Off the deck and onto the rack

Waterfields' bakery engineer Brian Hodson has been convinced of the merits of switching production to rack ovens following extensive trials at Double D Food Engineering's test bakery near Edinburgh.

The Leigh-based bakery had been using mainly deck ovens for years, so it doubted that rack ovens could perform as well. However, fears were soon allayed following a three-day trial at the test centre where the Waterfields' team used its own recipes and specifications.

"We'd seen Double D ovens performing well at other bakeries, but we wanted to see for ourselves what they could do with our own products," says Hodson, who looks after four Revorack ovens at Waterfields' Crompton Fold Bakery.

"We produce a lot of bread products like cobs and bloomers so it's really important to get a proper sole heat. We achieved that thanks to Double D's airflow system, so you get an even bake across each tray and from top to bottom on the rack. But the extra baking capacity also allowed us to significantly increase production demands."

''Contact: Double D Food Engineering,Tel: 01506 857112''