Milling & Baking News - March 15, 2016 - 38

Bread Product Perspective X

convenience stores and drugstores,
rather than supermarkets, in mind.
Hostess bread was formulated to
allow a 60-day shelf life, which the
company believes will be ideal in
channels where direct-store delivery is economically impractical (see
more on Hostess bread on Page 22).
Altering the seasons
For half a century, Monks' Bread
has marched to the beat of a different
drummer (a higher calling, perhaps),
and the abbey-owned commercial
baking business is taking an unconventional approach to its newly introduced line of seasonal products.
"In one way our seasonal products
are similar to what other premium

bread bakers in our space do
- pumpkin spice, gingerbread,
country apple spice and cranberry cinnamon," said Kevin L. Baker,
president. "What's different is
that we run them a little out of
sequence from other bakers,
trying to meet consumers who
want these flavors other times
of the year."
For instance, the company's
pumpkin spice bread is offered in late fall, as opposed to
Monks' competitors that bring
the variety out several weeks
earlier.
The seasonal varieties fall
into the breakfast bread category and complement Monks'
yearround line.
"We bake a raisin cinnamon bread
that has been a signature since the
1950s," Mr. Baker said. "We also have
a maple cinnamon, which most people call French toast bread. Ours has
been out for 15 years."
Monks at The Abbey of the Genesee
devote themselves to lives of "work
of their hands and prayer," Mr. Baker,
who is not a monk, said. The origins

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of baking date back to the admission
into the monastery after World War
II of Brother Sylvester, who had been
a baker in the U.S. Navy. He enjoyed
sharing bread with guests at the monastery's retreat center. The monastery
and bakery are located in Piffard, N.Y.,
about 40 miles south of Rochester.
"It became so popular, people began asking for it," Mr. Baker said.
"We started selling it locally, and Wegmans in the 1950s picked it up."
The breakfast bread changes are
part of a larger product line update
under way at Monks' bread. Also
new over the past year has been the
reintroduction of a rye bread.
"We picked that up again," he said.
"We had taken it out of rotation. I do
have some products in the pipeline
we'll be rolling out before too long. It
will be a pretty major change. Those
will be different than normal pan
breads. More along the line of gourmet toasting types of bread."
As demand for Monks' Bread has
grown and the population of the
monastery has aged and contracted,
a larger part of the company's workforce is represented by workers and
other staff members who are not
Trappist monks.
Mr. Baker joined the company nine
years ago. Over this recent period,
the company has experienced a major
growth spurt, he said.
"Monks' Bread is still owned by
the Abbey but now has non-monkmanagement," he said. "We operate a
specialty foods division, which leans
toward artisan products like biscotti
and spreads. Our commercial bread
is sold in eight mid-Atlantic states."
The company's products are distributed by Bimbo Bakeries USA. MBN
- L. Joshua Sosland
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

http://www.bakingbusiness.com http://www.world-grain.com http://www.kingflour.com

Milling & Baking News - March 15, 2016

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