Ever wondered who’s behind your delicious Hearty Oats loaves? Well, you have Graham
Duckworth and Rachel Turnbull to thank for every scrumptious sarnie! We got in touch
with the two Hovis insiders to ask them about being behind-the-scenes at Hovis,
and chat about all things bread!
Q - Who came up with the recipe for Hovis Hearty Oats (or was it a team effort)?
A –
Graham: It was definitely a team effort between Rachel and myself.
It began with me trying out different recipes in the test bakery, and handing those
ideas to Rachel so she could run scale plant trials . After that, she passed the
information she had gathered from those trials back to me and the circle of testing
started again.
Q - What qualifications do you have?
A –
Graham : I have a Honours Degree in Food Product Development from
Seale Hayne (University of Plymouth) and Bakery Qualifications (including City and
Guilds 120 pt's 1, 2 & 3) from Blackpool & the Fylde College.
Rachel : I have an Honours Degree in Food Technology (Manchester
Metropolitan University)
Q - How long have you worked at Hovis?
A –
Graham : I started work in the Product Development Team for HOVIS
in Jan 1998 (12 + Years), but been a baker since I was 16.
Rachel : I have spent 2 years in the Hovis Development Team but
with the group for a total of 7 years.
Q – What’s your favourite Hovis loaf?
A -
Graham : Mine is HOVIS Seed Sensations Rich & Roasted. But
for toast it's Hovis Hearty Oats.
Rachel : HOVIS Seed Sensations Rich & Roasted, but I agree
with Graham, for toast it has to be Hovis Hearty Oats.
Q - What’s your favourite sandwich filling?
A –
Graham : I like a massive variety, but if I had to choose one it
would have to be fresh lettuce, tomato, cucumber, really strong farmhouse cheddar
cheese, a little Wiltshire-cure British Ham and some English mustard. But on toast
I love marmalade.
Rachel : So many to choose from but probably chicken salad, or
ham and mustard.
Q - Why did it take 2 years to develop HHO?
A –
The development of the recipe actually only took about 12-14 weeks to get the real
‘oaty’ flavour. The bulk of this time was spent figuring out how to get so many
oats into the mixer that normally only took wheat flour. Therefore new equipment
had to be designed, commissioned, then installed and tested and finally we had to
fit the launch in with the supermarkets launch windows.
Q - Is there an official ‘bread taster’ at Hovis
A –
Actually there are whole teams of them, we test bread (including tasting it) every
day at each site, every week with the management team and every month with an expert
panel made up of members of the public. During the product development process,
we use the product development team (who are expert tasters in their own right)
to evaluate each blend of pinhead and jumbo oats to get the texture and flavour
‘just right’ in every recipe. We also listen to what consumers want from an oat
loaf, to ensure we choose the right product to launch.
Q - Why can’t you make a 100% oat bread?
A-
Normal bread contains flour milled from wheat which contains the protein "Gluten".
It is this Gluten that holds the gas bubbles produced by the yeast inside the loaf
and allows them to expand before the loaf is finally baked. Without the Gluten the
gas would just escape and the bread would not rise. Oats along with many other cereals
do not contain gluten of the same quality as that found in wheat. In a loaf baked
using 100% oats there would be nothing to hold the gas bubbles inside the loaf,
and you end up with a baked porridge brick. To overcome this, Hearty Oats uses a
blend of 50% Oats and 50% wheatflour. We also use two types of oat - jumbo and pinhead
- to get the flavour and texture just right.
Q - How many loaves of bread a day does Hovis make?
A-
HOVIS make on average about 2 million loaves a day, which are delivered to all parts
of the country.
Current HHO - average 28 thousand loaves a day.