If you are experiencing inconsistent product quality, moisture retention, or uneven baking in your industrial bakery oven, consider the heat flux profiling sensor from Reading Thermal and our other state-of-the-art sensors and sensor arrays.
Reading Thermal, headquartered in Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania, has been researching, measuring, and understanding the commercial baking process for over 25 years.
We manufacture and support the SCORPION® 2 Data Logger that measures and maps the key baking parameters of temperature, air velocity, heat flux and humidity, and is now a standard in the baking industry.
What the Profiling System Can Measure
Connecting smart sensors and sensor arrays to the SCORPION® 2 Data Logger and passing them through the oven with the product, enables the measurement system to capture the four main baking parameters:
Heat Flux
Oven heat flux is the amount of energy transferred per unit area per unit time from or to a surface. It is the best indicator of oven performance during baking in terms of the product. Many bakers use oven heat flux profiles when attempting to produce the same product on two different lines or when trying to transfer product from one line to another. The two lines will produce the same product when the heat flux profiles match. The SCORPION® 2 Heat Flux Sensor is designed to measure convective and radiant heat fluxes at product level and display the results in Btu/hr·ft2 or W/m2.
Humidity
Products passing through a thermal process interact with the moisture in the environment. The moisture often comes from the product itself and represents a delicate balance that affects finished product quality in many ways; e.g., the moisture remaining in a pretzel after baking can impact its shelf life; reducing evaporation can keep the surface of your cookies moist, allowing them to stretch without cracking. Bakeries all over the world rely on the SCORPION® 2 Humidity Sensor, which measures the absolute moisture content of the thermal environment in both heating and cooling processes.
Temperature
Oven temperature affects oven-spring, drying/dehydration, and color formation during baking. Insufficient or excessive temperature can also lead to undesirable changes in texture and taste. The Scorpion® 2 Temperature Sensor Array is designed to measure temperature at product level, in fixed positions across the conveyor, and delivers a precise picture of temperatures from side-to-side and end-to-end.
Air Velocity
In a radiant oven, the airflow comes from the moving conveyor, the exhaust system, and natural combustion air currents. In a convection oven, the airflow comes primarily from the air distribution plenums. Measuring the oven air velocity with the SCORPION® 2 Air Velocity Sensor is critical because airflow influences the coloration, texture, firmness, and baking time of the final product. The profiles will help you spot airflow differences between baking zones and unwanted air currents at the entrance or exit of the oven that result in inconsistent baking.
Get in touch with Reading Thermal to learn more about the SCORPION® 2 Heat Flux Sensor and our other innovative oven profiling products for your industrial bakery oven. Contact us online, or call our headquarters in Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania at (610) 678-5890 Ext. 2.