 Did you know that when you eat egg on toast you are also eating 175 litres of virtual water?
A normal day breakfast could be egg on toast, and a slice of bread (30g) contains 40 liters of virtual water, and An egg takes 135 litres of virtual water to produce. This calculations are only taking into account the water used to produce the product locally, when the product is imported, the water footprint is added. You're probably wondering what on earth 'virtual water' is, well continue reading to find out... The concept of virtual water was first developed as a way of understanding how water scarce countries could provide food, clothing and other water intensive goods to their inhabitants. As food and other products are traded internationally, their water footprint follows them in the form of virtual water. This allows us to link the water footprint of production to the water footprint of consumption, wherever they occur. Water is life and our planet is 75% covered by it, that’s why we’re called the Blue Planet yet 96.5% of that water is salt water and only 3.4% is freshwater, which out of that 1.7% is frozen in the glaciers and 1.6% is used 70% in agriculture, 20% goes into industry and 10% for domestic use. While developed countries uses around 282 litres of water per person every day, developing countries can use as little as 20 litres in a day. It is important to highlight the importance of water in the baking industry. Taking the main raw material within the baking industry, Wheat; a worldwide staple food, and it takes on average 1334 m3/ton of virtual (hidden) water to produce it. Being conscious about water can help us in the future of the baking industry by making sure there is enough of water to grow, harvest, clean and process all the ingredients to manufacture bread, cakes and any other baked goods. What are you doing today to save water for the future? What are your thoughts on this, comment below to let me know! Thanks for reading, Leandra :)
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 Macarons, a product created as a simple treat with no filling now evolved into a patisserie delicacy! They're most popular in France and many believe they originated from there but actually they were invented in Italy! Though, the filling of ganache idea came from a chef in France.
Often people confuse macarons for macaroons but to clear the confusion, macarons are simply made using egg whites, ground almonds and sugar whereas macaroons are a small biscuit containing either coconut or almonds. The ongoing trend of replacing a wedding cake with a macaron tower is still popular in today's industry, maybe there's a reason for that...Fun fact: a macaron is approximately 70-100 calories whereas a slice of cake is approximately 260 calories...maybe that's why everyone is loving them?! Many people will only share their baked items that look fantastic but these macarons are tough to make! So perhaps it would be good to share any tips for making the perfect macaron and if you have experienced any issues, share with us! We'd love to try help you out. I hope you have enjoyed these fun facts, have you made any macarons? Happy Baking!  Just a quick blog about the Rising Star Award which is one of the categories within the Baking Industry Awards, one of the major highlights in the UK baking industry calendar. The event is run by British Baker. The Baking Industry Awards are an unrivalled opportunity to celebrate with the most innovative people in the baking industry. Held at Royal Lancaster, London on Wednesday 4th September 2019, this is an evening not to be missed.
Reasons to enter and attend these awards:
Rondo are sponsoring the "Rising Star Award" again this year. A number of bakery students and trainees in the past have entered and won this award. To enter, visit the British Baker website www.bakeryawards.co.ukwww.bakeryawards.co.uk/enter/ and follow the instructions to register. To give you an idea of what Rondo are looking for, here is what they say about what the successful applicant might look like: "The Rising Star Award is open to all ages, but is aimed at those in work, training or Bakery College who can demonstrate their achievements over the past three years since entering college or the bakery industry. Entrants may be from a college, or craft, supermarket, plant, ingredient or equipment companies. Judges are looking for a individual who will contribute to shaping the future of the baking industry. If you believe you, or someone you teach or employ, is that person, enter now." ~ Source British Baker Website Good luck to all of you that are entering, or have already entered, and we look forward to hearing who the finalists and winner is in September!  what is your favourite pancake topping?Pancakes, typically made up of Flour, Eggs and Milk are now much bigger than we thought! Everyone enjoys adding their own creation of toppings but now the actual pancake flavours are changing too...
It seems that this years ongoing trend is to add alcohol in anyway or form, yes that's right people have created gin&tonic pancakes. The question is, at what time would would you eat these pancakes? They're usually a breakfast feast but it seems the public devour pancakes morning, noon and night! Though, another ongoing trend is trying to make pancakes as healthy as possible! Substituting white flour for wholemeal or even coconut flour to cater for those that are gluten free. Personally I just prefer a drizzle of maple syrup and a mixture of fruit :). Let us know what your favourite pancake topping is and share your creations!  Hugh Weeks was well known in the industry as a baker of outstanding skill and talent; and he was Past President of the Alliance for Bakery Students and Trainees. After his retirement from a long and successful career as a demonstrator for Renshaw, Hugh spent a great deal of time as a highly respected judge of bakery goods in all manner of different competitions. He had a genuine desire to pass on to young bakers as much knowledge and advice as he could, and never failed to take the opportunity to talk to students whenever they happened to cross his path. He was always especially keen to encourage young people who worked hard to challenge themselves not only in their drive for education, but also for the good of society.
The Executive Committee is pleased to announce the inauguration of a special award to be presented in Hugh’s name, and in the presence of his family, for the first time at the ABST Conference at Alton Towers from June 7-9th 2019. The criteria for the successful recipient reflect Hugh Weeks’ own drive for excellence in all things and are as follows:
In summary, we wish to reward the student who shows a real passion for, and dedication to, the industry whilst showing special consideration for other people. Tutors and trainers may nominate one candidate to go forward to the final selection panel. The finalists will be interviewed by the panel either by Skype or conference call during May 2019, with the three finalists being announced on Saturday June 1st. The overall winner will be announced at the Black-Tie Dinner on Saturday June 8th, and the award will be presented by members of Hugh Weeks’ family. The award will include the following prizes: • A cup, to be retained for one year £250 cash • A selection of bakery books • A bakery internship (details dependant on award winner) Nominations should be directed to the Sara Autton s.autton@lesaffre.com and must be received before Wednesday 1st May 2019. Nominations should be accompanied by a short statement detailing the achievements of the candidate according to the criteria stated above.  University College Birmingham Level 6 BSc students visited AB Mauri Centre of Excellence in Corby yesterday. UCB BSc student, Leandra Molina explains a bit more about the experience and how it will benefit her and fellow Level 6 students in the future: "UCB provides trips to Bakery students throughout the length of the course (at least one every year) including Fine Lady bakery, Heygates Flour Millers and Delifrance. This time was a visit to AB Mauri, and it has been the best experience I’ve ever had. AB Mauri was very welcoming by preparing a complete whole-day introduction. Activities ranged from a tour of their NPD department, to meeting room talks about ingredient functionality and the importance of enzymes within the baking industry. I had the opportunity to meet many members of the AB Mauri family and was thrilled by how knowledgeable and passionate they are. Product development director Jim Hawkridge and research development manager Matt Green talked about bread production and what kind of products they use in bread manufacturing, including bread improvers and sourdough cultures. Kevin Clark development manager on the sweet baked goods and Steve, with more than 14 years working at AB Mauri, focused on the essential ingredients and its functionality within sweet baked goods. We also met the HR manager, who gave a really motivational presentation on how important it is to discover ourselves and how we can work to improve our potential. Not only will this help us to stand out of the crowd when looking for a job, but will also benefit the industry by bringing our unique talents. It was amazing to go around and look at all the equipment AB Mauri have to develop and test their products. It was a pleasant surprise to realise how UCB labs are equipped with industry standard equipment and how as a student, I have already used most of them, from the bakery’s bread mixer to the lab’s texture analyser. AB Mauri also prepared a dynamic game, where we tasted and examined loaves of bread and cakes to highlight the importance of certain ingredients. We also met the entire R&D team, including UCB graduates Hannah Parry and Laura Underwood and Senior R&D Technologist Hanna Conneely. They talked about the importance of their role and how we, as students, can aim for that type of Job. Overall, it was an amazing experience to go to AB Mauri. I met lovely passionate people and saw that the baking industry is starting to open the doors to students that will soon become its future! Thank you, AB Mauri, for this motivational experience." UCB BSc student, Leandra Molina Fellow UCB Level 6 BSc student Megan Roberts also said: "We are always asked as students how the industry can engage more with students and our trip to AB Mauri was a perfect example. A learning experience for all, through a day of theory and practicals, we embraced who AB Mauri are as a company. For me it was a fantastic interactive learning experience that was fully engaged by both staff at AB Mauri and students from UCB. One of my favourite things was a career segment on how set yourself personal values and build your career, a very insightful piece for all students starting our career within the baking industry. I think we all owe a massive thanks to the organisers from UCB who set this up and all of the staff at AB Mauri for an unforgettable day." UCB BSc student, Megan Roberts Students were also given goody bags to take away with them which included a USB stick with all of the presentations from the day, to support them further with their studies. Images of Bread and Cake Fault activities in the ACE test bakery:
  Innovative Burger Bun Competition kindly sponsored by Guenther Bakeries On Saturday 16th February two representatives from Guenther Bakeries came to University College Birmingham to judge the competition we've all been waiting for. The array of entries from colleges all over the UK were amazing, shining with innovation and flair. Stephanie Nicole one of the Guenther Bakeries judges commented "the standard of products displayed today are impressive, it's clear that the students have worked hard to create these interesting concepts. The winner had managed to include all the flavours typically in the burger into the bread dough, amazing!" 1st - Ronnie Galway (UCB) 2nd - Christine Cooke (DIT) 3rd - Abby Lee (Sheffield) Very Highly Commended - Liz Brynes (Limerick) Well done to all those who had entered and we can't wait to see the entries at this years conference!
   The Burger Bun Innovation Competition kindly sponsored by Guenther Bakeries UK is just around the corner and we can't 'wheat' to see all the entries...sorry I 'kneaded' to get that pun out.
Anyway...we thought it would be good to explain the competition, just incase anyone is unsure on the concept. The overall rules / details are provided in the document attached but read on for the break down. Produce TWO Innovative Burger Buns suitable two samples of each. One suitable for a beef burger filling and the other for a chicken burger filling. Tip number one, read the rules carefully, they're very specific and products will be penalised or in worse cases disqualified if they're not in compliance with the specification. Tip number two, research trends!! The revelation of the black burger bun really changed the game because you're visually intrigued on how it could possibly taste of anything good when they simply look burnt, right? Exactly, the point here is think outside the box, you eat with your eyes after all! Best of luck to everyone entering!  Happy National Croissant Day!! We all love a croissant, whether it be savoury filled, sweet filled or even just the buttery croissant on it's own, they're all delicious. An interesting fact I came across when researching about these flakey delights is that many people think Croissants originated in France when in fact they originated in Austria!  Achieving those perfect layers can be tricky so I've listed a few tips that may help you achieve that :)
Tips:
If you have any tips you've picked up along the way, be sure to share on the ABST page with your pictures for inspiration. It's amazing to see all the different variations and innovations, two toned pastry was the in trend last year, I wonder what it could be this year? Enjoy!  When you’re sat watching Harry Redknapp munching on some bugs in ‘I’m a celebrity get me out of here’ you may not realise that bugs are going to play a big part in the future of food.
Cyril Barthelme, a baker based in Edinburgh uses cricket flour as a replacement for soft white wheat flour in his cakes. Inevitably the public were weary about trying the cricket cakes but majority of the feedback actually supported the use of the alternative as it had no significant change on the flavour! Now, we understand the cricket flour works well in cakes but what about bread? Well a Finnish bakery actually uses a mixture of cricket and scorpion flour with wheat flour to make bread. They claim it makes no difference in flavour but just a increase in the protein content. In fact, they say it's far more sustainable as the farming requires less land, water and feed. Although, many consumers have said the thought of eating these bugs makes them feel they're completing their very own bush tucker trial! I've found researching this topic most interesting and I hope you have too, below I have listed some pros and cons I've come across of using this alternative: Positives -Sustainable -Nutritious -Easy to farm -Gluten free Negatives -Aesthetically unpleasing -Expensive to source -Only 6 European counties allow insects to be marketed for food consumption Thanks for reading! Keep baking, Holly Weeks |
