the consumers who do not buy frozen bakery products are in a distrust freshness, taste, expiry date, content, etc. of these products.

Expectations of consumers who buy or do not buy frozen bakery products are sufficient information about the products. Informing the public about the frozen bakery products will proportionately affect the sales figures. For example, the content information of the products should be accessible at all times, whether they are frozen or packaged or prepared freshly in the bake-off method.

By providing a sense of trust to frozen bakery products, products in forms suitable for the needs of consumers should be offered. It should be correctly conveyed to the consumer that the products are not more expensive than fresh or packaged products.

The most important issue that needs to be conveyed correctly and highlighted in communication is to raise awareness that everyone who reaches the frozen product from the retail channel can be the pastry chef or baker in their own home. Accurate information about preparing the product and various delicate points should be conveyed.

It should be emphasized that the time we will spare for our loved ones is more important than for product preparation.

It should be demonstrated to the consumer that the production is done by professionals and that the preparation process is conducted with the original recipes and sustainable raw materials.

Moreover, geographically marked products and the emphasis on the contribution to the local producer have become indispensable.

Since waste is avoided with frozen production, the respect we need to have to the planet we live in should be underlined by the manufacturers. No matter in which channel, it should be conveyed to the consumer that the frozen production is preventing waste, avoiding the wheat on the field from being thrown into the garbage. Because each loaf of bread that is prepared more than necessary and thrown into the garbage is equivalent to throwing the national wealth into the garbage.

What about our changing consumption habits with Covid -19? Together with the Covid-19 Pandemic, bread and sourdough making at home has been on Google searches 100 times more than the previous month since March 2020.

We want to know where the bread we consume is produced. If we accept that the world's safest production place is the kitchen of our house, it is very normal for us to distrust everyone.

Frozen foods have become more widespread in our lives with the effect of Covid-19 pandemic. Because we know that as long as we cook or bake the frozen bakery product in our own kitchen, we get at least the same assurance as the product we produce on our own. And if we can reach a reliable frozen product manufacturer and a reliable frozen sales area, we don't have to worry too much.

Whether we produce it in our home or not, the Covidü-19 showed us that whether it is a handmade or artisan product, the bakery products we consume must meet the following criteria before the flavour or taste. With the pandemic, the trends have already changed and adaptation to the new standard has already begun. Now the task is of manufacturers.

We adapted so much that, we even started to ask the store attendant to show us where the frozen products are instead of getting bread that was freshly baked from bake-off areas thinking of baking at home with health concerns.

New Normal Bakery Trends * The product must be healthy and hygienic first. * The product must be untouched and all production processes must be auditable and traceable. This trend shows us that pre-pandemic, increasing trust in small and boutique producers can be replaced by industrial producers certified by international institutions where all hygiene conditions are provided. * The product may be packed, but it must be without preservatives. It seems that bread that starts to get stale within 24 hours after baking, which is appropriate with the nature of bread anyway, seems to be our preference instead of packaged and fresh products with a shelf life of up to 15 days. * It should be a freshly cooked bakery products baked-in-place taken out of the oven recently so that the virus will lose its effect. * It should be a source of fiber and whole wheat. * It should be a bakery product with vegan flour; it should not contain animal raw materials. * It should be a low-sugar, low-fat bakery product. As you know, health is in the forefront in every field. * If possible, it should be a gluten-free bakery product. * All information should be available on the used raw materials are, the source of the raw materials, whether it contains preservatives or synthetic colorants.

As a sector professional, with the mission of contributing to conscious production and consumption and creating value in line with the bakery consumption trends I have mentioned above, I continue to give consultancy services and share my experience and information on "product development" under the roof of MBA Food Factory and also on "production planning and production processes".