The sustained popularity of whole grain as a health trend is good news for artisan bread bakers who have always offered a wide variety of whole grain breads.

As the connection between diet and health becomes entrenched in the minds of American consumers, whole grain is showing staying power. Though its growth has leveled since its 2006 high-water mark in terms of new products and sales gains, whole grain is still the health trend equivalent of the 800-lb. gorilla for bread bakers. And, it continues to be a major trend affecting the baking industry overall. But it's not alone. Other health trends in baking — namely organic and gluten-free — are exhibiting the same meteoric rise in consumer importance that vaulted whole grain into the national spotlight several years ago. No longer content with just whole grain, the increasingly informed consumer is looking for “whole grains plus.”

Between physicians counseling patients on diet and the media reporting messages from the Whole Grains Council and Food and Drug Administration, people are becoming more aware of their diets. Nielsen Co. research polls show that 65 percent of consumers notice nutritional information on food packaging more often than they did two years ago, and of those noticing it, more understand it.

“We look at the whole grain market not as growing as much as becoming more detailed, more specific,” says Patty Elton, research and development manager for Breadsmith, Whitefish Bay, Wis. “People are coming in with specific wants and needs in a bread. They start with whole wheat. That's a given, but they also list requirements on fiber, sugar content, potassium and so on.”

This differs from market to market. For Josh Allen, owner of Companion Baking Co. in St. Louis, multigrain bread has eclipsed all but the baguette in bread sales. But, other whole grain breads haven't faired as well.

“Folks making a choice based on diet are certainly choosing multigrain, but it seems that they need that moniker. Rye and honey wheat sales haven't really increased, even though they are whole grain,” Allen says. “People around here seem to need that birdseed component to really believe they are getting the dietary impact they are looking for. But they are still looking for more than just whole grain.”

This generation of children is more accepting of whole grain’s coarser texture than previous generations, who grew up on soft white breads.

To help promote the fact that the multigrain and other breads contain whole grain, he added a whole grain checkmark to the packaging of products containing whole grain. He notices that the search for whole grain isn't as aggressive as it was a few years ago, but is still present.

“My sense is that whole grains have leveled, but it's regional. My friends on the coasts never saw the huge transition to multigrain breads that we saw and continue to see here in the Midwest; it was always a part of the diet there,” Allen says. “I find that people are more and more aware of the need for local, sustainable product, and whole grains still fit into the perception of wholesome and local. Those ideas are all packaged together.”

Whole grains as a health trend in baking blazed the trail for other personal and environmental health trends. Allen believes green and sustainable initiatives dovetail nicely with whole grain, alternative grain and organic trends.