For many of our customers, creating a protein bar with the perfect texture is just as important as having great flavor. Since the texture of your bar depends on both the combination and ratio of the ingredients you choose, we thought it would be helpful to create a post that explains the role that each ingredient plays when it comes to the overall texture of your bar.
Protein Bar Base & Texture
Since a large percentage of your protein bar is comprised of the base ingredients, the base you choose plays a significant role in overall texture. Below is a list of the three base options and the texture of each.
Soft & Datey – Soft and moist, but not chewy.
Sofy & Chewy – Soft, quite moist, chewy.
Soft & Nutty/Seedy – Very ‘nut/seed buttery’. Drier than the other two options, but still soft.
*Please refer to this post for more information about choosing a protein bar base.
Nut/Seed Butter & Texture
The nut/seed butter you choose won’t play a significant role in the overall texture of your bar. However, you may find that raw and roasted almond butter increase moisture levels in some bars since they are slightly oilier than some of the other options in this section.
Protein Powders/ Flours & Texture
You will definitely notice a texture difference when it comes to selecting a powder. Generally, the vegan powders (ie. rice, pea, coconut/buckwheat flour) will make the texture of most bars a little ‘grittier’. One solution to this is to choose ‘Soft & Datey’ as your bar texture, as this base option contains the smallest amount of powder of any of the bases.
Nuts & Seeds
With the exception of hemp seeds, chia seeds, and poppy seeds, any option you select in this section will add a little crunch, and fill out your bars making them fuller.
Dried Fruit
We offer 9 different varieties of dried fruit in our protein bars.
The following ingredients are freeze-dried:
- Apple
- Banana
- Blueberries
- Cranberries
- Strawberries
Freeze-dried fruit is quite crunchy at first, but as it mixes with the moist ingredients of your bars they become soft.
The following options are not freeze-dried:
- Raisins
- Tart Cherries
Since these options are not freeze-dried they are soft and chewy.
Enhancers & Texture
To add some major crunch to your bars, the following ingredient options in this category are a great choice:
- Brown rice crisps
- Cacao nibs
- Cocoa rice crisps
- *Pea crisps
*Pea crisps are the best option if you like major crunch!
To increase moisture levels of your bar, consider adding:
- Coconut mana
- Coconut oil
Flavor Oils & Texture
Adding a flavor oil will not play a role in the texture of your bar.
Boosters & Texture
Other than flaxseed and chia powder which make the bar ‘grittier’ in texture, none of the other options will play change the texture of your bars.
Did we miss anything in this tutorial? Do you have any suggestions on what ingredients to choose to get the best bar texture? Please let us know by leaving a comment below!