Flexible Food Equipment: Cooling
Finishing off our recent blog series on how proving, baking and cooling conditions change the end product and how Spooner equipment is ideally placed to offer flexibility with numerous adjustable parameters, we move on to the final stage of cooling.
The final part of the baking process is cooling. This is an essential step for numerous reasons dependent on the product.
The benefits of proper cooling are:
- Reduces product weight loss
- Suitable temperature for packaging
- Increases shelf life
- Prevents crust from becoming too soft or too hard
- Prepares product for slicing and bagging
As with the process of proving or baking, temperature and humidity are the major factors in cooling baked products. A properly cooled product would have a core temperature of around 25–30⁰C at the sale weight.
Depending on the type of end product, the type of cooler required will change. However, the cooling system will fundamentally remain the same with control over temperature and humidity. A consistent temperature and humidity within a cooler enclosure allows for the perfect final product to be created. If a product is cooled too quickly or overcooled, the moisture from the internals of the product would leave rapidly and likely cause the product to shrink, collapse and be underweight. If a product is undercooled, the product will retain too much moisture and be difficult to slice or cut.
With the above-mentioned points in mind, it is important to remember that what may be the correct cooling temperature for one product may not be the correct cooling temperature for another. Again, like proving and baking this is generally dependent on the overall mass of the product and the desired finish. Having a cooler capable of different temperatures, humidities and cooling times is therefore essential for varied production.
If you want to find out more about our range of Industrial Provers, Industrial Ovens, Industrial Coolers, Heat Recovery Systems or our test and R&D facility, contact us here or call +44 (0)1943 609 505.
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