Cardiff Metropolitan University food science students have developed a range of clean label bakery products through an industry collaboration with EDME, a leading malt ingredient supplier.

The Challenge

Students were tasked with exploring how different malt flours could enhance flavour, texture, and performance across various baked goods. Working in teams of two, they tackled everything from pizza dough to bread and muffins using state-of-the-art bakery facilities at the ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre.

The Winners

After months of recipe development, Matteo Monacelli and Rebecca Jones emerged victorious with their project examining how different malt flours impact pizza dough quality and functionality.

Monacelli, a pizza chef and certified instructor from Accademia Pizzaioli, brought years of professional experience to the research. He stated

"It was a fantastic experience investigating different malt flours in pizza bases as part of my food science degree,"

Building on Success

This marks the second year of the Cardiff Met-EDME partnership. Last year's collaboration produced reduced sugar cocoa replacements using malt flour—with the winning recipe actually making it to market.

Gavin Mulligan, EDME's Product and Process Support Manager.

"Our continued partnership with Cardiff Metropolitan University has delivered another exciting round of R&D, fresh thinking, and hands-on innovation,"

Why It Matters

The collaboration demonstrates how academic research can directly translate to commercial innovation.

Students gain real-world experience while companies access fresh perspectives on product development challenges.

For an industry increasingly focused on clean labels and natural ingredients, these student-driven innovations offer practical solutions that can scale to market.