Fan-assisted, rotary or deck ovens: which one to choose for your business?

The oven is an essential piece of equipment for professionals in the catering trade. It must be selected with care, as it represents a fairly substantial investment. Three different types of oven are available: fan-assisted, rotary and deck ovens. But which one to choose for a satisfying, professional result? Here are the details.

Ventilated oven

This type of oven is specially designed for baking pastries and viennoiseries.

The features
The fan-assisted oven is equipped with a fan that distributes hot air for fan-assisted baking. Thanks to one or more turbines, the hot air is distributed over the baking trays.

Advantages

The fan-assisted oven ensures even, rapid cooking, as it diffuses even, uniform heat. This oven is a great advantage for professionals producing a high range of pastries or viennoiserie [1].

The fan-assisted oven is equipped with a fan that distributes hot air for rotary-heat baking. Thanks to one or more turbines, the hot air is distributed over the baking trays.

The rotary oven

This type of oven is a considerable help for bakeries and pastry shops, as it is an industrial oven.

The features
This type of oven is classified as one of the best bakery ovens [2]. It differs from the others in the shape of its cabin, which is round. This allows air to circulate better inside the oven, helping to bake the products.

Advantages

The rotary oven ensures even, thorough cooking of products. It features several removable trays that make loading and unloading practical and easy.

This type of oven is ranked among the best bakery ovens [2]. It differs from others by the shape of its cabin, which is round. This allows air to circulate better inside the oven, helping to bake the products.

The hearth furnace

This oven is designed for baking bread and baguettes. It is mainly used by bakers.

The features
The deck oven contains several compartments, offering complete heat distribution while guaranteeing even baking of products.
It is easy to install in the laboratory.

Advantages
The hearth oven has better temperature regulation skills [3]. Each hearth can be regulated independently from the control panel. This feature allows complete control of the baking process.

The deck oven contains several compartments, offering complete heat distribution while guaranteeing even cooking of products.
It can be easily inserted in the laboratory.

Professional oven ranges available from Caplain

Les fours chez caplain Machines

Caplain Group, as a manufacturer of professional machines for bakers, patissiers and pizzaiolo, offers three types of oven: ventilated, rotary and deck. Each product has its own solution.

Choosing the right oven for your business is one of the most important steps for professionals. However, it's not easy to know which equipment will meet all your needs.

As a manufacturer of professional machinery, the Caplain Group has several oven ranges to choose from. Ovens that guarantee the perfection of finished products while retaining the traditional taste you're looking for. For more information, please contact us.

Discover our range of ovens.

Fading crafts: what role can machines play?

Artisans in the gastronomy sector are facing an increasing decline in interest in their craft, even as they increasingly turn to mechanization to alleviate this problem. A paradoxical solution, since it raises the question of product authenticity once automation has been integrated into the design process. Is it possible to use machines to save craftsmanship? How can we maintain the integrity of craftsmanship while adapting to new production methods? Focus on the role of machines in the loss of food craftsmanship.

Catering: a delicate situation

The "métiers de bouche" or "métiers de l'alimentaire" or "food professions" represent a group of professions that include the preparation of products for human consumption. They include cooks, butchers, bakers, pastry chefs, pizza makers and confectioners.

These trades are categorized as "crafts" when they produce their products using traditional techniques, i.e. mostly by hand. In an increasingly automated and mechanized world, this notion is the subject of much debate, with craftsmanship linked to the notion of art, as the ethymology of the word suggests.

In 2018, the culinary trades sector represented, among others:

But of the total number of businesses in this sector, 47% are craft-related, the rest having adopted industrial production methods. Sandwiched between the notions of "tradition" and "modernity", food artisans are struggling to cope with production methods that are flooding the market with industrial products sold at low prices.

pétrissage à la main

Mechanization at the service of food artisans

The challenge is to integrate the technological revolution to facilitate production, without compromising product quality. The idea is to integrate the technological revolution to facilitate production, without compromising product quality, through :

Mechanization, yes. But to what extent?
To draw the line between craft and industry, it's important that certain processes remain in line with traditional production techniques. In France, artisans can be distinguished by controlled designations such as "pain maison" or "pain de tradition française" in the bakery sector. These designations correspond to a very specific production method for the products concerned. The number of employees and the quantity of raw materials consumed over a given period of time also play a part in categorizing an establishment as artisanal.

For example, the partial use of machines in the food manufacturing process is by no means a brake on craftsmanship. On the contrary, it encourages small businesses to develop while maintaining their artisanal character.

Jolie photo de pain

Tomorrow's challenges: mechanization for better growth?

Today, new consumer behaviours have emerged, particularly in relation to food. The growing need to preserve the environment and to consume ethical products also play a major role in the evolution of these behaviours, with the result that consumers increasingly appreciate the artisanal know-how behind the food products they buy. In this particular case, the use of machines can help craftsmen to :

Meet rising demand by reducing production times;

Adopt an ecological approach, with machines that respect the French manufacturers' charter, comply with the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) recovery scheme and are members of Ecologic.

In this way, the machines support food artisans to help them develop in terms of growth, quality and productivity.

Conclusion

The integration of machines into the processes of the catering trades is proceeding slowly. However, it is essential in view of the new challenges facing these craftsmen. Caplain Goup and its brands, Caplain Machines and Panirecord, are among the suppliers of professional equipment designed to support the growth of this sector. Find out more about our products.

How can the use of machines improve the productivity of gastronomy professionals?

In general, productivity represents the relationship between production and the means used to achieve it. In the culinary sector, it's an essential criterion capable of setting a professional apart in a hyper-competitive environment. Let's take a look at how to improve the productivity of gastronomy professionals through the use of machines.

Increase profitability

Today, all food and beverage businesses tend to combine modernization with profitability.

In addition to the need for machine modularity, multitasking is also essential. Indeed, increasing profitability through mechanization of the trades includes process efficiency. As a result, processes are becoming much more autonomous and technical, making it easier to master demanding market constraints.

In the case of the bakery industry, for example, croissants machines can be used to automate the cutting and shaping of these succulent pastries. In terms of profitability, the result of the resources generated by the technical assets ensures a GAP in estimated revenues, especially in relation to the quantity produced.

Save time

Saving time is also synonymous with productivity gains. In the food industry, this aspect is much more optimized and enhanced through the use of professional machines. Indeed, the fundamental principle of mechanization is to increase the production of goods or services in less time, while avoiding any loss of quality.

A mixer, for example, enables a baker, pastry chef or kitchen laboratory technician to obtain homogeneous results from a mixing, kneading or emulsifying process.

Guaranteeing finish quality

Quality is a key factor enabling gastronomy professionals to stand out in their respective markets. Indeed, professional machines guarantee :

Even if the culinary professions still emphasize the artistic and artisanal aspects of their know-how, mechanization makes it possible to manage certain stages of production, such as :

As a result, finishing quality is optimized by the use of professional machines. For example, a bakery professional can count on quality products when using a water chiller, as a constant dough temperature is guaranteed.

Reduce operating costs

In contrast to the common misconception that investing in professional machinery considerably increases operating costs, it should be noted that mechanization of business processes is also a lever for controlling costs. In the food sector, reducing costs through mechanization, such as the use of a series of pizza machines by a pizzaiolo, involves :

Refocus on core business

An overworked and stressed skilled workforce performs less well. In simpler terms, refocusing on the core business means moving away from related, time-consuming tasks. Another advantage of mechanization in the food sector is the ability to focus on much more profitable and advantageous activities and resources, such as training and the search for new markets.

Conclusion

The use of machines offers many advantages to gastronomy professionals. Caplain Group, your international manufacturer of professional equipment for the catering trade, offers you innovative solutions tailored to your needs, to boost your productivity.


Discover our range of Caplain Machines.

Discover our range of Panirecord machines.

Bakery shaping: what's at stake for the end product?

Baking is an essential part of everyday life. The baker's trade is not one to rest on, as he or she must be meticulous in his or her work in order to deliver mouth-watering results for consumers. For the French, eating bread is no longer a habit; it's a real choice in terms of nutrition and taste. Artisanal taste is highly sought-after. But to achieve this, the steps involved in shaping the dough are very important. What are the secrets to a quality end product? What standards must be met? These are the questions that arise for bakery and patisserie enthusiasts.

Shaping bread dough: what is it?

Who hasn't tried to bake bread, hoping to achieve a result worthy of a professional: crisp and golden brown? But in the end, the finished product is a disaster. You get brick-hard, unbaked, inedible loaves, thinking that shaping dough is easy. But what do we mean by shaping?

Principle and definition

Shaping is the process of shaping bread dough into different shapes.

The principle is very simple: it's the manipulation during which the baker corrects and perfects the bread dough to obtain a crisp result.

To achieve this result, there are three essential steps to follow [1].

Shaping: why follow the steps?

The baker's rule of three in shaping is very important in the bread-making process. Each step is important to the final product [2].

1. Rolling

During lamination, the baker obtains a galette with a honeycomb structure. Outgassing is avoided as far as possible, to preserve the bread's taste and guarantee better preservation.

2. The tight roll

Also known as volute forming, tight rolling of the dough enables the dough pieces to hold together better, while preserving the regularity of the honeycomb structure.

3. Flattening

As the name implies, flattening consists in flattening the dough in order to expel some of the gas and bring the dough into the desired shape.

Conclusion

Shaping is an important stage in the preparation of bread, and is generally done by hand. It's a regular practice that the baker must not neglect, to ensure the quality of the product. Shaping contributes in large part to the product's taste and preservation.

Shaping hundreds of loaves of bread every day is no easy task. Caplain Machines, the manufacturer of professional machines for bakers, pastry chefs and pizza makers, offers shaping machines. These are time-saving machines that retain the traditional know-how of baking and pastry-making. Don't hesitate to visit our website to discover our catalog of professional equipment.

References

[1] Breadmaking basics: kneading, shaping and laminating

[2] Dividing, shaping and baking bread