Panera Opens Test Bakery In Connecticut

The Panera Bread Company has established a test bakery that experiments with its current products and also tests product innovations and “staffing models”. Located in New Haven, Conn., the test bakery allows customers to watch baking staff as they work during the day. The company expects to roll out a new sprouted grain bread offering that was tested at the New Haven bakery. It will be sold at all Panera locations as a bagel flat beginning this month. The company will also roll out a staffing model system-wide that permits bakers to interact more with customers during the day.

"Panera Bread Reveals Test Bakery", News release, Panera Bread , May 13, 2014

Wisconsin Bakery Continues Tradition Of Product Innovation

An entrepreneur who fell in love with a single product produced by a Green Bay, Wis., bakery eventually bought the store in 1994. That single product made by Not By Bread Alone – sausage bread – is still made using the original recipe, but is offered in different forms, e.g., muffins and mini-muffins, snakes for Halloween, wreathes for Christmas, etc. The store has since expanded to accommodate café-style eating, offering a large variety of sandwiches, breads and other baked goods. The still popular sausage loaf, filled with sausage, mozzarella cheese, and seasonings, sells for $7.00 (small) or $12.00 (large).

"Not By Bread Alone's menu lives up to its name", Green Bay (Wis.) Press-Gazette, May 13, 2014

Revolutionary Bread Mix Provides An Answer To Almost Every Dietary Concern

A Florida-based bakery says it’s ready to shake up the bread industry with a bread mix that addresses a myriad of health problems – celiac disease, gluten intolerance, insulin resistance, hypertension, obesity, need for more protein, etc. Smart Baking Company will deliver its Smart Loaf mix to health food stores after its crowd-funding “kick starter” program finishes on May 21. The Smart Loaf mix will be high in protein and fiber, gluten free, zero carb and low in sodium. At 80 calories per service, the quick baking bread – just 60 minutes from start to loaf – is targeted at people who want to avoid wheat, starch and sugar, the company says. And to those who don’t own baking pans: the package serves as the pan.

"World's First Zerocarb and Gluten Free Bread Mix", News release, Smart Baking Company, May 07, 2014

Celebrity Chef Goldman Unveils “Cake-In-A-Jar” To Satisfy Decadent Tastes

The idea of making meals in a jar – breakfasts, soups, salads, pasta dishes, etc. – has been floating around for awhile, and lots of recipes are available. Now a celebrity chef has dreamed up a meal-in-a-jar in the dessert category: layers of buttercream cake hand-packed into Mason jars. TV personality Duff Goldman’s Cake-In-A-Jar is shipped in 2-pack, 4-pack and 6-pack sizes with a personalized note from the chef himself. The cakes are available in four flavors, including vanilla topped with vanilla buttercream, confetti with vanilla buttercream, chocolate with chocolate buttercream and chocolate chips and marble with chocolate and vanilla buttercream. Six-packs range in price from $42 to $60.

"Duff Goldman Launches Cake-In-A-Jar At Duff's Cakemix In Los Angeles ", News release, Duff's Cakemix, April 29, 2014