Ancient grains energize bread. Quinoa, amaranth, spelt and millet remain untouched by modern science, which makes them appealing to consumers looking for natural ingredients. They also lend their unique textures and flavors to loaves made with more conventional wheat. These grains can catch consumers’ eyes and taste buds, boost label appeal and bring in more sales for bakers.

To add grains to bread in a way that makes them edible yet still keeps their kernel identity intact, bakers have to soak them overnight. This obviously takes time, a luxury bakers don’t always have. Corbion Caravan saw the challenge posed to bakers when adding grains into formulations and decided to make it easier with its line of pre-soaked grains.

“When we first started developing the soaked grains, we did it because we recognized there was a need in the baking industry to easily incorporate grains into formulations as well as onto the breads themselves before being baked,” said Ricardo Moreira, portfolio manager, bakery, Corbion.

These grains are conditioned by soaking and cooking, which softens the outer hull of the grain and makes it ready for instant consumption. With these grains, bakers can get the benefits of ancient and whole grains without the hassle of overnight soaking. “This allows the baker to open the pail, grab a scoop, throw it into their formula and transform a product they’re already producing into something completely different,” Mr. Moreira said.

While this line has been around for 10 years, Corbion has added flaxseed, quinoa and chia to appeal to consumers seeking power grains or ancient grains. Consumers searching for these grains are often on the lookout for other ingredients or rather for certain ingredients to be missing. In light of that, Corbion recently reformulated this line of pre-soaked grains to remove artificial preservatives.

“Consumer demands are changing, and we want to help our customers easily move with the market, which is why we completely reformulated all five products from our soaked grain line to be preservative-free,” Mr. Moreira said. “We recognized that there was a need for products that could appeal to health-conscious consumers as well as ones looking to consume foods that are free from certain ingredients.”

Corbion Caravan’s reformulated pre-soaked grains include Golden Super Soaked Grains, Hydrated Ancient Grains, Super Soaked Grains, Super Soaked Whole Grains, and Super Soaked Whole and Ancient Grains. Golden Super Soaked Grains are a mixture of oat, sunflower, millet, flaxseed and cracked wheat. Molasses adds sweetness and darker crumb color. The Super Soaked Grains include the same grains but without the molasses for color and sweetness.

Hydrated Ancient Grains combines organic amaranth, quinoa and chia. Super Soaked Whole Grains include cracked wheat, whole grain barley, whole rye kernels, oat flakes and millet. Super Soaked Whole and Ancient Grains contain amaranth, quinoa and chia. Both Super Soaked Whole Grains and Super Soaked Whole and Ancient Grains can push a finished product to qualify for a Whole Grain Stamp.