Humidity in ovens is generally controlled by extraction fans and dampers. In industrial bakery proofers, the SCORPION® 2 Digital Humidity Sensor from Reading Thermal is used for measuring and documenting the temperature and relative humidity of the proof cycle.
Headquartered in Sinking Spring, PA, Reading Thermal, a Reading Bakery Systems brand, has researched the commercial baking process for more than 25 years. Our team of heat transfer experts developed the SCORPION® 2 Profiling System and Data Logger, now an industry standard that measures and maps essential baking parameters, such as temperature and humidity, that affect the quality of your products.
Why Humidity Profiling is Important?
Baked products go through three distinct thermal processes:
- The dough is baked after forming to set its structure.
- The product is then dried to a shelf stable point.
- The product is then adequately cooled before packaging or storage to prevent moisture condensation.
The changes during baking that affect the quality of the final product include time, temperature, and humidity.
- The amount of moisture that remains in a product can affect its shelf life.
- Limiting evaporation can keep the surface of the product moist, allowing it to stretch and preventing cracks.
- Low humidity in a cracker oven can cause blisters that lead to undesirable dark spots and excessive breakage. It may also give the cracker a burnt taste.
- The lack of humidity in a cookie oven can prevent internal moisture from escaping which can lead to checking (the spontaneous cracking of the cookie after baking).
- High humidity in bread ovens produces the desirable glossy crust seen on many bread products. Steam injection is often used to achieve this type of crust.
- High humidity will help kill pathogens, like salmonella, that can be found in surface toppings.
- Product throughput can also be affected by when and how much moisture builds in a process. Moisture laden environments reduce baking efficiency, thereby reducing product throughput.
Digital Humidity Sensor Advantages
The SCORPION® Digital Humidity Sensor provides a better way to measure humidity in your oven, proofer, dryer, and cooling tunnel.
Mechanically, the Digital Humidity Sensor includes an Air Temperature sensor, two inputs for Product Core Temperature Measurement, and a proprietary humidity sampling system to measure Dew Point Temperature, Absolute Humidity, and Relative Humidity.
Its breakthrough design provides a more accurate and reliable way to measure the absolute moisture content of the thermal environment. The sensor contains a proprietary humidity sampling system with patent pending Anti-Saturation Technology™ that allows measurements in high temperature and very high dew point processes.
The Digital Humidity Sensor is engineered to be compatible with direct gas fired (DGF) ovens. Unlike oxygen sensor technology, which can be off by as much as 25% due to combustion gases in DGF ovens, the accuracy of the Digital Humidity Sensor remains the same regardless of the oven platform.
If your bread manufacturing process results in inconsistent product quality, moisture retention, or uneven baking, consider our other state-of-the-art sensors and sensor arrays, such as the SCORPION® 2 Temperature Sensor Array, the SCORPION® 2 Air Velocity Sensor, and the SCORPION® 2 Heat Flux Sensor.
Learn more about measuring humidity in industrial bakery proofers with the SCORPION® 2 Profiling System and Data Logger and the Digital Humidity Sensor from Reading Thermal. Contact us online, or call us at (610) 678-5890 Ext. 2 to learn more.