Following the recent Sirha Innovation Awards in Lyon – an innovational event renowned for its culinary competitions and spectacular showcases – the Simply-Bread.co company emerged victorious with the Sirha Innovation Award for its trailblazing bread oven.

© Simply-bread.co

The Awards recognize the best products, materials, equipment and new technologies of the year in the food and catering sector. Out of the 465 entries received, only 13 were selected, including the Walloon company.

Such an accolade underscores the company's deep-rooted commitment to further advancing baking technology through astute and detailed thinking.

Who Are Simply Bread?

Originally founded by Belgian entrepreneur Stijn Vanorbeek , in the United States four years ago, Simply Bread has achieved noteworthy success across the Atlantic.

Now, the company is expanding into the European market, establishing a base within Wallonia’s largest city – Liège!

The Award-Winning Oven

Designed primarily for baking bread, particularly sourdough varieties, the oven itself boasts several outstanding features:

• Patented Stones: Ensures both a consistent and even crust.
• Integrated Algorithm: Allows for precise temperature control at each level of the oven
• Compact Design: Occupies minimal kitchen space and operates on a single-phase power supply, eliminating the need for any special installations.

© Simply-bread.co

Tom Pongérard – Vice President of Operations, explained, "People often ask if you can bake anything other than bread. The answer is yes, but it's primarily designed for bread." Romain Trigaux , the European COO for Simply Bread adds, "For example, you can bake pizzas. But the Italians will probably disagree with us."

Simply Bread’s oven is tailored for a wide variety of different restaurants and micro-bakeries, capable of baking between twelve to fifteen loaves simultaneously. Its compact size ensures that it does not take up much kitchen space.

In the United States, Simply Bread has cultivated a burgeoning community of micro-bakers. The company aims to replicate this success in Europe, with the Sirha Innovation Awards playing a pivotal role in enhancing Simply Bread’s glowing reputation.

How it came to be

Originally a computer engineer, Stijn Vanorbeek’s first major venture didn’t have much to do with bread, but focused on designing robotic camera control systems for the film industry.

His technology was used in productions like the Harry Potter and James Bond franchises, and were even considered for an Oscar nomination!

© Simply-bread.co

By early 2020, as the pandemic hit and a new interest for baking rose across the world, he was reminded of what baking had meant to him while growing up in a small agricultural town in Belgium. It could be a therapeutic and creative outlet, bringing joy even in times of adversity.

It’s here that he decided to mix these two passions, marrying traditional baking techniques with cutting edge technology to create an innovative product that can “power the next generation of breadmakers”, as they describe.

Future Developments

Designed for restaurants and micro-bakeries, Romain and Tom say that with the product “You can bake between 12 and 15 loaves at the same time. The oven doesn't take up much space in the kitchen - we're starting to develop well with a community of micro-bakers. “

Beyond the oven, however, Simply Bread is developing an application to assist their micro-baker community in managing order preparations. Unlike traditional bakers who rely solely on experience to determine daily production, micro-bakers often depend on pre-orders to minimize unsold products.

The forthcoming application will streamline the pre-ordering process, providing valuable support to micro-bakers and will advance their ambitions to push the boundaries of modern bread making.

The original article can be found on wallonia.be