When it comes to baking bread, there seem to be more similarities than differences internationally. And it is perhaps no coincidence that trends in the world’s oldest foodstuff look pretty much the same whether you are in Argentina or India: wherever you go, you are likely to come across sourdough starters, healthy types of flour and artisanal preparation processes, some of which have to some extent been transferred to people’s homes in these months of lockdown.

In this “year of living dangerously” bread-making has turned out to be one of the livelier food areas. Now, as we look ahead to Host2021, our Host Ambassadors take us around the world to show us the direction things are moving in in their own countries.

We start in India, where journalist and founder of the blog Delectable Reveries Vernika Awal explains how: “people are now looking to experiment with baking in which regular flours are replaced by millets and regular sugar by jaggery (a coarse, dark sugar made from the sap of Indian palm trees). The use of sourdough, which has been common in India through its regional breads, has caught the eye of everyone and people are experimenting more.”

From Argentina, wine and food journalist Sabrina Cuculiansky reports that while bread sales are down by as much as 50% on last year, consumption of biscuits and other bakery items is up and there has been an increase in sales of flour and yeast in supermarkets. “77% of people in Argentina eat bread at least once a week, as against a South American average of 61%. The health trend is clear: 78% of consumers say that consumers want to cut out ‘bad’ ingredients, namely fats, sugar and salt, in favour of health-promoting ingredients like fibre, cereals and seeds. There is an appreciation of everything that is made by hand, by artisans using natural ingredients, without preservatives and baked in store: people are prepared to pay more for bread made in this way.”

Nancy & Namrata, the duo behind the food and travel blog She Said, She Said and Host Ambassadors from the United Arab Emirates say that “people have become more health conscious, which has given rise to ‘healthier’ treats and food fit for various dietary lifestyles like keto, vegan, paleo etc. At the same time, anxiety levels have also been high during the pandemic, prompting consumers to order food in abundance and leading to a rise in cloud kitchens. Brunch, which is something of an institution in Dubai, has moved to the delivery model, with some bars and pubs bringing the brunch experience into people’s homes. The UAE is not immune to global trends: more people have taken to cooking and baking to relieve stress, so we too have had our fair share of banana bread, dalgona coffee e sourdough starters.”

“Lockdown in the UK had a big impact, with a huge surge in home baking. People started to bake their own bread and used the time to experiment with sourdough,” says Sally Prosser, food and travel blogger and the author of My Custard Pie. “With a focus on keeping healthy (to boost immunity), wholegrain and seeded breads became more popular. There was a rise in the use of bread mixes, helping those who wanted to bake but lacked the confidence, skill, time or budget to make bread from scratch.”

Retail sales have also had to adapt, along with changes in consumer patterns, says Marc Matsumoto, a private chef, consultant and TV personality based in Tokyo who wrote norecipes.com: “In Japan, consumers used to use tongs and a tray to select unpackaged baked goods. These have now all either moved behind a counter for staff to pick and pack, or are individually wrapped in plastic.”

Aaron Arizpe AKA @pocketfork, the consultant and food writer who is once again collaborating with HostMilano from New York, gives a word of warning: “It is no longer sufficient for a bakery to think about being just a neighbourhood place that people will pop into sporadically. Businesses big and small need to think more about broader distribution and how they interact with their fans when they are at home the same way they can in store.”