In a commercial bakery, selecting the right equipment ensures the production of consistent and high-quality products.
Doing so also streamlines the production process, permitting commercial bakeries to cater for the needs of the consumer.
Reliable equipment also allows commercial bakeries to produce a wide variety of products from bread and pastries to cakes and cookies.
What is commercial baking?
Commercial baking is the large-scale manufacture of bakery products to be outsourced to other businesses.
Commercial bakers, often referred to as wholesale bakers, are tasked with producing baked goods such as bread, cakes, and pastries.
They usually cater to businesses such as restaurants and coffee shops that have opted not to make food in-house.
These businesses will place bulk orders with a commercial baker, who will work hard to meet their requirements.
For this task, commercial bakers rely heavily on commercial bakery equipment to mix ingredients, shape the products, and test their quality so they’re fit for consumption.
Given commercial bakeries operate on a large-scale, with high-volume production, carefully choosing the right equipment is essential.
This pressure isn't as intense for retail bakeries because they make baked goods for individual consumers on a smaller scale.
What are the different stages of commercial baking?
One of the first stages of commercial baking is preparing and measuring the ingredients.
Depending on the product being made, there will be different ingredients such as flour, sugar, salt and yeast.
These need to be measured to ensure that every food product is consistent.
If ingredients are not the same in every batch in terms of quantity or type, this can lead to complaints from consumers with expectations they expect to be met.
When ingredients are collected and measured, they will need to be mixed to create a dough or batter.
In the case of dough, it will be left to rest and rise, according to what type of product is being made. Once left to rest, it’s fit to be shaped into various food products such as loaves or rolls.
At this stage, the role of commercial bakery equipment is crucial as it helps commercial bakeries to create identical-looking food products.
After the shaping stage, the dough is proofed. This is when the dough rests to permit yeast to produce carbon dioxide.
Proofing is necessary for achieving the correct texture and structure in a baked good by making it light instead of stodgy.
The shaped dough will then be put into large ovens for baking.
Commercial ovens tend to be much larger than those used in independent bakeries to accommodate baking multiple batches at the one time. For example, commercial ovens will have many trays or racks instead of a few.
During baking, commercial bakers will keep an eye on the temperature, humidity, and baking time to guarantee consistent results.
Occasionally, they may add visual designs or glazes on their food products to enhance taste.
After the food products are baked properly, they are left to cool on racks before being packaged, sealed, and sent away.
Packaging in commercial bakeries is not done manually, but with automated machines as this streamlines the process of packing and labelling.
It's important to note that an assessment of the finished products is conducted before they are distributed.
This is when commercial bakers will check the texture, taste and appearance of their products. In independent bakeries, these products may be tested by relying on senses.
However, commercial baker will rely on commercial baking equipment to test the quality of their products as this is a much more reliable way of ensuring their products are up to standard.
What equipment is needed for a commercial bakery?
There are various pieces of equipment needed in a commercial bakery for every stage of the baking process.
First, an oven is the centrepiece of any commercial bakery because it allows ingredients to be baked into a food item that can be sold on.
As these ovens are bought to accommodate large quantities of food products, they are much bigger than regular ovens purchased for domestic use.
Although many casual, or independent, bakers rely on manpower and a wooden spoon to mix their ingredients, this is not possible in a commercial bakery as it would take up too much time.
That’s why commercial bakeries use mixers that saves time and effort. They can be used for a variety of purposes, including kneading bread dough and mixing cake batter.
Commercial bakeries rely on refrigerators to store ingredients such as eggs, milk and butter.
As there are so many ingredients to store, many commercial bakeries have walk-in refrigerators. These can also be used for chilling or setting a mixture of ingredients before going into the oven.
Of course, a proofing cabinet is also a staple in any commercial baker as it provides the perfect environment for dough to rise before baking as it keeps the temperature and humidity levels consistent.
It guarantees proper fermentation, allowing the dough to develop flavour and become the right texture.
Other equipment used in commercial bakeries includes measuring cups, mixing bowls, spatulas and whisks. These are necessary for precise measurements, mixing ingredients and creating batters and doughs.
How can you conduct quality testing in commercial bakeries
Quality control in commercial bakeries is crucial for ensuring that food products meet specific quality standards and regulatory requirements before they are released to the market.
It involves monitoring and testing raw materials, production processes, and finished products to ensure they meet certain specifications and are safe for consumption.
Quality control plays a vital role in maintaining safe, high-quality food products which can be achieved by using reliable and best-in-class equipment.
Supplied by Calibre Control, the C-Cell is a high quality, specialised tool used across the food industry on a global scale.
It’s the perfect piece of equipment for testing the quality of baked goods.
Using digital imaging, it can take an objective measurement of the structure and consistency of baked goods.
Whether it’s a sliced section of bread, or a cake product, it has the technology and ability to digitally analyse the image for critical attributes including cell size, structure and uniformity.
Using the Lab* format, the C-Cell can assess the colour of the crumb and crust of a loaf of bread.
It also employs bread scoring to collate accurate results, regardless of site or circumstances by displaying measurements and test results to provide results as part of a bread scoring system.
The C-Cell also has commendable features such as being able to separate inclusions such as red cherries from the background crumb colour.
When this is identified, it can quantify number, area, and exact location within the slice.
It can also measure a sample product's external features, such as seeds on top of a roll or surfaces cracking on buns.
This comprehensive analysis helps showcase the impact of even slight alterations in processes, production or ingredients on the structure of bread or baked goods.
By permitting an objective and comprehensive analysis, C-Cell helps bakeries maintain high standards of quality and consistency in their products.
The C-Cell Mono and C-Cell Colour are digital imaging systems used for analysing baked products.
The Mono version captures a single image and measures 48 parameters related to size, shape, and internal structure.
The Colour version, in addition to the Mono features, captures a double image and measures 60 parameters, including colour information for the crumb and crust.
Contact Calibre Control for commercial bakery equipment
At Calibre Control, we believe that investing in high-quality equipment pays off in the long run, ensuring consistent results and customer satisfaction.
We’re passionate about helping bakers of any kind to enhance their processes and create consistently good food products.
Our equipment ensures that bakeries have top-quality ingredients that can be used to make consistent food products.
We also help you to achieve mould-free and structural shelf-life for baked goods.
Our equipment minimises mould growth by controlling water activity and pH levels.
Consistent ingredients maintain product quality even during formulation changes or supplier switches.
We use near-infrared analysis (NIR) to perform in-line testing during baking. This ensures ingredient consistency and helps maintain product quality.
If you want more information on our range of solutions, call us by dialling +44 (0) 1925 860 401 or email us at info@calibrecontrol.com