Consumer expectations in regard to high-quality baked goods from the bakery shop are closely associated with the term “freshness”. In the case of morning goods and bread, a crispy crust as well as a moist crumb impression are desired.
The wish for freshly baked products “all around the clock” is not only fulfilled by the various processes of the cold dough method. A frequently practiced alternative is the production of part-baked or pre-baked goods where baking is completed shortly before the time of sale at the selling point. In the second baking phase, the baked goods are given the desired
properties of oven-fresh goods.
Pre-baked goods are manufactured for direct sales to the consumer, to be delivered to
branches of a bakery and baking stations or for sale within the retail trade. Baked goods which have been baked to 60 – 70 % are called pre-baked goods and have a very light-coloured, almost white crust. In comparison to dough pieces from cold dough methods, the advantage is that the pre-baked goods are less susceptible to fluctuations in temperature and can be handled more easily during the completion of baking in the branch bakery. The sales staff does not have to determine the optimum state of fermentation of the dough pieces before baking.
For the hotel, restaurant and catering (HORECA) sector and for distribution within the frozen goods area of the retail trade, products are also manufactured which are part-baked to approx. 90 % and which already have a browned crust. For these products, the same recommendation applies as for pre-baked goods, apart from the comparably longer first baking phase and the shorter second baking phase.
During storage, as is the case with all baked goods, water movement and drying take place. This goes from the crumb, which shows the greatest water content, via the crust to the ambient atmosphere. As in the case of pre-baked goods, two independent phases as regards time and separate storage phase are passed through, drying out is particularly high. For this reason, the recipe and the observance of the processing steps are especially important.
