With lots of bakeries and wholesalers of cookies, ice creams, donuts, macarons and other dessert items popping up around the country, I've been adjusting and upsizing recipes for super high-volume production using technologically advanced commercial equipment. These new tools include the depositor, pasteurizer, walk-in blast freezer and my current favorite—the Stephan Mixer-Cooker-Emulsifyer—which I use to process nuts, chocolates and flour blends.
With the ongoing demand for new dessert items, I think that using hi-tech equipment to customize your own mixes and make your own flours from raw products is key to setting yourself apart from the competition. Aside from increasing freshness and flavor of the finished product, this strategy can also be cost efficient—despite the initial cost of the machine. Overall, advancements in technology and machinery are now a big influence in the future of the baking business. That is truly inspiring and educational for me as a pastry chef—even one who's been advocating artisan baking for most of my career!