The U.S. is a nation of breakfast choices, from grab-and-go, pop-in-the-toaster strudels to full-on Sunday brunch French toast with bacon and hash browns. Whatever the choice, it will likely include a baked bread or pastry.
Even simple and healthful yogurt and fruit breakfasts typically include a bakery item, such as a toasted bagel or muffin top. The combination of flour, fat and milk, or water, maybe with a little leavening and sugar, has been a part of the daily start for centuries. The rise in demand for artisanal (and artisanal-style) breads and baked goods, coupled with a comfort food boom that has been especially kind to such items as muffins, pastries and cakes, also brought a warmly welcomed surge in baked breakfast treats.
It’s no secret most dieting consumers target breakfast as the meal to skip. It becomes a point to sacrifice calories perceived as undesirable, since one of the challenges makers of savory egg- or meat-based breakfast items face is the perception that these ingredients are indulgent and, therefore, high in calories. Companies such as New York-based Vitalicious Inc. have pushed the technical envelope, however, and created breakfast items that support a healthy lifestyle, without compromising on the organoleptic factors.