bakingbuyer - October 2011 - (Page 78)

his· pan· ic (his-span-ik) adj. Hispanic Goes Mainstream Hispanic culture is rapidly influencing the flavor preferences of America’s diverse population, as more and more Hispanic foods and flavors go from niche to mainstream at bakery cafés, restaurants, grocery stores, and other food sellers. As the fastest growing ethnic group and America’s largest minority, Hispanics are moving into cities – large and small – across the country, as evidenced by the fact that America’s Hispanic population has eclipsed 50 million people. This trend continues to reshape the future of food in America. A new study by Technomic explores the foodservice attitudes and usage of this important group and notes that Hispanic consumers place high importance on family dining options and the authenticity of Hispanic menu options when dining out. “Simply offering a Hispanic-inspired menu item is not enough to attract Hispanic consumers, as more than one third of the consumers in our study actually disagree that the mere presence of Hispanic menu items will encourage them to visit a restaurant,” says Technomic Director of Consumer Research Sara Monnette. Porto’s Bakery, which has three retail locations in Southern California, is breaking the mold of what a traditional bakery offers. They make 600 bakery items fresh daily – ranging from a dash of the past (such as Rosa’s famous potato balls – mashed potato filled with seasoned ground beef, breaded and fried) to modernized new fusion desserts like Cuban cake filled with guava cream cheese mousse. And that’s not counting a full-service deli that serves dozens of Cuban and other style sandwiches on Cuban bread, sweet rolls, French rolls, baguettes, ciabatta, grilled sourdough, or butter croissants. Porto’s makes everything by hand and constantly reinvents the menu to keep customers satisfied and hungry for more. One example of a popular new sandwich is their Pan con bistec – marinated steak with grilled onions, potato sticks, tomatoes, and garlic sauce, served on Cuban bread. Their famous Cuban bread is made with such careful attention to detail that they use a Minipan automatic refiner (more commonly used in the production of crackers) to refine the dough and give it a fine crumb structure. The bread must be white in color and soft to the taste; the crust must be crisp. H Cuban Bread Cuban bread is one of the fastest growing products in the Hispanic marketplace. What is interesting to note is that Cuban bread differs slightly in different parts of the country. Take Tampa, FL, for instance. “The Cuban bread in Tampa is more similar to Italian bread,” says Susan Moreno, who owns Moreno’s Bakery in Brandon with her husband, Jose, a third generation baker whose family came from Cuba nearly 20 years ago. “Cuban bread is Cuban bread can vary by part of the country. In Tampa, they use a palmetto leaf for scoring the dough on top. 78 · BAKING BUYER · OCTOBER 11

bakingbuyer - October 2011

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