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Au Bon Pain kitchen is maximising on the demand for new varieties of flavoured breads, bagels and sour dough breads.
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Likewise with dough sheeter a specially designed machine for sheeting of dough for puffs, croissants, pizzas etc. the maximum workload can be handled with minimum manpower and no skilled person is required whereas Smart Drop is really a smart working machine for production of multi shape cookies with beautiful shape and sharpness.

Moreover recipes can be stored into the memory as machine is with digital LCD control panel. Dropping for cup cake, Sponge and wire cut cookies can also be produced with same machine only by changing the attachments.
 

Similarly Planetary mixer also called Universal mixer is designed to give maximum aeration to products giving light sponginess and internal texture to the product”.

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Another of the advanced bakery equipment to come in the Indian market is the imported Radio frequency oven that gives baker a greater ability to control final moisture content and uniformity throughout the product. It virtually eliminates checking, offers longer shelf life, more control over product color and almost 40% increase in productivity.

Ashish Sirsat Owner and partner NaikOven Manufacturing Co, manufacturers of ovens and bakery machinery adds “While electric ovens have definitely been a step ahead of the earlier gas or oil fired ovens, Radio Frequency ovens are the latest technology, though their usage is still low in Indian bakeries due to the high costs.

Electric ovens such as rotary rack ovens or deck ovens are preferred in hotel bakeries for their low maintenance and lesser space requirement apart from their efficiency.”

Although bakery specialisation is growing fast in luxury and mid-segment hotels, there are many challenges being faced by professionals, such as quality of bulk raw material including flour, butter, yeast and sugar that can bring the end product at par with international standards and limited availability of international ingredients and exotic fresh fruits.

In addition due to the recent growth in the industry and high demand for good bakers, it has created a shortage of talent in the industry and is being seen as one of major problems. However Mukesh Singh Rawat optimistically adds “yes there is a shortage of skilled staff but the chef’s duty is to groom raw staff as we finish our final product.”
 

Moreover the imported baking equipments are not only expensive but the availability of their spare parts and maintenance is also an issue.

According to Ashish Sirsat, “Though the bakery sector is buoyant and bakeries are looking for versatile hi-tech equipment that can increase production, Indian made equipments still lack the finishing compared to American or European brands. However Indian brands score better for service available locally, easy availability of spare parts and overall costs.”

Signing off on a positive note Vikas Kumar says, “I think bakery products will soon become a part of our daily diets rather than a celebratory thing. With the increasing prosperity of the middle class, there are tremendous growth opportunities.”