As soft baked goods are mainly pre-packed goods, the so-called “shelf softness” is checked from the outside by the consumers by squeezing by hand. In this way, the correspondingly softer baked goods appear to be fresher. Over and above the softness of the crust and crumb, optimum baked goods are characterized by a moist, tenderly melting crumb, which does not form a ball and which remains elastic. Experts check soft baked goods using instrument measuring technology and by specific sensory tests. These are described in the chapter Quality check of baked goods.
