Five Categories of Goods A “Wholesale Bakery Supply Distributor Near Me” Should Have

After you pull out your phone and type in “wholesale bakery supply distributor near me,” you’re going to have to qualify that search with a little bit of extra research before you settle on a seller. While you might have one down the block, AP flour and granulated sugar just aren’t going to cut it - especially for a professional baker with a multitude of special needs and requirements.

They’re generally useful, but that’s why the AP in AP flour stands for all-purpose. It’s “good enough” for most applications, but not highly specialized. What you should look for is a “wholesale bakery supply distributor near me with specialty supplies and baking ingredients.” That will put you more on the path to success.

1. Specialty flours

While you might not think of them as specialty flours, it’s worth noting that a variety in different flours and germ is important from a wholesale bakery supply distributor. For example, even though AP flour and bread flour are both made from wheat, bread flour has a higher percentage of protein that makes the formation of gluten possible - and thus is far superior for making most types of bread.

However, there are other types of flours that bakers often use in their craft, including but not limited to high gluten flour (for bread making) cake flour that is milled to a very fine consistency, for making cakes (and a vital component of wholesale cake supplies), gluten-free flours (for those with allergies) and a variety of other special grades, like wheat and rye flour and even cornmeal.

2. More than one type of yeast (and other leaveners)

Not all leaveners are created equal, and not all even work the same way. For example, yeast feeds on the sugars in dough and produces gas that allows it to rise through fermentation; baking powder works through an acid-base reaction to produce carbon dioxide to enable the dough to rise slightly. Both are leaveners, both are not well suited to the same tasks.

In addition, not all yeasts are created equal. Some yeasts can be added to the dough directly without any preparation, and others can be kept for a long time with minimal care or maintenance, like SAF Instant Yeast or Fleishmann’s Instant Yeast, both of which will last a decent amount of time, especially when kept in the freezer.

Then there are fresh and compressed yeasts, which are only viable for a short period of time but yield excellent flavor and results - of course, the next time you search for a “wholesale bakery supply distributor near me,” you’ll want to make sure that supplier has the goods you need.

3. Couverture and compound chocolate

To a chocolatier or a confectioner, chocolate is not chocolate. Couverture chocolate, which is made with a higher percentage of cocoa butter, produces beautifully glossy chocolate when tempered properly, one with excellent mouthfeel and flavor.

By contrast, compound chocolates are made with vegetable oils in place of the cocoa butter that is contained within other higher grades of chocolate. Since these grades of chocolate do not need to be painstakingly tempered, they can be melted, remelted, and molded over and over again with amazing results, even by an amateur.

A serious confectioner might have a need for either of these at any given time, so make sure your supplier has them!

4. Shortening (including high-ratio shortening)

Similarly, shortening is an important bakery ingredient that you won’t want to overlook. While it’s not too hard to find, it’s highly useful given some of its specific traits.

Since shortening is produced using a different process from butter, and typically contains hydrogenated plant oils, it has no moisture content and can be made a pure white color. Because of this, it is excellent at creating baked goods that are extremely light and fluffy.

In addition, since some shortenings are made to be pure white color, some confectioners and decorators prefer them because they can produce pure, true white color in icing and frosting.

5. Packaging supplies

If you’re in business as a professional baker or confectioner, packaging supplies are also not something to overlook. They may very well be the least exciting inclusion on this list, they’re necessary to conduct business. What does it matter if you can bake the most beautiful cake or cookies if you have no way to package them and get them to your customers?

We’ve been in business since 1948 and know a thing or two about what it takes to set our customers up for success in their endeavors. Whether you’re looking for wholesale baking supplies or restaurant supply goods at wholesale prices, we’re here to help you out - with the following categories as well as many others.

Give us a call today at 724-274-6314 if you want to learn more about what we sell or you have any questions about shipping or pricing. We’ll negotiate a fair price with you and ship from our own refrigerated warehouses - so pricing and quality are both under our control, and running a bakery requires the highest quality!