Here are some baking equipment definitions that may be helpful. If you’re in the commercial baking business or looking to acquire equipment, many of these equipment definitions are the “official” definitions for things every baker needs. This list of definitions also include some that appear in the Z50.1-2006 (R2016) ANSI standard although we have supplied our own text.
Baking equipment definitions
Bag loaders
Bag loaders are machines that receive bakery products and then inserts the products into bags of flexible material (usually plastic), and then closes or seals the bags.
Bundling and carton wrappers
Machines that receive and transfers single or grouped baking products into containers. Typically it also overwraps these containers in flexible wrapping materials, usually plastic.
Bar machine
A bar machine forms bar-shaped dough products. It uses a dough hopper containing a couple of feed rolls forcing the dough out of the hopper and through a forming die. This forming die contains a series of openings that extrude the dough in the form of long bars, which are then cut into individual pieces. See forming die below.
Basket or tray loader
A machine that loads bakery product, usually dough, into a basket or tray.
Breaker
A machine that reduces the size of slabs or bars of ingredients, usually dough, into smaller pieces.
Brew tank
A sanitary vessel that mixes ingredients or stores brews. Some brew tanks can be equipped with a jacket or agitator and sometimes both.
Bulk packer
A machine that sorts, aligns, and packages baked rolls or buns into a plastic sack for transportation.
Bun and roll slicer
A cutting machine that cuts baked roll or bun products into a pattern.
Carton or case closer
This is a machine that mechanically closes hinged cover cartons. This occurs after the baked product has been inserted in it.
Conveyor
A conveyor transports materials from one location to another in a commercial bakery. Conveyors can be a belt, a series of chains or can use pneumatics to transport materials.
Cooler
A cooler holds baked or fried products to reduce in temperature. A cooler can use a series of containers or products can be set on trays or conveyors.
Comminuters/comminutors
See Grinders, comminutors, food choppers and breakers below. “Comminuter” and “comminutor” are both used but “comminutor” is the most common spelling.
Cutting machine
This machine cuts sheeted dough on a conveyor. Cutting machines usually use a rotary or reciprocating cutting mechanism.
Degasser
A pump that forces out some of the gas that forms during dough fermentation.
Depanner
A machine used after the baking process that removes products from the container they were baked in.
Depositor
A depositor mechanically deposits some volume of batter in a baking pan or on a baking surface.
Divider
A divider mechanically separates dough into pieces of predetermined weight or volume.
Dough brake
A machine with horizontal rotating cylinders that can be adjusted. Dough passes through the cylinders to reduce dough thickness.
Dough trough elevator
This machine lifts or tilts a dough trough, moving the contents into a hopper or down a chute.
Ducts
Enclosures that move air, gas, refuse, dust, or other materials in a commercial bakery. Material is moved by using either forced air or a vacuum.
Exhausters, blowers
Exhausters are blowers or fans that withdraw air or other gas from an area during the baking process or other food manufacturing.
Fat filter
A filter that remove impurities when fat flows through it.
Filling or injecting machine
This machine delivers filling material into bakery products, typically into dough before baking.
Form and fill machine
A form and fill machine weighs, counts and measures bakery products, and then places them into flexible pouches. These pouches then get formed and sealed.
Forming die
Forming dies are used a bar machine or other forming machine. Dough is forced through a die to create long, unending shapes which are later cut into pieces.
Four dump bin and blender
A flour handling system where flour containers are emptied.
Flour dressing machine
A flour dresser is a machine that separates finished flour from other grain parts. This occurs after the milling process.
Flour elevator
A flour handling system that moves flour vertically in a commercial bakery.
Flour gate
That part of the flour handling system that controls the delivery of flour.
Flour handling equipment bolting reel
In a bolting reel, flour is screened through a rotating drum.
Flour scale
The part of a flour handling system where flour gets weighed.
Freezer
A device that lowers the temperature of food products below 32°F (0° C).
Fryers – automatic frying machine
A machine that deposits or accepts bakery products to be fried in liquid, typically oil. The fryer has conveyors that move the product through a frying chamber.
Guard
A safety shield or a barrier that separates someone operating equipment from a hazard associated with that equipment. A guard doesn’t interfere with operating the machine, it improves safety.
Guarded
A “guarded” machine or area is protected from accidental contact for safety reasons.
Grinders, comminutors, food choppers and breakers
Machines that reduce a material to smaller pieces. This is commonly done by using rolls, blades or knives, impact hammers, or sometimes using attrition.
Hot
The technical term for “hot” in the baking industry is a temperature of 160°F (71.1°C) or greater.
Icing machine
A machine that applies any edible coating onto food products.
Laminator
A laminator manufactures a multilayered sheet of dough prior to baking. The machine includes two or more adjustable powered rollers to produce a dough sheet of the required pattern and thickness.
Loaders and unloaders
Machines that mechanically transfer bakery products from one surface to another surface.
Lockout
A safety procedure where energy sources are isolated from baking equipment.
Maintenance personnel
This definition covers people who are repairing, setting up or maintaining baking equipment. A machine being maintained is not considered to be in operation under the “operating” definition.
Melting and tempering kettle
A jacketed container, usually with some type of agitator. It can be used to heat or cool ingredients.
Mixer
A mixer is a machine that blends ingredients into a homogeneous substance.
Moulder
This is a machine that shapes and forms dough pieces before to final proofing and baking.
Operator
A person operates a baking machine or machines.
Oven definitions
Oven, convection
A convection oven has a fan to circulate hot air in the combustion chamber, speeding up the baking process.
Oven, cook and hold
These are ovens that use a lower heat to cook food more slowly and hold it at a warm temperature before serving. These are typically not used in a commercial baking facility.
Oven, deck type
An oven with multiple horizontal baking surfaces to bake products simultaneously at either the same or different temperatures.
Oven, direct fired
An oven that burns fuel inside the baking chamber.
Oven, direct recirculating
An oven with heating systems that have one or more heaters or burners. Combustion gas gets recirculated through the oven, hence the name. A vent removes some of the spent combustion gas to compensate for fresh combustion gas added during the baking process.
Oven, electric
An oven that is heated using an electric current that heats up a heating element with electrical resistance.
Oven, flue type
An oven that burns fuel inside a furnace structure, connected through flues. These flues carry the combustion gas to an exhaust stack.
Oven, indirect multiple burner
An oven that gets heated with enclosed burners. Unburned gas is prevented from entering the oven’s baking chamber.
Oven, indirect recirculating
An oven equipped with a leak-proof ducting system, a furnace, and a circulating fan. Combustion gas gets recirculated through this enclosed system, then mixed with fresh combustion gas. A vent removes a portion of the gas to compensate for fresh combustion gas added by the burner.
Oven, rack type
An oven that uses a rack of pans to bake products.
Oven, steam tube
An oven that is heated by a group of sealed tubes, partially filled with a heated liquid. Each tube is exposed to heat which transfers heat to the baking chamber using steam. The steam travels to the opposite end of the tube, where it condenses and returns to the furnace by gravity to be reheated.
Oven, thermo oil type
A commercial oven that is heated by circulating heated oil. The oil is typically heated using a heat exchanger, which is located outside the oven.
Pulverizers
Pulverizing machines reduce a material to powder. It does this by using rollers, blades, knives, hammers, or attrition. Pulverizers can be automated or manually operated.
Packaging equipment
Mechanical devices that place a sanitary and protective covering around a bakery product. This protective covering can either be consumer-facing if sold to consumers, or it can be a plainer, more functional covering if sold to other commercial bakeries or companies.
Pan greaser
A pan greaser applies edible lube to a baking pan, where it comes in contact with product to be baked.
Pan washer
A pan washer machine washes, rinses, and usually then dries bakery pans and containers.
Panner or peeling machine
This machine deposits shaped dough pieces into pans for baking, or on peel boards, or directly on baking surfaces.
Pattern former
This machine arranges bakery products into a pattern for baking or packaging.
Pretzel machine
An extruding machine with a hopper, internal extruding screws, devices to provide compression, an extruding die to form to a shape, and cutoff mechanism. Pretzel machines are also sometimes equipped with a mechanism to tie the pretzel.
Product zone, non-product zone
Product zones include all surfaces of baking equipment that come in contact with baking product or ingredients. Non-product zones are outside the product zone.
Racks
Transporting carriers of pans and finished bakery products. Racks are usually on rolling casters for pushing or are part of a transport system.
Removable, readily removable
When something is removable it means it can be easily separated from a machine with simple tools. When something is readily removable it can be separated by hand without tools.
Rotary machine
A rotary machine produces a molded baking product. A rotary machine usually includes a dough hopper, a die, a feed roller, a cutoff knife, and extraction roll and apron.
Rounder
This is a machine that rounds pieces of dough into balls.
Safety interlock
A safety interlock is a device that disengages a machine when a protective cover is opened.
Screw conveyor
A screw conveyor is a device that transports flour or other fine material using an enclosed spiral screw that continuously rotates.
Sheeter
A sheeter is a machine that forms dough into a thinner sheet by compressing the dough through rollers.
Sifter
A sifter removes of foreign material. Typically this refers to flour products.
Slicing machine, bread
A bread slicing machine has moving knives, a product feed, and discharging conveyors to mechanically slice, index, and transfer different sizes and types of bread.
Stacker and unstacker
These are machines that automatically stack or unstack baking pans or shipping containers.
Steam or pressure cleaner
This is a machine that uses steam or pressure to clean commercial baking equipment, baking surfaces or product zones. See Product zone, non-product zone above.
Stitcher
This is a machine that applies a wire staple to a package.
Topping machine
A topping machine deposits toppings such as nuts, seeds, sugar or salt on a bakery product, either before or after baking.
Tray and carton former
This is a machine that forms blanks of rigid baked products into cartons or trays.
Wrapper
A wrapper machine wraps bread, cookies, bagels or other baked products into a flexible wrapping material, usually plastic.
Wafer cutting machine
A wafer cutting machine mechanically cuts a large wafer sheet into smaller sizes and dimensions.
Wirecut or wirecutter
A wirecutter extrudes dough before baking through wires that cut the dough into smaller sections or pieces.