How to Ensure Your Par-Baked Frozen Bread is Perfect also after Baking

Par-baking is a technique that allows bakers and industrial bakeries to partially bake bread, to conveniently complete the process at a later time. With the right par-baking technique, the bread will preserve its nice shape and character with a crusty surface and soft inside for a much longer period than ready-baked bread will.

The par-baking process runs basically as follows:

• The dough is kneaded and shaped, placed into the oven to get a first intense baking to get a light crust, while the crumb stays undercooked with preserved moisture.
• After the first bake, the loaves or buns will be cooled to halt further cooking. This cooling ensures that the bread will keep its texture later on in the process.
• Once cooled, the bread is packaged and stored, or distributed, for the baking process to be completed at a later date.

Humidity and moisture present a risk

When you look at this process in more detail, humidity may cause a risk particularly in the cooling and distribution parts of the process, as moisture may lead to condensation and ice buildup. This in turn may reduce the cooling effect, lead to stoppages, and/or a need for frequent de-icing to ensure the process runs smoothly.

To prolong the shelf life of the product they are often frozen before packing. Freezing is usually done either in a blast freezer tunnel or in a spiral tower. The buns are transported through the blast process by conveyor belts. The warm buns and the toppings bring humidity with them, which is then released in the freezer through the freezing process. Furthermore, the difference between the temperature and pressure between the air inside the freezer and the ambient air, causes moisture to enter the freezer through the openings through which the product is fed.

Due to the moisture given off at the initial stage of freezing, and to the infiltration of moisture into the tunnel/spiral tower, condensation will occur at the evaporator coil and conveyor belt. The condensate freezes on the coil, insulating it and will thus reduce its heat transfer efficiency, while ice buildup on the conveyor belt may impede the flow of the product.

Unless the frozen product is sent directly to the inside of the cold store at the end of the tunnel, it may be necessary to prevent condensation and ice formation on the collection station or packaging area as well, to ensure optimal efficiency, minimal energy consumption, and minimal waste.

Climate control is the solution

A dehumidification solution will solve the problems with condensation and ice formation throughout the par-baking process. The cooling efficiency will increase and the freezing temperature will be maintained. There will be fewer stoppages and the time needed for de-icing of the process line and the cold store will be reduced.

Finally, and maybe most importantly, adding dehumidification to the par-baking process will prevent frost on the product. This ensures that when the bread comes out of the oven in its final baking stage, whether at home or in a food preparation environment, it remains perfectly crusty with a soft crumb. All ready to be enjoyed.