Clean Label, what does it mean?

What drives the Clean Label movement? How does this affect artisan bakers? We talked to Michel Suas , President and Founder of the San Francisco Baking Institute, about Clean Label in the USA.

+bbi: Recently, you gave a seminar on Clean Label artisan bread in Texas. Unfortunately, we were unable to attend, but we would like to learn more about the clean labeling presentation.

+ Suas: The seminar’s focus was on the baking movement over the past 30 years in the USA and other countries. The artisan bread movement started around 1986 and the trend hasn’t stopped and has become an art for the consumer, incorporating diet selection and quality bread without additives. Clean Label was already in place at that time for small and mid-size bakeries

+ bbi: What is a “Clean Label”?

+ Suas: Initially, Clean Label was only the ingredients used for the actual bread formula: flour, water, salt, commercial yeast, or wild yeast, and excluded emulsion components, shelf life extension, or stabilizers that most of the large bakeries were using to make bread with at that time.

+ bbi: What ingredients are considered Clean Label?

+ Suas: Clean Label is not organic; it just includes conventional ingredients with no chemicals added during bread production. Now Clean Label is all about what the baking industry as a whole has been doing over the past few years and also looking ahead, what it will be doing. All the additional ingredients added to the basic formula are made with natural components, with enzymes predominantly used for these purposes.

+ bbi: How does the “Clean Label” movement affect the baking industry?

+ Suas: Again, we are talking about the large-scale distribution for store chains, institutions, and hotels. The new approach to manufacturing bread or any mass-produced food with Clean Label starts with the consumer who is looking for better, healthier food. Consumers are starting to read the label more and more and are also exposed to smaller production bakeries. The customer is now educated about the taste difference. U.S. customers are now looking for better food, as part of their lifestyles, and even large chains such as McDonalds are trying to portray a different image to the public.

+ bbi: What do you think is driving the Clean Label movement?

+ Suas: The continued drive for Clean Label or better food is multi-area, where good food is promoted with things such as the Food Network, competition television shows, as well as the news media, which are all helping people connect better with food. Before In the past, Americans ate for survival, but now they are alive to enjoy all that good food has to offer. A bakery has now become a place where you meet friends and family and treat yourself. Consumers now read labels even more, and even large supermarkets such as Costco want quality food. Young professionals are the ones who keep the movement going especially those with kids because they want the best food for their children.

Michel Suas

Michel Suas began baking at the age of 14. In his home country of France, he trained under several renowned chefs before moving to the United States in 1986. Suas is internationally recognized as an industry expert and is a strong advocate of using education to advance the appreciation and craft of artisan baking. The Bread Bakers' Guild of America awarded Suas the Golden Baguette in recognition of his contribution to the Guild and the artisan baking industry. The Bread Project named Suas an honorary life member in recognition of his guidance and support. “Advanced Bread and Pastry: A Professional Approach”, was written by Michel Suas and is a comprehensive guide to bread and pastry, designed as a resource for colleges and universities, private culinary schools, professionals, and dedicated enthusiasts. +++

San Francisco Baking Institute (SFBI)

The San Francisco Baking Institute (SFBI) was founded in 1996 by Michel Suas. SFBI is one of the leaders in artisan bread and pastry education. Their mission is to elevate the craft and appreciation of artisan baking. SFBI is the only school dedicated to artisan baking in the United States. SFBI is now even hosting a French Diploma IV Program, which is at a higher level than is required in France for a baker to open up their own bakery. In addition to educational programs, SFBI also consults with bakeries around the world. These services have helped many of the world's best-known bakeries develop operational efficiency and quality production. In San Francisco, CA, SFBI runs an artisan bakery called Thorough Bread and Pastry. +++ Website SFBI: www.sfbi.com

+ bbi: How does it affect artisan bakers?

+ Suas: Right now, the emphasis in bakeries is on better nutrition, flavor, and lower protein (gluten) flour in order to respond to people with gluten intolerance or discomfort. Also, the introduction of ancient grains and cereals to baking ingredients will become more widespread including signature grains that are milled at the bakery to make whole wheat bread with fresh flour. Local small retail bakeries are coming back to downtown, and large cities have a more modern approach including a coffee culture where people can treat themselves or have a treat with family and friends. We see this as a modern trend viewed as a bar during the day with sugar replacing alcohol.

+ bbi: How can bakers keep up with this trend? Do you have any tips for formulation and/or processing?

+ Suas: You should take note; Clean Label is not a trend but an evolution of what the baking movement started 30 years ago. The artisan baker began to, and still continues to improve by adding ancient grains and recently the larger bakeries began changing due to demand.

+ bbi: Do you have any tips for bakers wanting to reformulate or develop new products to meet this demand for Clean Labels?

+ Suas: A good baker should be able to reformulate any product, but it’s important not to over complicate the process. Find a good source for ingredients, especially flour, but don’t over price your food costs by using ingredients that are way too expensive. Long fermentation and adding preferment dough will replace any chemicals that potentially might have been used, resulting in great flavor and health benefits.

+ bbi: Can you tell us a little bit more about SFBI?

+ Suas: The SFBI (San Francisco Baking Institute) always works to promote and support better quality baking. We were able to offer products made with ancient grain about 15 years ago when these were expensive and hard to get, but now larger distribution systems are in place at a more affordable price.

+ bbi: What do you think the future trends will be?

+ Suas: Besides ancient grains, the big movement is towards whole wheat, and fresh milled bread Viennoiserie is the big winner when it comes to new trends. I hope that gives you an idea of what is happening in the US bread market, but you should also note that there are movements in South and Central America towards better quality and healthy bake products.

+ bbi: Mr. Suas, thank you for the interview. +++