How to Choose the Right Commercial Oven for Your Bakery

Choosing the right commercial oven for your bakery is not a decision that should be taken lightly. After all, a professional oven is an investment. But the benefits you will receive from your new oven will make the cost more than worth it. Afterall, the success of a commercial kitchen often hinges on the quality of the equipment, including your commercial bakery oven.

Consider this month’s blog our commercial oven buying guide, in which we will discuss everything you should consider before buying an oven for your bakery. This includes tips on which will best suit your needs and the many advantages of opting for a professional oven over a less powerful conventional one.

Which Oven is Best for Baking?

Professional recipes and large batches will require a larger-than-standard baking oven to achieve even baking and thorough cooking. Additionally, more complicated recipes will need more precise temperature circulation within the oven to achieve the perfect product.

Conventional Ovens

Standard ovens are not usually used in commercial bakeries because they use radiant heat that emanates from the top or bottom. This is not as reliable as other heating methods because it is not distributed evenly throughout the baking cavity. Because of this, standard ovens may end up cooking food products unevenly, which is less than desirable in a professional kitchen environment.

There are two primary types of professional ovens. The first is a convection oven, and the other is a deck oven. Although both are used for cooking, the way each oven works is quite different. The type of oven you choose will greatly depend on what you use it for!

Convection ovens

Convection ovens are the standard commercial oven for a bakery. They heat the air using fast-moving fans located in the centre of the oven which circulate hot air. This ensures uniform heat distribution, thus preventing cold and hot spots that lead to uneven baking. With a convection oven, you’re guaranteed a thorough, even bake.

Convection ovens also pre-heat very quickly. So if you run a busy kitchen, you can rest assured that business will not halt while you’re waiting for the oven to reach temperature. Furthermore, the rapidly rotating fan inside the baking oven will promote browning and crisping, making this type of oven ideal for savoury dishes as well as sweet ones.

This circulating air allows pans on multiple racks to heat at once. So if you use your commercial oven for a bakery, you can cook multiple batches at once without issues. Additionally, convection ovens can create steam, which creates the perfect environment for multiple loaves of bread to expand to their desired size. 

The heated air also cooks food 25% to 30% more quickly than standard ovens, making them ideal for bakeries that need to produce a lot of baked goods quickly. They are suitable for baking a high volumes of:

• Cakes
• Pies
• Bread
• Brownies
• Pastries

Deck ovens

Unlike convection ovens, deck ovens use conduction heat to evenly distribute temperature throughout your goods via a hot stone or deck. This method means that the heat is transferred directly to the sheet pan or product being baked. These baking ovens are most commonly used to bake bread due to their efficient steam circulation technology. 

As they can accommodate multiple trays at once, deck ovens often require more space than convection baking ovens, although there are smaller options available if you have less space in your kitchen. With that said, their size allows for the seamless and thorough baking of multiple batches of goods at once. They’re also considered more energy efficient than the standard convection oven and require less maintenance to achieve optimal performance.

The heating elements can be adjusted separately, allowing you to set different baking rates for the different racks. This is extremely useful for busy kitchens and bakeries where you’re producing multiple products or batches simultaneously. This makes it useful for baking things like:

• Bread
• Artisan bread
• Pies 
• Quiche
• Pizza

Combination Ovens

Lastly, a combination oven or combi oven is a common type of oven which combines the features of a deck oven and a convection oven. Combination bakery ovens offer the best of both worlds and are considered the most versatile option for commercial bakeries and professional kitchens due to their flexibility. They also save on space as everything can be baked or cooked using a single oven.

Commercial Bakery Oven Considerations

Whether you are a professional already working in a commercial bakery, or an amateur baker looking to take that step into the professional world, commercial bakery equipment is one of the keys to success. With that said, we understand that there are a few important things to consider before making your purchase. 

Size of Oven

Space is certainly a big consideration when it comes to commercial bakery ovens. Are you working in a large kitchen? Or a smaller space with less capacity for large machinery? We offer both freestanding and countertop ovens to suit any space. 

Types of Food

Some commercial ovens are great all-rounders while others are more specifically suited for certain tasks and food products. If you are a baker who specialises in baking brownies, the type of oven you choose will generally differ from someone who creates artisan pizza. You’ll know best what it takes to create your perfect product, and then we can help match you with the right oven. 

Energy Efficiency

With the rising cost of bills over the last few years, energy rates are threatening bakery businesses in the UK. With this in mind, energy efficiency is certainly something to consider. It goes without saying that larger items of machinery will generally require more energy to run, however the type of heat and rate at which they heat up will also come into play. This Tagliavini deck oven for example boasts 30% lower energy consumption than other similar products. 

Evaluate Costs

High-quality, durable professional ovens will cost more than a standard home oven. But they’re far more effective than an ordinary oven. Here at Creeds Direct, we offer ovens that start at capacities of three trays for as little as £46 per month on finance (ex VAT). If you’d like to receive a quote on any of our ovens, please don’t hesitate to contact us now! 

Assess Your Plumbing

For convection and deck ovens that require steam, you will need to consider the positioning of your oven so that it comfortably connects to the mains water supply. 

If your baking oven uses steam, neglecting maintenance can result in a limescale build-up over time. So, we recommend fitting a water filter to maintain the purity of the water entering your professional oven and prevent the development of limescale.

Think About Extraction

When you install a commercial oven for a bakery, the heat generated from the oven can raise the overall temperature of the kitchen and create uncomfortable working conditions. So, considering the extraction methods you have, or lack thereof, is vital when buying a baking oven. 

Some baking ovens already have built-in extractors. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you’d like to find out whether the commercial oven for a bakery you’re interested in has a built-in extraction fan!

Is Speed A Priority?

Some ovens preheat and cook goods to temperature faster than others. So, if it is integral that your baking oven heats up quickly, the best places to look are with the big brands. 

Here at Creeds Direct, we offer convection and deck ovens from world-renowned brands such as Tagliavini and Salva. These brands understand that the bakery industry rests on quick turnouts and designs their professional ovens with this in mind.

Contemplate Ease Of Use

If you’re looking for a commercial oven for a bakery that tends to get quite busy, ease of use is vital. The phrase ‘too many cooks in the kitchen’, can be true if your staff spends unnecessary time trying to work the oven. For this reason, comparing the ease of use for different kinds of professional ovens will be endlessly beneficial to the seamlessness of your kitchen.

Cleaning and maintenance also fall under this consideration. If your oven requires lots of maintenance, you waste time you could be spending cooking delicious goods for your customers. So, ensure to investigate the level of maintenance required to maintain the optimal condition of your oven.

How can Creeds Direct help with Commercial Ovens?

Here at Creeds Direct, we have a team of experienced bakery professionals on hand to advise you further on any of your baking-related problems. Whether you have a question regarding our commercial ovens, any of our other machines, or even E-Liquid manufacturing equipment we can help you.

We stock a selection of both convection and deck ovens from trusted brands like Salva and Tagliavini. These world renowned bakery equipment manufacturers are trusted by professional bakers across the globe to produce the best products possible and keep your bakery business running! So, browse our range of commercial bakery ovens today to ensure you have the high-quality and hard-wearing bakery equipment you need.