Bakery Equipment: How to Choose the Right Oven
Did you know that ancient Egypt’s organised production of grain and its distribution to other cultures, made bread the staple of diet? It’s interesting how many different dishes and recipes all around the world have bread as the basic food. However, bread can’t be made without a bakery oven. It’s the most important processing step in the baking industry, an enclosed cavity or tunnel where the dough is surrounded by a hot environment, it’s baked and transformed into bread, cookies or other products.
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The fundamental oven model, with a stone floor and dome structure has been around for centuries. The ancient Egyptians were the first ones who utilised a handcrafted oven cavity made from clay. A few centuries later, the ancient Romans started creating brick and stone ovens with better baking quality and higher efficiency. They were powered by burning wood directly into the heating chamber, removing the ashes and then putting the dough pieces inside. Wood-fired ovens are still in use today, but there are also bakery ovens that use energy generation sources, combustion of fuels such as gas, oil, or electricity.
If you’re in the food industry, looking to start a new business, expand your existing one, or simply add to the quality of your service, an industrial oven for baking is one of the most important pieces of kitchen equipment you’ll need. It’s a large oven that produces a large amount of heat. The commercial bakery oven is essential in the professional kitchen and is used on a daily basis to achieve high heats and simultaneously bake large batches of food products.
Which Type of Oven Is Best for Baking?
The oven is the heart of any well-equipped kitchen. There are many different options available, so deciding what type of oven to purchase can be a difficult task. Think about what types of products you’re selling, in what quantities, and keep in mind that no matter the type of oven you choose, you will almost always need it installed under a ventilation hood. Make sure you choose industrial oven for baking that works reliably at the temperature levels and consistency required for the food you serve.
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Convection Ovens
This is one of the most popular types of commercial bakery ovens. The main reason is that a convection oven uses an internal fan to distribute heat throughout the cabinet. It reduces cooking time and leads to browning and uniform cooking, which makes it suitable for baking a high volume of bread, cookies, pies, cakes and other pastries.
Deck Ovens
This type of ovens has heating elements at the bottom and top of the baking chamber. Also, there is a stone shelf that is directly heated and you can place food items on top of it. The best thing about deck ovens is that the heating elements can be adjusted separately, so you can set different baking rates for the top and the bottom of the food items you’re preparing. Deck ovens can have one or multiple decks. A deck oven with multiple decks is a great choice for commercial environments as it allows you to cook a few items at the same time.
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Rack Ovens
Rack ovens have a bigger capacity than deck ovens, which makes them a great choice for mass production. They are big, stationary commercial ovens that have the performance of deck ovens but allow you to roll in oven racks inside. A rack oven can hold one or two racks at the same time and double your productivity.
Steam Ovens
This type of ovens has a water canister or a direct connection to the water supply line and injects steam into the baking chamber. The steam provides heat to the cavity, which can help you create extremely soft and moist baked goods.
Combination Ovens
Also known as combi ovens, these are the most advanced and powerful cooking appliances in the professional kitchen. They use convection, steam or a combination of both in a space-saver size. As they cook with and generate a lot of steam, most combination ovens will need to be connected to a mains water supply. Also, sufficient overhead extraction may be required, so keep these things in mind before purchasing one.
Conveyor Ovens
These are ideal in settings where you need to produce big quantities of food at a short time. All you need to do is put the food on a conveyor belt and the belt will transport the food through the baking chamber, where uniform jets of heated air are blasted to the food and cooking everything consistently until it comes out of the other end of the conveyor. They’re easy to use, however, the type of foods that can be cooked in a conveyor is limited by the size of the conveyor opening.
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Consider the Space You Have Available
The first thing you should think about before buying a commercial oven is the size of your kitchen and the space you have available. Take into account other pieces of kitchen equipment as well before you decide where to place your oven.
Maintenance of Ovens
When it comes to oven maintenance, there are two main goals. One is to prevent food safety hazards from occurring, such as biological, physical and chemical. You can achieve this by reducing the likelihood of foreign material contamination, contamination with lubricants as well as under-processing. The other goal is to prevent mechanical, thermal and electrical equipment failures that could negatively impact the functionality of your oven.
