Getting That Perfect Golden Brown (Without Burning the Bread)
Getting the crust just right in a deck oven is a bit of a balancing act. You want that beautiful caramelization, but if you’re not fast, you end up with a dry interior or, worse, a charred mess. That’s why we use shortwave infrared (IR) emitters. Instead of waiting for the oven air to heat up, these hit the dough with high-intensity energy the moment they’re turned on. You get that Maillard reaction—the magic that makes bread brown and smell amazing—in a matter of seconds. No more lagging. Standard heating elements are bulky. They take forever to warm up and even longer to cool down. It’s like trying to steer a ship; you turn the wheel, but the boat doesn’t move for a while. Our IR emitters are different. It’s a “flip the switch, get the heat” kind of deal. We pair them with precision PID controllers so you can kill the power the exact millisecond the bread hits your target color. It’s a level of control that keeps you from crossing the line into “burnt toast” territory. Built to take a beating. We use high-purity quartz glass for the envelopes because it lets the IR light through without blocking the heat. Inside, the filament is tuned for high density, which means we can keep the footprint small in your oven ceiling. And because it’s quartz, it can handle the brutal heat of a working bakery without burning out prematurely. It’s tough gear for a tough environment. A few things to keep in mind. Swapping these into your current deck oven array is pretty easy. The wiring is straightforward, though you’ll want to make sure your power supply can handle the initial kick when they first fire up. But here’s the honest truth: these things put out a lot of localized heat. If your oven chassis doesn’t breathe well, you might see some warping in the metal housing over time. To keep your electronics from frying, just make sure your cooling fans are beefy enough to match the wattage of the IR array. Keep it cool, and your crusts will stay perfect.