Bakery Equipment - Proofers
We stock and can source a wide-variety of equipment to activate and ferment the yeast in your products. Whether you're looking for a retarder proofer, a straight proofer, or an intermediate proofer, we've got multiple standard build options to choose from and can work with manufacturers to create a custom build for you.
Interested in learning more about the difference between a proofer and retarder proofer? Click here.
Want to read about the differences between a Reach-In vs. Roll-In Rack Proofer? Click here.
Let's Find the Proofer that Best Suits You
A proofer gives bakers control over dough fermentation. By regulating heat and humidity, it empowers bakers to achieve their desired speed and level of rising and flavor development.
Bakery proofers play a crucial role in ensuring consistent and controlled dough rising, which is essential for attaining the desired texture and flavour in bread and pastries.
These proofers are available in various forms. Some come as cabinets with doors, providing shelves for placing baking sheets.
Others are larger boxes or rooms where entire baking racks can be wheeled in for fermentation.
Retarder proofers can also be called precision proofers. In addition to regulating humidity and heat, they include a condenser for greater temperature control, facilitating slow and longer cold-proofing.
Unlike regular proofers, which can only ferment dough at room temperature or higher, retarder proofers enable bakers to ferment dough at lower temperatures over extended periods. This process enhances the flavour profile, yielding a more refined outcome.
Moreover, retarder proofers streamline operations by saving time and labour. They allow products to be loaded the day before, keeping the dough cool until it automatically transitions into proofing mode.
As a result, the baked goods are ready for the oven when bakers begin their day, eliminating the need for early morning preparation.
Explore our range of industrial proofers and retarder proofers, including intermediate proofers tailored for fully automatic bread and bun lines.
Whether you're launching a commissary location or managing a sizable existing production facility, our team of specialists is dedicated to crafting a bespoke industrial-proofing solution to meet your needs.
Our industrial proofers are incredibly versatile and can be customized precisely to fit your space and production line setup.
For those involved in producing frozen products for wholesale or distribution to retail locations, blast freezers emerge as invaluable time-saving assets. Unlike typical freezers operating just under 0°C, blast freezers function at significantly colder temperatures, dramatically reducing the freezing time for your products.
They swiftly and efficiently freeze food, preventing the formation of large ice crystals. This preservation method maintains the taste and nutritional integrity upon thawing while also inhibiting bacterial growth. We carry both reach-in blast freezers as well as roll-in rack blast freezers for production facilities.
Similarly, blast chillers play a vital role by rapidly cooling food to safe temperatures, thereby curbing excessive bacterial growth.
Both blast chillers and blast freezers are available in various configurations. They can be acquired as small reach-in units or larger models capable of accommodating an entire baking rack.
Difference Between a Proofer and a Retarder Proofer
Put simply, a proofer allows you to control heat and humidity in a controlled environment, while a retarder proofer gives you the ability to also cool down the temperature.
Typically, most proofers we stock can also be supplied as a retarder proofer. Both will have a similar build, but the retarder proofer build has a refrigeration unit added to it.
Advantages of a Retarder Proofer
- Cold-Proofing - you can proof at lower temperatures: With a proofer, the temperature inside the proofer will always be greater than the temperature in your bakery, whereas with a retarder proofer, you have the ability to lower the temperature inside the retarder proofer to temperatures below room temperature. You need a retarder proofer to achieve a long and low temp fermentation.
- Sleep in and Save Time! Retarder proofers can be run in "refrigeration" mode only and programmed to automatically turn into a proofer overnight. This way your dough is ready to bake when your first baking shift starts in the morning. This can save significant amounts of time and cost, and help some artisan bakers attract staff who aren't as keen to start their shift early.
- Dual Functionality: If you add an auto-defrost onto a retarder proofer, your retarder proofer can stay at cold temperatures for longer and act as a refrigeration unit when needed.
Reach-In vs. Roll-in Rack Proofer
A Reach-In Proofer (or retarder proofer) requires you to take individual bun trays and place them on tray slides one at a time. Usually the tray slides can be adjusted to accommodate different heights. These are typically one or two door units, they are one bun tray deep, and they are often on wheels. Ideal for small spaces or product innovation lines. These come preassembled.
A Roll-In Rack Proofer (or retarder proofer) allow you to roll an entire baking rack into the chamber. This can save time, and allows you to simply move a rack from a proofer to the oven when ready to bake. These are assembled at your location and are ordered to your needs and customizations. Customizations include builds that are:
A) to accommodate single racks, double racks, or side-load single racks
B) 1 door, 2 doors, 3 doors, etc.
C) 1 rack deep, 2 racks deep, 3 racks deep, pass-thru tunnels, etc.
D) 1 chamber, 2 chambers, etc.
Bakery Proofers FAQ
Absolutely. Proofing plays a critical role, particularly in yeast-based baking.
When yeast-based dough doesn't undergo sufficient proofing, the gluten structure lacks the opportunity to adequately capture air bubbles and develop the tasty sugars from fermentation. This results in unproofed bread that appears flat and lacks dimension. Additionally, the crumb texture tends to be dense and lacking in the desired lightness.
Moreover, the flavour profile of unproofed bread is often underdeveloped, lacking the depth and delicacy that comes from proper fermentation. Therefore, ensuring adequate proofing time is essential to achieving the final baked goods' desired texture, flavour, and overall quality.
Many artisan bakers rely on bread-proofing baskets to help maintain their bread's desired shape and size. Without these baskets, the dough tends to spread out to the sides and can become flat during proofing, impacting the final appearance and texture of the bread.
Similarly, industrial bakeries utilize bread baking trays to ensure uniform size and weight across their products. These trays help standardize baking, resulting in consistent quality and appearance.
Items like croissants and buns are typically proofed directly on trays in industrial settings. This method allows efficient handling and baking of these specific types of baked good
"Fast" or "hot proofing" temperatures typically fall within the range of 27°C to 43°C (80°F to 110°F), providing the ideal conditions for yeast activation and fermentation in a quick and controlled manner.
In contrast, "cold proofing" or "retarding” involves significantly lower temperatures, typically ranging from 6°C to 14°C (43°F to 57°F), and may involve multiple different stages or proofing. This colder environment slows down the fermentation process, allowing for extended proofing times and enhanced flavour development. Gluten structures break down even further during this period, making products easier for many customers to digest.
It's important to note that the optimal temperature may vary depending on the specific dough and type of baked goods being prepared. Adjusting the temperature within these ranges ensures that each dough and yeast receives the ideal conditions for proper proofing or retarding, resulting in consistent quality and flavour for your finished products.
Proofing frozen dough is indeed possible but should be approached carefully. Proofing at a higher temperature immediately from frozen does not work. Typically, bakeries that use frozen dough first thaw the dough in a walk-in fridge and then let it rest at room temperature for half an hour to an hour before putting it in a proofer.
For more automated proofing of frozen dough, we offer the Panem Roll-in Retarder Proofer specialy designed for frozen dough. This specialized proofer is equipped with stronger heating and cooling capabilities compared to standard retarder proofers, ensuring maximum efficiency. This enhanced power ensures efficient thawing of frozen dough while maintaining optimal proofing conditions, resulting in consistent quality and texture in the baked goods.
All the retarder proofers we offer can be designed to proof in multiple steps, allowing you to replicate “thawing the dough in a fridge” and then warming slowly to room temperature before a final hot proof.
Typically, humidity levels are set between 70%- 85%, but the specific humidity setting should be determined based on the unique requirements of the dough being proofed and the product you are trying to create. Adjusting the humidity levels ensures that the dough receives the ideal conditions for fermentation and rising, resulting in the desired texture and flavour in the final baked goods.
If your proofer comes with humidity control, they are typically designed to achieve humidity levels from ambient humidity (the current level of humidity in your bakery) up to 99% humidity.
Not all proofers come with humidity control. Be sure to investigate this or browse our selection of proofers and retarders proofers .
Proofing is essential for all types of yeast-based doughs to allow for the development of air bubbles, flavours and sugars, and light and airy baked goods.
This includes various types of dough, such as bread dough, Italian focaccia and pizza dough, yeast donuts, croissants, Danishes, and other pastry doughs.
Proper proofing ensures that these doughs rise sufficiently, leading to the desired texture and structure in the final products.