Artisan Baking in Europe

Research Partner: International Specialised Skills Institute

Project outline

Artisan Baking is a key growth sector in both the retail grocery and food service markets of the Australian baking industry.

This Fellowship will partner with the French National Baking and Pastry Institute and the German National Bakers Academy in Weinheim’s central technical school.

This Fellowship will focus on improving advanced artisan baking formulations, methods and techniques including a detailed review of sourdough breads. It will also focus on training and development programs for highly skilled and innovative artisan bakers.

The Fellowship researcher

Ruwan Colombage has 20 years' experience of training and developing artisan bakers with the William Angliss Institute, The Baker Institute and currently at the Bendigo Kangan Institute.

He is a research fellow at the International Specialised Skills Institute and a member of the Bakers Training Network, Australian Culinary Federation, the Australian Society of Bakers which is the peak industry body for professional chefs and cooks, and the BAKER Network.

Key outcomes

The project will establish an ongoing collaboration with the French and German Baking Institutes for the training and development of Australian artisan bakers. It will develop a review paper on artisan baking in Europe, including traditional and current formulations, proofing, and baking techniques.This information will become the content for training forums.

A detailed European Baking recipe book will be produced and shared with baking trainers, students, and artisan baking businesses.

The learnings, technical information and European contacts will provide valuable inputs for proposed flavour and aroma chemistry of baked foods research with the University of Newcastle.