Why the Best Bakers are Moving to Infrared
Ever notice how some loaves have that perfect, shattered-glass crust but the inside is still light and airy? It’s a tough balance. Most ovens just blow hot air around. But air is actually pretty bad at moving heat. Usually, by the time the middle of your bread is actually cooked, the outside has already turned into a brick. That’s why we started putting infrared (IR) emitters in our high-end ovens. It changes the whole game. The secret is in the heat. Instead of waiting for the air to warm up, IR sends waves of heat straight into the dough. Think of it like the sun hitting your skin on a summer day—you feel it instantly. This triggers that gorgeous golden-brown color (the Maillard reaction, for the science nerds) and gives you a professional “oven spring” without drying out the crumb. You get the crunch without the chew. The nitty-gritty stuff We use high-purity quartz tubes for this. Why? Because they can handle the shock of heating up and cooling down fast without cracking. Now, a heads-up on the power: these things pack a punch. Depending on the size of your oven, you’ll need the right wattage to get that artisan sourdough feel. Just make sure your electrical panel can handle it. There’s nothing worse than tripping a breaker right in the middle of a pre-heat. Finding the sweet spot We offer a couple of different options here. Shortwave is fast. It sears the surface almost instantly, which is great for a quick finish. But be careful—if the bread is too close to the element, it’ll scorch. You’ve got to get your rack positioning just right. Then there’s medium-wave, which sinks a bit deeper into the loaf. Making it work If you’re an engineer, you’ll appreciate that these are basically drop-in replacements for standard elements. By mixing IR with regular convection, you get total control over the crust-to-crumb ratio. It’s all about the balance between air temperature and radiant heat. Once you nail the distance, you might find you don’t even need as much steam to get that bakery-style finish.