Which bake-off oven should I choose?
The right bake-off oven largely depends on what you need to bake, how many products you need to produce at a time,
and how quickly the oven needs to keep up during peak periods. A smaller cafe can often manage with a compact
3 or 4-tray oven, while a gas station, store, or larger cafe might require 6 or 10 trays.
Oven with 3-4 trays
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Typical use: Smaller cafe, kiosk, and supplement
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Advantage: Compact and low space requirement
Oven with 6 trays
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Typical use: Cafe, store, and gas station
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Advantage: Good balance between capacity and size
Oven with 10 trays or 4+4 trays
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Typical use: Higher bake-off production
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Advantage: Large capacity per baking session
46 × 33 cm or 60 × 40 cm baking trays?
Bake-off ovens are typically designed for either 46 × 33 cm or 60 × 40 cm baking trays.
46 × 33 cm is suitable if space is limited and production is relatively small.
60 × 40 cm is the most common professional baking format and provides greater capacity per tray.
For example, a 60 × 40 cm tray can hold about 24 smaller buns or 12 croissants, depending on the product size
and the necessary spacing between items.
How much capacity do I need?
Capacity should not only be assessed based on total daily production. The most important factor is often how much needs to be baked
during peak hours. If a large portion of the day's sales occurs within a few hours in the morning or around lunchtime,
a larger oven can reduce the need for many subsequent baking sessions.
It's also important to consider the spacing between trays. For tall products like croissants, sausage rolls, and larger breads,
sufficient spacing between the shelves is crucial to effectively utilize all trays. All BAKERLUX SHOP.Pro ovens have 7.5 cm spacing between shelves, which is ideal for the aforementioned products. If you want to bake French bread, you should bake on every other shelf. The LINEMICRO series has 7 cm spacing between shelves, which is also sufficient for products like croissants that are 5-6 cm in height.
Bake-off oven with or without steam?
Steam can be advantageous for several types of bake-off, as moisture at the beginning of baking can help the product to rise
and develop the desired surface. However, the need depends on the products.
For simple bake-off of individual products, a model without active steam may be sufficient. If you have a wider range with
breads, croissants, and pastries, an oven with steam can offer greater flexibility and more consistent results.
230 V or 400 V?
Smaller bake-off ovens are often available for 230 V, which can simplify installation.
Larger models typically require 400 V and higher power to heat up quickly and handle larger production volumes.
If you are replacing an existing oven, we always recommend checking the current electrical installation before choosing a model.
It's not just the voltage, but also the amperage and the oven's total power that are crucial.
UNOX BAKERLUX SHOP.Pro for bake-off
We primarily work with UNOX BAKERLUX SHOP.Pro, which is designed for professional bake-off in places such as cafes,
stores, gas stations, and convenience environments. The series comes in several sizes and equipment levels with features like
recipe programs, steam, and automatic door opening.
Programs can be a great advantage in places with many different employees. When time, temperature, and other settings
are saved in the oven, it becomes easier to achieve the same result regardless of who is doing the baking.
Bake-off oven or professional baking oven?
A bake-off oven is typically the right choice when products are mainly to be baked from frozen or chilled,
and a compact and simple solution is needed.
If, on the other hand, you produce dough from scratch, work with sourdough, croissants, or have larger and more demanding baking production,
a more advanced professional baking oven might be a better choice.
Get help choosing the right bake-off oven
At Cosina, we consider your products, number of baking sessions, peak loads, tray format, power conditions, and who will be using the oven.
This way, we can size the solution according to actual needs rather than simply choosing the largest model.
We can also help with delivery, installation, and training, so employees can quickly get started with the oven.
