There are many vitamins and minerals bakers can use to fortify their products. And thankfully for those looking to do so, most baked goods are well-suited for this incorporation.

“Bread, rolls and breakfast cereals are particularly well-suited for vitamin fortification,” said Sergio Machado, senior director, RD&A, Corbion. “These products are staple items in many diets, so they provide an excellent vehicle for nutrient delivery. Snacks and functional foods, such as protein bars and fortified cookies, also offer opportunities for innovation in health-focused bakery products.”

Certain baked goods are easier to fortify, while others will require some more finesse. Typically vitamin incorporation works best in baked goods with whole grains and better-for-you ingredients, for example, said Jeff Hodges, manager, bakery, snacks and confections applications, ADM. 

“These applications tend to hide any off-notes or textures that may come from certain vitamins and minerals,” he explained. “Muffins and cookies that typically already have inclusions (think chocolate chips or blueberries) also help mask some of these off-notes. The same goes for bakery items that normally have strong flavors, such as a garlic flatbread or focaccia with sun-dried tomatoes.”

On the other hand, simpler products like a four-ingredient white bread likely won’t hide these off-notes and textures, Hodges said, and therefore would be a more difficult candidate for vitamin fortification. 

In addition to maintaining taste and texture, Alice Wilkinson, vice president, R&D, premix, Glanbia Nutritionals, emphasized the importance of adding vitamins and minerals consumers are comfortable accepting in their baked goods. 

“Replacement of part of the sodium level in chemically leavened products with a combination of calcium, magnesium and/or potassium salts to lower the sodium-potassium ratio is an example,” she said. 

Fortification is typically easier in products that are exposed to lower temperatures for a shorter period of time, such as nutritional bars, she added. 

“Even so, there can be solutions for traditional baked products as well,” Wilkinson said.

This article is an excerpt from the July 2024 issue of Baking & Snack. To read the entire feature on Fortification and Enrichment, click here.