Trends in Toasting: from brioche buns and beyond

Between the rapid rise of gourmet burger joints and the desire for healthier and free-from fast food options, consumers expect variety when it comes to their bread.

Here’s how operators can capitalise on this trend whilst ensuring each bread type is consistently cooked to perfection.

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When it comes to grabbing a quick bite to eat, Australian consumers are obsessed with choices. Not only do we have more diverse cuisine types to choose from than ever, but we expect more variations of the old classics – chips now regularly come in normal and sweet potato variations, accompanying condiments span from sriracha to aioli, even the burger bun is no longer safe as consumers opt for more gourmet, gluten free or flatbread options.

Here’s a look at the latest trends and how the right toaster can help operators deliver a consistent, quality product while meeting these changing consumer needs.

• Go Gourmet

According to research from Mintel, “nearly half of consumers say they want more premium burger buns at restaurants, giving rise to such bread as pretzel (up 97% on menus between 2012 and 2015), Kaiser (93%) and brioche (59%).” These artisan buns require a toaster that can accommodate a variety of sizes and shapes whilst ensuring a good toast to maintain a standard temperature. Toasters with dual belt technology drive more heat into the bread product and ensure the entire bun is toasted throughout without fear of sticking, burning or undercooking.

• Conscious Consumers

With free-from consumers becoming more commonplace, healthy options like wraps, gluten free, sugar free and preservative free breads are just a handful of options now regularly available at QSR’s. The key to meeting these trends and maintaining product quality is a dedicated piece of toasting equipment. Some operators use a grill to toast their buns and wraps, but toasting on the grill leads to an inconsistent product and wastes valuable time, energy and space — plus, it raises the risk of cross-contamination, a big no-no for highly intolerant patrons.

• Bold condiments

According to Datassential, menu mentions of sriracha have grown more than 36 percent in the past year and 515 percent in the past four years. Condiments are an easy way for patrons to customise their burger of choice, not to mention being used as a chip dip. For sriracha and other bold condiments, the bun needs to be properly toasted so that the condiments aren’t absorbed by the bread, turning it into a soggy, hard to eat mess.

The Antunes Vertical Contact Toaster is the perfect solution for venues offering a diverse range of buns on their menu and can give you guaranteed toasting results each and every time, allowing for a consistent product time and time again. Check out the short product video below to see how the Toaster works it might end your search for your commercial kitchen equipment.