Kudos Blends has invested in a MIWE condo oven supplied by EPP to support its bakery trials. The global baking powder supplier replaced an existing oven at its test bakery in Cleobury Mortimer on the Worcestershire/Shropshire border to carry out more consistent internal product analysis and complete trials on behalf of customers.
“Because we analyse products and we need to have very precise figures, we needed a very good oven that would produce consistent product,” says Stephanie Morrison, Senior Bakery Technologist at Kudos Blends. “We bake on three or four decks at the same time. If there are any inconsistencies in the bake, the analysis is unreliable to start with. Our previous oven had started to develop hotspots which was causing issues for us”.
“I met Michael (Lomas) from EPP at a bakery event by chance, and he recommended that we visit the Puratos Innovation Centre to see a MIWE oven in action and do a few tests,” adds Yvette Taylor, Head of Sales & Marketing.
Kudos Blends supplies baking powder to industrial bakeries for a broad range of products including cakes, doughnuts, muffins, cupcakes, scones, crumpets, pancakes, tortillas and more. Their test bakery is used to analyse their own baking powders, or to perform trials on behalf of customers, for example, to troubleshoot a problem or try a new bake. After visiting the Puratos Innovation Centre, Kudos Blends decided on a MIWE condo with four decks.
“We’ve been very pleased with the oven since we made the investment,” continues Stephanie. “We trialled various products in the oven, and we tested the consistency from one side of the oven to the other, as well as consistency between the decks – it’s so much better than our old oven.Previously, we would have to use one deck and wait to reuse the same deck to ensure the testing consistency that we needed. We now have multiple decks that are reliable, meaning we can bake several batches of products at a time, which is much more efficient. It also heats up much faster than our previous oven, and it saves a lot of energy. EPP has been easy to reach by email or phone. They set the oven up, answered our questions and ran us through the operation of it.”
Founded in 1999 by female entrepreneur Dinnie Jordan, Kudos Blends primarily supplies industrial bakeries around the globe, who in turn supply supermarkets and bakeries with finished baked goods. The company has used its chemistry expertise to develop more than 100 different baking powders tailored to specific products – including solutions for sodium reduction,gluten free and vegan products.
