From rainbow donuts to cronuts, there is no denying that social media significantly influences the next hot, crusty carb trend. But, while everyone is no longer naming their sourdough starters, the love of carbs has not died. So let’s look at the baked goods filling your newsfeeds and stomachs over the next year.

The Rise Fermentation

Fermentation hasn’t stopped at just sourdough starters. Beer is making its way into baked goods across the country for its yeasty goodness that assists with leavening! With the craft beer trend thriving, the flavor combinations are endless. The most obvious first start is beer bread. This simple bread is easy to make and the perfect base to experiment with your favorite local brew. Porters and Stouts are excellent for amping up the flavor of up brownies, cookies, chocolate cakes, and caramel desserts. With the citrus season in full swing, it’s the perfect time to bake up bold citrus cakes or breakfast bread using pale lagers or Witbiers. The Ovention MiLO is the ideal option for bakers with limited kitchen space.

Fermented Asian flavors like black garlic and kimchi have also made their way into western cuisine and baked goods. Black garlic is the product of aging regular garlic for a few weeks producing a soft, molasses-flavored ingredient. Once fermented, black garlic tastes similar to a date or raisin and can add extra flavor to chocolate chip cookies, donuts, brownies, and more! 

Kimchi, a traditional Korean side dish of salted and fermented vegetables, goes with more than just K-BBQ and Bibimbap. Kimchi pairs well with cheese! Use kimchi to mix into your favorite biscuit or cheese roll recipe for a simple side packed full of umami. 

 All You Knead is Milk Bread

Sliced white bread move over; Shokupan is the new cool kid in the lunchbox. Shokupan, or Japanese milk bread, is soft, sweet, and fluffy, unlike any white bread loaf you’ll find in the States. Instead, milk bread uses tangzhong, a warm flour-and-water paste used in China to give buns a soft and springy texture. This creates delightful loaves of bread that are often described as feathery. While this bread is a standard in Japan, getting your hands on it stateside has proven difficult; Ginza Nishikawa, a Los Angeles-based bakery, sells out of their 200 loaves of Shokupan daily within minutes online. This bread is excellent for sandwiches like egg salad and toasts beautifully in the Ovention Matchbox.

Spread Worthy

We’d be remiss to mention the bread basket without its perfect pairing, butter. Did you ever think that you’d be watching videos of butter being schmeared over a cutting board for hours on end? While the trend of butter boards might not stick around to the next holiday, the focus on quality butter will. As a result, consumers are stepping up their butter game and looking for options beyond the kind you can spread straight from the tub. 

Many consumers have started to purchase butter with higher fat content, like European butter or slow-churned, Amish-style butter. These types of butter exude a tanginess and velvety texture that American butter lacks. They are also a superb vehicle for creating compound butter. Mixing in flavorful herbs, spices, and sauces to room temperature butter is a creative way to enhance entrees, appetizers, and the aforementioned slices of bread.

While many people are shying away from gluten, many diners still enjoy starting their meals with a delicious bread-and-butter course. So step up your bread baskets by offering freshly baked bread and artisanal butter. Check out our blog about Botanicals in the Kitchen for more ways to revamp your existing menu.