Korean baked goods

Korean Bread

Place of origin	South Korea
Region or state	East Asia
Associated cuisine	South Korea

Korean baked goods (한국 생과자, "hanguk seanggwacha", lit. "Korean style snacks" 한국 빵, “hanguk bbang” lit. Korean bread") consist of Korean style breads, buns, pastries, cakes and snacks. Korean bread did not enter Korean diets or become a mainstream staple till the late 80s. To a large extent bread was not part of Korean cuisine other than some types of traditional steamed breads that were made of mixed rice flour and wheat. Korean breads were first introduced to the mainstream market in the 1980s with the establishment of the bakery chain Paris Crosissant. The items that were introduced to the Korean market aimed to introduce a French-inspired type of bread that would simultaneously satisfy a Korean taste palette. Hence, the type of breads and buns that were created were a fusion of Western technique and Korean flavours.

Characteristics

Asian style buns are soft, springy and sweet. Other than softer bread varieties like the brioche, Asian breads differ greatly from most traditional European breads, which have a harder crust and a dry, salty crumb. In Western-style baking, bread has zero fat and the main components are flour, salt and water. Asian style bread on the other hand are high in fat and sugar, which together give the bread its unique soft texture.

Typical white bread found in South Korean bakeries

Korean baked breads are very soft and typically drizzled with condensed milk. Commonly baked goods take the form of a stuffed bun with the most typical filling being red-bean. Many resemble items found in a French bakery, however most feature Asian flavours fused with Western baking techniques.

Mi Young Lee, the East Coast Manager of the South Korea based bakery chain, Tous Les Jours, notes breads sold in Korean bakeries resembled items found in a French bakery but feature Asian flavours, "the result is a fascinating array of pastries, both sweet and savoury, that appeal to both Eastern and Western palettes.”

Chains like Paris Baguette and Tours Les Jours are at the forefront of developing new flavours and variations in Korean bread and have been introducing items that harness traditional Korean flavours like red bean, green matcha and sesame.

Varieties

A Korean bakery typically offers over 300 different items. Many are sweet, much like a brioche and rarely do Korean bakeries offer dense, multigrain loaves you would expect to find at European or Western bakeries.

The most common and popular items include “gyeran bbang” (egg bread) and “soboro” buns (a type of streusel). ‘Egg bread’ is a sweet and savoury oblong muffin with a whole egg baked on top. Soboro, or Korean streusel bread, is a kind of bread cookie that is topped on a pastry bread giving it a hard, crusty top. Soboro streusel varieties can also be found filled with sweet potato, red bean or strawberry jam.

'Bungeoppang’ are fish-shaped waffles, filled with sweet red bean paste. Similar to the bungeoppang is ‘gukhwappang’, which are the same make but are in the shape of chrysanthemum-flowers.

Bungeo-ppang (붕어빵; "carp bread")

There are many cream cheese-filled breads including mocha cream cheese bread, walnut cream cheese bread, almond cream cheese bread, cream cheese rye bread and red bean cream cheese bread. There are also custard filled varieties including condensed milk bread, custard-filled bread and melon cream bread.

Varieties of bread with traditional Korean dessert ingredients include walnut red bean bread, glutinous rice bread, pumpkin bread or chestnut bread.

Choco pies are a very famous Korean snack, which resembles a chocolate, marshmallow filled cookie. Most traditional bakeries in Korea sell hand-made choco pies but commercial varieties can also be bought at grocery stores.

Bungeo-ppang (붕어빵; "carp bread") and “gyeran bbang” (egg bread) are staple items you will find sold in South Korea at street food markets.

Sora-ppang (소라 빵; "sora bread") is in the shape of a shell and filled with a mocha filling.

Hwangnam Bread (황남빵), also referred to as Gyeongju bread (경주빵), is a traditional Korean bun filled with red bean pasta.

Mochi Bread (모찌 빵) is a Japanese-inspired sweet bread filled with a variety of fillings like cheese, chocolate and matcha.

The introduction of sweet style breads to the Korean food market has further led to a shift in traditional breakfast menus. Nowadays, honey-butter toast and egg buns are common meals you will find being offered for breakfast in cafes.

Traditional Bread Gallery

• 
  Gyeongju Bread
• 
  Chalbori-ppang (찰보리빵) Glutinous Bakery Bread
• 
  Kkulppang (꿀빵) Honey Bread

Modern Bread Gallery

• 
  Twisted Doughnut
• 
  Red Bean Bun
• 
  Hot Dog Buns
• 
  Choco Pie
• 
  Gyeranppang (계란빵; "egg bread")

Cafe Culture

Korean Honey Butter Toast (허니브레드)

Cafe culture in South Korea only truly began to accelerate in the 1980s when modern coffee houses began to emerge. Today there are now over 20,000 cafe shops in South Korea, of which there are 1,008 Starbucks alone. At any cafe you can expect to see people residing there for hours working, meeting friends or studying. Most cafes offer customers access to free wifi and power to charge technological devices, hence they have become popular destinations among young people. The trend is an effect of Koreans embracing the Western-style coffee shop experience.

Traditional Korean breakfast consisted of rice, kimchi and soup. But modernisation of Korean cuisine as a result of Western influence has meant toast and cereals have had an increasing presence in the Korean diet. One feature of this is the invention of "honey butter toast". "Honey toast" is a large, fluffy white bread that has been coated in butter, honey and caramel and topped with whipped cream, syrup, nuts and sometimes fruit. Injelomi toast is baked white bread that is stuffed with glutinous rice and variations may top it with garlic cheese, citron or honey and ice cream. These two items are typical breakfast menu items, which you will find at Korean cafes.

History

Globalisation has resulted in a shift in Korean diet and culture. Foods like kimchi and bap ("rice") are being replaced with bread and meat. Traditionally bread has not been a part of Korean cuisine or diet, as it has been the staple in Western and European countries. Some types of steamed breads made of a mix of wheat and rice flour have been a part of Korean and Asian diets, however these were introduced from Central Asian in the 13^th century.

Modernisation of Korean cuisine grew in the 1980s and the 1990s. The gradual opening of South Korean markets internationally over this period allowed for even greater amounts of grain-based products to enter the diets of Koreans along with other foods. This changed the basic diet of Koreans greatly in the past several decades. Rice consumption has decreased markedly: according to statistics compiled by the National Statistical Office, per capita annual rice consumption has decreased from 106.5 kg in 1995 to 61kg in 2016. This steady decline reflects the increased prominence of other foods such as instant foods, processed meals and the increasing use of bread and noodles in meals. Bread in Korea also signifies a social change as more and more young people are choosing the convenience and affordability of bread over other traditional snacks.

Health trends in Korea and the country's increasing on-the-go lifestyle has result in an increase in the consumption of staple bread and rolls. Products that can be consumed quickly and easily, like energy and cereal bars, show strong growth in intake in South Korea as a result of the population's busy lifestyle. Bread and bakery products market is expected to grow annually by 3.3% (CAGR 2019-2023). Moreover, reports by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs show sales of unhealthy products like doughnuts and pies had decreased.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, in 2016 the total production capacity in the baking industry stood at 2.1 trillion won, which was an 11.8% increase from 1.9 trillion won four years ago. Amongst baked goods produced individual bread products like red bean pastries had the highest level of production at 48.1%, followed by cakes (34.5%), sliced loaf bread (8.7%) and doughnuts (3.8%). In 2012, the industry saw total sales grow 49.6% from 3.9trillion won in 2012 to 5.9 trillion won, an average annual  increase of 10.6%.

Overall, South Korea has seen rapid expansion of dessert cafés and unpackaged baked goods from specialist coffee shops and small bakery specialists. Baked goods, artisanal bread, cake and pastries continue to show strong performance.

Franchises

Paris Baguette (1988), the leading South Korean bakery chain

Franchises Paris Baguette and Tous Les Jours are leaders in the Korean baked goods market. The first Paris Baguette Korea opened in South Korea in 1988 by the SPC Group. As of 2018, Paris Baguette has over 3,316 stores in South Korea and has launched 185 stores internationally in countries such as China, Vietnam, Singapore and France. Paris Baguette is still the largest chain in South Korea and holds 80% of the market share. Subsidiaries of SPC Group, such as Samlip General Food, include the largest manufacturers of packaged baked goods in South Korea. The diverse product range and growing expansion of the company is a tribute to its growing success. Paris Baguette was also ranked number one for brand recognition and brand power.

Tous Les Jours was established by the CJ Group in 1996 and has over 1300 locations in Asia and the USA. Tous Les Jours accounts for about one-fifth of the market share.

The popularity of baked goods in Korea and Korean peoples affinity for all things trendy, has allowed for some foreign bakeries to enter the market. French chains like Brioche Doree and Gontran Cherrier, as well as New York-based Magnolia Bakery are among the overseas chains entering the local market.

Brioche Doree opened in 2013 in South Korea using ingredients directly shipped from France. Despite being relatively more expensive than its competitors, people still frequent their stores for the authenticity of their products.

Tous les Jours, founded in 1996

The remainder of the market not operated by conglomerates are local, independent bakeries known as "동네빵집; dongneh ppangchib; 'town bakeries'".

See also

• Gyeran-ppang
• Hoppang
• Hotteok
• List of Korean desserts
• Street Food in South Korea
• List of Chinese Baked Products