Deck ovens: Artisan baking quality and energy efficiency

Artisan baking quality and energy efficiency

Artisan quality is the goal for bakeries of all shapes and sizes. Deck ovens are at the forefront of achieving this, while also optimizing the process for energy efficiency.

+The challenge of electric deck ovens is to provide flexibility when baking bread. They must provide energy to the deck while remaining economical so that the bottom of the bread is well-baked. Moreover, as bakers want a greater product variety in their bakery, baking different types of breads, danishes, pastries, or snacks represents another challenge for ovens. The deck ovens must maintain traditional baking for bread while, at the same time, achieving more variety and speed.

Bongard: three oven ranges

Bongard’s electric deck ovens were designed with this challenge in mind: they still use the traditional baking deck, while adding intelligence to facilitate oven management and maintain its baking characteristics. The French specialist offers three ranges of deck ovens: the CERVAP, an annular steam tube oven powered by gas or fuel-oil, the ORION EVO, the brand’s best-selling electric oven and the SOLEO EVO, an electric oven that can be adapted to produce a diversified range of products with a reduced footprint, and which offers scalability of its production capacity. “From a technological point of view, the CERVAP annular steam tube deck oven is still the same as the one produced in 1967. Its patented operation reproduces the baking of wood ovens faithfully while being particularly economical,” detailed Matthieu Krempp, Product Manager, Bongard.

The CERVAP annular steam tube ovens are comparable to ovens of the past and meet the needs of pastry bakers. “The system of steam tubes arranged in a loop around a refractory steel combustion area has been the subject of a worldwide patent filed by Bongard,” she explains. These annular steam tube deck ovens are energy-efficient and are able to bake a wide variety of products, despite having a single baking temperature throughout the oven.

The gas CERVAP annular tube deck ovens are energy efficient because the flue gases are used twice or even a third time on the RS model. “The energy produced by the burner that heats the combustion area is used twice: first, by the contact of the flame on the refractory stainless steel combustion area housed in the loop, then a second time by the return of the combustion gases on the annular tubes,” Krempp details. Moreover, their electricity consumption is less than 1kW because they do not need to power a recycling turbine. Only the burners, lighting and control panel are powered.

The annular tubes are also behind the baking process that is comparable to that of traditional ovens because of conduction, as the dough pieces rest on the decks placed directly on the tubes. “The refractory decks accumulate heat like traditional ovens,” she explains. Radiation baking also contributes to this, as the dough pieces also receive heat from the tubes placed in the top and on the sides of the chambers. Krempp: “The heat is mild and radiant, the oven is heated by water at approximately 250°C that circulates in the tubes, unlike electric ovens whose heat is more intense and whose heating elements heat closer to 350°C.”

The Orion EvO electric deck ovens, on the other hand, are packing the company’s latest technology, such as the intelligent INTUITIV’2 touchscreen

© Bongard

control panel. Featuring automatic power management, “These ovens are ultra-reactive. They are capable of maintaining sustained production rates while controlling the energy consumed,” according to Bongard.

The range of SOLEO EvO electric deck ovens is designed for modularity, with its 640 possible combinations. This range is aimed at bakers, but also pastry chefs and restaurateurs who will make their own ideal oven configuration. “Its modularity also allows it to evolve over time, to adapt to the life of the bakery,” she points out. Its SENSITIV’2 touchscreen control panel autonomously manages oven operation. Thanks to their wider rather than deep format, these ovens will have their place in the spaces designed lengthways.

The Orion EvO is Bongard’s best-selling oven, with the most popular model configured with a door sized 800mm. The SOLEO EvO is a close second.

The main options for the CERVAP range of ovens include choices of controls, of numbers of doors and decks, the addition of steam devices to each deck, the addition of an independent, electric deck, and the Lift'EvO integrated elevators. The Orion EvO range comes with options including the choice of the number of doors and decks, the choice of a fourth Radiation Optimized for Baking (ROC) deck, motorized vents, and the Lift’Evo elevators. The SOLEO EvO range can be customized by adding a pizza deck, pastry or bakery openings, by selecting between two opening heights, between one to five decks and two to six plates per deck, respectively; by adding a hood, a custom base, a proofer with hygrometry management, storage for plates – and more.

“The ORION EvO and SOLEO EvO electric deck ovens have an opening with a ‘smooth deck’ effect, an exclusive Bongard patent, allowing quick and efficient cleaning of the deck. The cleaning position allows very easy cleaning of the interior of the windows, without disassembly. The windows can also be removed for maintenance,” she adds. Furthermore, all deck oven ranges are equipped with a safety thermostat that shuts off the power supply if the temperature reaches 320°C. ”The BONGARD cloud is a truly collaborative space where bakers can share information with their teams.“

Matthieu Krempp, Product Manager, Bongard

© Bongard Efficiency analysis

Bongard expects and designs all of its deck ovens to achieve homogenous and precise baking. How does this translate to the equipment’s configuration? The CERVAP oven, for example, achieves this thanks to its large number of tubes and the thickness of its decks, which make the temperature drop slower than conventional ovens, even with the burners turned off, without losing moisture. The high density of the deck allows the heat to accumulate, like in the ‘ovens of the past’. The result: the crust is thicker and the bread more developed.

Electric deck ovens feature improved insulation of the openings, better construction (without any thermal bridges) and tightly sealed cooking chambers, to ensure temperature homogeneity on all decks during baking. “This insulation is provided by seals on the four sides of the opening and, for double door ovens, a seal between the two doors. A decompression system was also added at the front and reinforced resistances,” she says. Energy losses are compensated by the airtight design of the glass panes and the addition of a reflective treatment on the inner surface of the glass that greatly reduces heat loss from the opening.

The ORION EvO series and the SOLEO EvO are equipped with touchscreen controls that distribute the available power to the decks that need it. The ‘ENERGY SAVING’ function automatically manages putting decks in standby mode according to their use.

The CERVAP range of ovens includes 92 different models, while the Orion EvO is available in 58 models and a special edition ‘Orion EvO Black Edition’ custom-designed for the brand’s 100th anniversary this year. The SOLEO EvO range of ovens is the most flexible, with 640 combinations. With so many options to choose from, the company provides guidelines to choosing the best match to specific baking needs. The checklist includes:

+ The size of the bakery: the ORION EvO electric oven produces higher amounts of bread over a shorter time, in a smaller baking area. The SOLEO EvO, on the other hand, is smaller and ideal for shops with smaller bakeries.

For example, the M2 SHOP version is shallow, making it suitable for restaurant kitchens. + The energy source: the CERVAP is the most energy and electricity efficient. + Production organization and volume: the inertia of a

CERVAP oven ensures perfect baking throughout the day. + The type of products to bake - for small items, electricity is preferred, while for large items, gas ovens are more suitable, especially when baking heavier breads. There is always the option to also add an electric deck, for baking flexibility. + The baking consistency and quality of baking: for large productions, the process is finetuned via the control panel.

Products baked and volumes required also factor in: the ORION EvO electric deck oven can bake a wide variety of bakery, Danish and pastry products. The standard capacity of all ovens for full load is 15 kg of cold dough per square meter of deck, baked per hour. The ORION EvO 801.4.160 model, for example, allows the continuous production of 215 baguettes per hour (the ‘Paneotrad’ type, at 350g of cold raw dough). For very short baking times, the ‘boosted capacity’ option allows the oven to be loaded up to 18 kg/m2/h in continuous production.

Optimized baking

The heating power of electric deck ovens, combined with the insulation of the baking chambers, supports rapid heating. “For example, the ORION EvO oven will be quickly ready when the shelves need to be filled during the day. The touchscreen control panel, which manages the electrical distribution system, detects the start of baking and automatically manages priorities.

The steam appliances adapt to the baking capacities of the ORION EvO oven: 15kg/m2/h in the standard version and 18kg/m2/h in the boosted version. In order to avoid the risk of water spraying onto the bread, the diffuser is located outside the housing. The mist, distributed homogeneously over the entire surface of the bread, circulates naturally from the rear of the baking chamber towards the front. Surplus steam is removed from the front via a stainless steel pressure-relief valve. The steam appliance on each baking deck is equipped with a water meter with management in ml, which ensures that the right amount of steam is always delivered to the bread, as baking proceeds. The quantity of steam to inject and its correct temperature can be pre-programmed using the oven's touchscreen control panel.

New updates

The company is preparing new, smart features for its deck ovens. It will soon be possible to connect and synchronize ovens via the BONGARD cloud: “BONGARD will deploy a secure proprietary cloud to facilitate exchanges between users, their employees and the support platform, with support for preventive maintenance. The BONGARD cloud is a truly collaborative space where bakers can share information with their teams,” Krempp explains.

The service is also included in a new ‘Bongard Connect’ offer. The equipment will be connected to the secure BONGARD cloud, making it possible to monitor their use remotely and to anticipate potential failures. The data collected are used to also provide assistance and training remotely. Any maintenance required will be identified and displayed in the menus.

In addition, the baker in turn will be able to interact with their equipment and their team; they will be able to remotely manage their installed fleet, users and recipes, and optimize the use of their equipment. With this new feature, alerts can be monitored, as well as the status of solving the respective incidents. Equipment malfunctions also trigger alerts, and production losses.

The SOLEO EvO electric deck oven can be factory-assembled with a four-wheel base allowing it to be easily moved around, as a near-Plug and Play delivery. +++ Read more on the subject in part II, with updates about equipment produced by Debag and Hein, in the next issue of Baking+Biscuit International.