Photo credit: KPM Analytics.
KPM Analytics has opened a new baking laboratory in France designed to bridge traditional baking tests with objective analytical data, aiming to improve how millers, bakers and ingredient manufacturers evaluate flour performance and product quality.
The facility is located within the KPM Rheology Center of Excellence at the company’s France headquarters in Villeneuve-la-Garenne. It is intended to support a more data-driven approach to flour and dough evaluation by pairing conventional baking trials with laboratory instrumentation that measures ingredient and process behavior.
For generations, baking tests have been the primary method for assessing flour quality, dough performance and finished product outcomes. While widely used, they are often time-consuming, require significant ingredient volumes and depend heavily on operator technique. They also typically reveal only the final result, leaving limited insight into where process issues may have occurred during mixing, proofing or baking.
The new baking lab is designed to address those limitations by integrating baking trials with analytical tools that provide measurable data throughout the process. The goal is to help users better understand how flour composition and processing conditions influence final product characteristics and to reduce reliance on trial-and-error approaches.
The KPM Center features baking equipment that replicates industrial conditions, including mixers, a proofing chamber, an industrial oven and related tools. It also incorporates KPM analytical technologies such as Mixolab, Alveolab, Rheo F4 and SDmatic 2 rheological instruments, SpectraStar XT for compositional analysis and TheiaVu Vision systems for finished product evaluation.
These systems measure parameters including protein content, ash, moisture, damaged starch and dough behavior during mixing and processing. They also evaluate visual attributes such as size, shape, color and structure, along with other quality indicators that influence product consistency and shelf life.
By combining these measurements with baking test outcomes, KPM Analytics aims to help customers connect raw material characteristics and process conditions with final product performance. The approach is intended to support more consistent specifications, improved troubleshooting and more informed production decisions.
The company said the lab will also allow users to screen raw materials before baking trials, reducing time and resource use. It is expected to improve objectivity in baking evaluations and support formulation adjustments, including changes in enzyme and additive usage, proofing time and other process variables that affect efficiency and product quality.
In addition to testing applications, the facility is intended to serve as a training center for customers. It will provide hands-on instruction in instrument use and data interpretation, helping users understand how rheological, compositional and vision-based measurements relate to baking outcomes. The goal is to improve confidence in applying analytical tools to everyday quality control and production decisions.
KPM Analytics developed the baking lab with support from the Synar Group and its subsidiary Euro Food Product Company, a Kazakhstan-based distributor of KPM rheological instruments. The partnership was described as a long-term investment in advancing cereal and flour analysis capabilities and strengthening industry collaboration.
The companies said the facility reflects a shared focus on improving how analytical data is used to interpret baking performance and support more consistent decision-making in milling and baking operations.
Source: KPM Analytics, "KPM Analytics Introduces New Baking Lab for its Rheology Center of Excellence"