Tirlán webinar preview: Unlocking bakery innovation with dairy and oat ingredients

Consumer demand for healthy and sustainable foods is encouraging bakery product manufacturers to tap natural ingredients that please taste buds. From crumbly textures and golden-brown hues to the characteristic “snap” of Danish butter biscuits, Tirlán is unlocking innovative bakery opportunities with its grass-fed butters, dairy proteins, and oat-based ingredients.

While its grass-fed butters can impart rich flavor and functionality to biscuits and croissants, oat flakes and flours provide nutritional benefits, such as fiber, beta-glucans, and improved moisture retention to enhance better-for-you bakery products.

The Irish company has also developed a multifunctional Whey Protein Concentrate 35 (WPC35) to replace eggs in bakery products. This ingredient helps manufacturers navigate fluctuating egg prices, providing cost-effective solutions for bakers without impacting quality and allowing them to fortify products with protein.

Food Ingredients First speaks with Keith Cooney, marketing manager, ahead of Tirlán’s webinar titled “Unlocking your bakery potential with Tirlán’s dairy and oat ingredients.” Cooney discusses how these ingredients help bakery manufacturers create indulgent yet nutritious products and what attendees can expect to learn from the session about versatility and consumer appeal in healthier bakery offerings.

The webinar will broadcast on October 23, 2025. You can register for free here.

How do Tirlán’s grass-fed butters stand out in flavor and functionality compared to standard butters?

Cooney: Tirlán’s grass-fed butters are distinguished from standard butters through a combination of premium quality, enhanced flavor, and superior functionality. All are rooted in milk from grass-fed cows that graze on lush Irish pastures for most of the year. This grass-based diet naturally enhances the butter’s flavor and composition, resulting in a rich golden color, clean dairy notes, and a creamy texture that enhances both taste and performance in applications.

As a hero ingredient, our grass-fed butter adds indulgent richness and mouthfeel to bakery products. It improves the overall sensory experience with stronger buttery and sweet notes, a more pronounced freshly baked aroma, and a deeper, richer flavor profile. These qualities are especially evident in applications such as Danish butter biscuits, where our butter contributes to a distinctive crumbly texture, excellent snap, and a consistent golden-brown color.

With its higher melting point and low water release, Tirlán’s grass-fed winter butter proves ideal for lamination in pastries and croissants. It offers easier handling and ensures a flaky texture with creamy, buttery flavor notes. Across the board, Tirlán’s grass-fed butter delivers consistency, performance, and taste, making it a high-quality foundation for manufacturers seeking indulgence, natural goodness, and reliability in their end products.

What role do Tirlán’s dairy proteins play in bakery? 

Cooney: Tirlán’s dairy proteins play a transformative role in bakery manufacturing by enhancing the nutritional and functional profiles of baked goods. Ingredients like Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC), Milk Protein Isolate (MPI), and WPC35 are used to improve texture and protein fortification without compromising taste. 

WPC35 is a cost-effective egg replacer that can replace up to 50% of eggs in bakery applications such as muffins, maintaining firmness and springiness while offering extended shelf life and reduced storage needs. MPC and MPI, derived from fresh skim milk using advanced filtration, contribute to clean flavor, solubility, and heat stability, ideal for high-protein cookies, bars, and cakes.

Oats enhance flavor and provide health benefits like cholesterol-lowering beta-glucans, making them ideal for better-for-you formulations, says Cooney.

What advantages do oat flakes and flours bring to bakery applications, especially with the growing demand for healthier products?

Cooney: Rich in dietary fiber, oats contribute to improved digestive health and help support satiety, making baked goods more appealing to health-conscious consumers. Their natural sweetness and nutty flavor also enhance the flavor profile of products without the need for excessive sugar or artificial additives.

Functionally, our oat flours provide excellent water absorption, which can improve moisture retention and extend shelf life, while oat flakes add texture and visual appeal to items like breads, muffins, and cookies. Additionally, oats are a source of beta-glucans linked to cholesterol-lowering benefits, further reinforcing their value in better-for-you formulations. Their versatility and nutritional profile make oats a strategic ingredient for brands looking to innovate in health and wellness without compromising taste or texture.

What practical takeaways can participants expect from the webinar? 

Cooney: Participants can expect an insight-rich session highlighting Tirlán’s most suitable ingredients for bakery applications. The webinar will explore how ingredients like oat flours, flakes, butter, and dairy proteins contribute to texture, nutrition, and sensory appeal. Whether you want to enhance indulgence or meet health-focused consumer demands, the session will offer actionable takeaways in bakery innovation and performance.