Cooling

Satisfaction Guaranteed

​

Bread can be cooled either:

• Manually by placing on cooling racks after depanning (ambient or natural cooling)

• Automatically using racks, trays, or continuous conveyor belts (or spirals in wholesale breadmaking operations)

We have solutions for both.

​

Bread cooling time is a function of the size and shape of the loaf as well as the oven baking profile. Denser and bigger pieces require longer cooling times (slowing conveyor speed while  maintaining other cooling variables).

Cooling variables that require adequate control include:

• Cycle time (related to conveyor speed in continuous operations in spiral conveyor coolers)

• Relative humidity and temperature

• Air flow (convection cooling)

Bread cooling is a self-explanatory concept, although it involves a lot of science. The main goal of cooling is to decrease the internal temperature of the baked bread from 93–97°C (200–208°F), at depanning or coming out of the oven, to 32–43°C (90–110°F). This step allows the finished product to achieve optimum keeping quality and comply with legal moisture limit of 38%.

​

As the loaf cools, some of the moisture moves toward the crust which becomes softer or leathery unlike the hard shell it acquired in the oven. Cooled bread is immediately sliced, bagged or packaged.

​