The baked goods market includes breads sweet baked goods. Packaged baked goods are sold in shelf-stable form, as well as in refrigerated and frozen forms. The baked goods market includes the following:
- Breads. Popular types of loaf bread include white, whole wheat, whole grain, French, Italian, pumpernickel and rye, potato, sourdough, and artisan. Flatbreads include the popular Middle-Eastern style pita as well as the Latin American tortilla.
- Cakes. The cake category includes any full-sized, that is, multiple-serving cakes. Ingredients usually include flour, butter or other shortening, eggs, and sugar or other 65sweetener.
- Snack Cakes. Snack cakes are essentially single serving cakes that do not require utensils to eat. Examples include cupcakes and brownies. Many snack cake products feature relatively unique formulations that are identified with brands.
- Muffins. Resembling cupcakes, muffins are less sweet, and therefore suit a greater range of meal occasions. The most popular types are corn, bran, and blueberry.
- Pastries. The pastry category encompasses coffee cakes, Danish pastries, eclairs, cream puffs, bismarcks, turnovers, and tortes, as well as other well-known international pastries like Italian zbaglione, Middle Eastern baklava, and German strudel.
- Cookies. The word “cookie” derives from the Dutch koekie, or “little cake.” Dutch settlers were the first to make cookies in the New World. Crispy, soft-baked, biscuit, fruit-filled, chip, sandwich creme, shortbread/butter, wafer, frosted, glazed, sugar-sprinkled, enrobed, animal cracker, and graham cracker are popular cookie types.
- Doughnuts. Doughnuts are deep-fried or baked, bready rings with a hole in the middle. They are usually yeast-raised, but are sometimes leavened with baking powder. Plain doughnuts have a slightly sweet flavor. Other varieties, much sweeter, may be glazed or frosted; dredged with granulated, confectioners’, or cinnamon sugar; or topped with candy sprinkles or chopped nuts.
- Pies. Pies are basically confections baked in a single or double crust. Fruit pies include apple, blueberry, cherry, peach, apricot, kiwi, and others. Cream pies may be chocolate, coconut, or Boston cream. Meringue pies feature a layer of meringue over lemon, lime, coconut, or other fillings. Some popular nut pies are pecan and walnut, often combined with chocolate. Custard, mince, and pumpkin pies are holiday favorites.
