Keeping products fresh is a key challenge for many bakery owners. The longer you can extend your products’ shelf life, the more opportunities you have to sell them.
Luckily, you don’t need to use synthetic chemicals to make long-lasting breads, cakes, cookies, and more. Try some of the following tips to make your baked goods stay fresh and delicious for longer.
1. Rotate Your Products by Shelf Life
Sometimes a new batch of baked goods will be ready before all of the old ones have sold. When this happens, make sure to keep the oldest products at the front of the shelf. If they still haven’t sold within a day of their “best before” date, give customers a discount on them to encourage last-minute sales.
2. Use Honey, or Cinnamon
Honey, and cinnamon are all natural preservatives that are easy to incorporate into baked goods.
Honey is great for adding natural sweetness to products like cookies and quick breads. Cinnamon gives baked treats a delicious warmth on top of its freshness benefits. Both affect the taste of the finished item, though, so be sure to adjust your recipes to compensate for their inclusion. Purchase honey and cinnamon from your local grocery distributors and experiment with them to find the right combination for your recipes.
3. Don’t Refrigerate
While items like custard pies and cakes with butter-based frostings must be refrigerated to maintain compliance with food safety regulations, most baked goods should never be refrigerated. The cold, dry environment inside a fridge dries them out and makes them go stale more quickly. Instead, store your baked items in airtight containers at room temperature or freeze them for long-term use.
4. Use Frozen Fruit When Possible
While fresh fruit is aesthetically pleasing, it can also go bad in the blink of an eye. Frozen fruit, on the other hand, is picked and preserved at peak freshness. This makes it your best option for baking things like muffins and Danishes.
Opting for frozen fruit doesn’t have to mean sacrificing quality or flavor. Your food distributor can help you find premium wholesale frozen fruit that will taste just like the fresh stuff. It will not only help your products last longer, but also make baking with fruits more convenient and affordable.
5. Use the Right Packaging
The right packaging can considerably lengthen baked goods’ shelf life. Items like breads, bagels, and English muffins should be stored in breathable plastic or paper bags to prevent moisture from accumulating and spurring mold growth.
Delicate items like croissants, muffins, and cakes should be stored in clamshell packaging to protect them from jostling while also maintaining proper air flow.
If you keep any products tucked away in the back, store then in airtight containers until they’re ready to hit the shelves.
6. Invest in a Dehumidifier and Air Filter
Baked items go bad more quickly when the air around them is damp or full of mold spores. Using an air filter and a dehumidifier inside your bakery will alleviate these problems and improve the general air quality inside your business.
Stock Up on Baked Goods and Packaging from New Jersey’s Top Food Distributors
Whether you’re making baked goods from scratch or relying on pre-made products, you’ll need reputable foodservice distributors to help you support your small business. Foods Galore has helped countless New Jersey restaurants, cafes, and other eateries get the baked treats and packaging items they need to succeed. Whether you’re looking for sweets to serve to your patrons or supplies like cardboard cookie boxes and plastic cupcake trays, we’ll be happy to source it for you. Contact us today to discuss your needs and get started.
