Few people can resist the mouthwatering aroma of warm bread fresh out of the oven. That’s why bakeries are some of the busiest businesses in the morning. The scent coming out from them acts as a magnet, luring people in. But it’s the taste of the bread and pastries that is the deciding factor whether a person will come back or not. Besides having a great passion and being skilled in baking, you also need to have the right equipment to consistently create quality products.
One of the most significant pieces of bakery equipment is a good oven. Choosing the right oven for your business usually depends on a variety of factors, including your budget, production volume, available space, and the types of products you’ll be making. However, from the many different types of ovens, deck ovens are considered to have the most benefits for a bakery.
For one, these ovens use ceramic or stone cooking stoves which deliver results similar to traditional stone ovens. Breads and rolls baked directly on stone or ceramics have that unmistakable bottom finish people love. What’s more, because it consists of multiple independent modules, a deck oven can help increase the productivity of your business by allowing you to bake multiple products at the same time. The fact that they are modular means that you can add additional decks in the future should the demand for your products grow.
An important thing to consider before buying a deck oven is whether it runs on gas or electricity, as the two differ in many things. One significant difference is utility costs. Usually, it’s a lot cheaper to run a deck oven electric model than it is to run a gas model. Also, with a gas deck oven, you are usually limited to use a single set temperature for the entire oven, even if it includes multiple decks. On the other hand, deck oven electric models give you greater control and the ability to bake different items at the same time.
Artisan bakeries particularly value electric deck ovens, as they allow you to independently control the heat at the top and the bottom of the deck. In other words, the top and bottom of whatever you’re baking can be subjected to different temperatures, allowing you to produce a variety of artisan breads like baguettes, rustica breads, ciabatta and more.
Compared to convection ovens, deck ovens are a lot easier to operate and control. They also allow the use of steam, which can be a great advantage when you want to create products with a crunchy crust. Deck ovens are also a lot more energy efficient than convection ones, regardless whether they run on gas or electricity.
