Brighton-based craft bakery chain The Flour Pot Bakery is boosting capacity with new equipment including a Polin oven.
The business, which operates 10 shops in the city and surrounding area, has recently invested in the new steam tube deck oven and a grid divider to sustainably increase capacity.
The Polin oven delivers heat to products through steam circulating around four decks that are each more than six square metres, enabling the business to produce more than 1,500kg of dough a night.
Fuelled by a wood pellet burner described by the manufacturer as zero-emission, the oven is enabling The Flour Pot Bakery to source fuel from the UK and offset some of the rising cost of energy.
Read: How clever oven use can help bakers beat soaring energy costs
Equipment supplier Brook Food & Bakery Equipment has been working with The Flour Pot Bakery founder Oli Hyde for more than a decade and worked closely with him to ensure the oven was right for the business.
“We’ve have seen Oli’s business grow to what is now an inspirational bakery and concept,” said Brook Food commercial director Ann Wells. “Helping The Flour Pot Bakery expand baking capacity this year has been a pleasure, and seeing the benefits is brilliant”
Wells added that the oven has improved efficiency and consistency in the bakery without compromising the quality the bakers and customers expect.
The Flour Pot Bakery has also invested in a grid divider to ensure consistent portioning of doughs including ciabatta and focaccia. The divider is designed to handle dough with care, ensuring low stress and maintaining the structure and integrity of the product.
Hyde said the new equipment had delivered a dramatic improvement in workflow.
“We have some of the best bakers in the country and it is important to us that they are working with equipment that allows us to continue to produce the highest quality products as we grow,” he added.
“To be able to do this fuelled by a sustainable by-product of the renewable British lumber industry, is also really exciting as we aim to have a low impact on the environment in everything we do.”
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