Wooden Bakery Improves Miller Relationship with Mixolab 2

Wooden Bakery of Lebanon, a company that has flourished in the face of adversity, has maintained the quality its consumers expect. This is primarily thanks to the help of one flour & dough analysis instrument in the quality control lab.

Founded in 1969 in Jal El Dib, Lebanon, Wooden Bakery is a family-owned business that has become one of the most recognizable bakery brands throughout the Middle East. Wooden Bakery has revolutionized the industry in the region by setting new standards while continually upgrading its products and services. Wooden Bakery has expanded to over 50 locations in Lebanon and opened an overseas Master Franchise Operation in Saudi Arabia. They also have international operations in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait, with plans to open in Iraq.

Quality has always been at the core of Wooden Bakery and its products, including traditional breads, flatbreads, and cakes native to the Middle East, and also French breads, Viennese pastries, and more.

According to Jessica Bitar, Total Quality Manager for Wooden Bakery, the company’s emphasis on consistently providing top-quality baked products is a significant reason they have been able to continue their success. "Each of our products requires a specific formulation of flour based on various aspects, including protein, ash content, wet gluten, and others,” says Bitar. "This can be a challenge given the availability of flour to our region and how flour quality can vary significantly with each delivery."

A Unique Rheological Analysis Technology Becomes an Important Instrument for Quality Control

In 2012, Wooden Bakery purchased the Mixolab 2 Universal Dough Characterizer. In about 45 minutes, the Mixolab 2 can take a small flour sample (50 g) and output a data curve, or "profile." This profile includes data on a flour's water absorption capacity, mixing behavior, and amylase activity, while providing insights on product shelf life.

According to Bitar, the instrument simulates the constraints a dough undergoes during the production process, helping the quality team gain a clearer idea of flour quality. “Over the years, and with the support of Hasan Shaib of Labcore, we have developed flour quality profiles for our numerous products with the Mixolab 2,” says Bitar.

“We test each new flour delivery before production to inform our product chefs about any discrepancies in quality. It allows our production team to plan ahead and take a lot of the guesswork out of their responsibilities.”

Speaking a New “Language” with Their Millers

As one of the region’s most recognized bakery brands, Wooden Bakery’s emphasis on quality has influenced many within the baking industry, including its millers. A few years ago – before the current struggles impacting flour availability – Wooden Bakery used Mixolab 2 to audit their miller's specification for flour quality.

It is not uncommon for a delivery of flour to arrive out-of-spec from time-to-time. However, there was a particular period where one of Wooden Bakery's millers had frequently been missing their mark. Over time, this began to take a toll on the company's productivity, Bitar said.

"It was at this point where we sat down with this miller and showed them how we could assess flour qualities for our specific products with the Mixolab 2," she said. "Since we were one of their largest customers, we convinced them to invest in a Mixolab 2 of their own. Given the volume of flour we purchase from them, they were able to pay for their system in a very short time," says Bitar.

"Now, each flour delivery we receive from the miller includes a datasheet of values from the Mixolab, which we can use to audit against our analysis. It is as if we are speaking a new language together, which has greatly helped our relationship and productivity with this miller."

Continually Pivoting to Keep a Promise to Consumers

Now with the current wheat and flour market, Wooden Bakery is using the instrument less to audit flour deliveries but to arm their producers with information they need to adjust their process.

With each delivery of flour, Wooden Bakery runs a sample through the Mixolab 2 as they normally would. However, based on the data curve, the production team can make immediate tweaks to their recipe, using the Mixolab 2 again to assess how introducing enzymes and other ingredients to the formula can help them reach their target product profile. This effort ensures that each delivery of flour, at any level of quality, can be used in production.

"We are not currently in a position where we can reject flour from our suppliers, but the Mixolab 2 helps us obtain a baseline for flour quality. Then we can use improvers to help us reach our product specifications, which we can transfer to production," says Bitar.

Armed with Flour & Dough Quality Data, Wooden Bakery Continues to Thrive  

Every company strives to become an iconic brand that consumers adore. Still, that goal is often not reached without making sacrifices, especially when forging through economic or political obstacles that are out of anyone’s control. It takes a company with unwavering principles for quality and willingness to seek every opportunity to deliver products to exact quality specifications. And, it is not solely the company's responsibility, but also the ingredient suppliers.

Wooden Bakery has fortified its operations with quality assurance technologies that allow them to continue providing top-quality products through any circumstance. This proactive approach has allowed them to continue their growth through trying times, using success to influence their millers to take greater control of their operations.

In essence, Wooden Bakery’s adaptability and resilience embody the people of Lebanon, whose pride and dedication to baking as a craft and their consumers' happiness knows no bounds.