Flour grade can boost healthiness of baked goods, says Pava

The producer said that initially it introduced three varieties of the new flour, each catering for a certain category of bakery application but now, following evaluation of the behaviour of Zhitnitsa during the production process, its R&D experts have finalised a list of parameters that produce the most advantageous formulation.

According to Pava, the flour grade successfully performs as a single ingredient or in mixes for use in products such as gingerbread, crisps, pancakes and wheat based cakes.

The processor added that collaboration with bakers and confectioners has shown that the optimal gluten level is no less than 20 per cent, and the consultation also enabled the processor to specify other parameters such as whiteness and ash content.

Moreover, Pava maintains that due to the flour grade’s high water binding property, it results in better output of the finished product, thus offering cost savings to end product manufacturers.

In November last year, managing director at the grain processor, Andrey Ananin, said the processor hoped to gain more presence as a manufacturer of flour and aimed to develop the export side of the business, noting a growing demand from the baking segment for high-margin ingredients such as wheat gluten, starch and syrups.

The producer said then that its objective was to diversify into deep wheat processing and to increase its yearly capacity of grain production from 400,000 to 900,000 tonnes per year.

The company’s main customers are wholesalers and manufacturers of bakery and confectionery, both across Russia, and in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Apart from its commercial sales, the processor has also collaborated with the United Nations within the framework of the World Food Programme, exporting vitamin-enriched flour to developing countries.