Choosing the right cooling system
Kaak has all cooling systems available in-house. Whichever product you bake or whatever solution you are looking for, we will always have the cooling unit that fits your needs, and our advice is based on our many years of experience.
The cooling process of your product depends on various aspects.
- The size, weight and shape of the bread.
- The structure (closed or open).
- The crust thickness.
- Whether the bread is lean or enriched (contains some fats, also with sugar and milk for a softer crust).
Once you have these aspects in order, there are roughly two types of coolers (in many versions) to consider.
- Continuous spiral cooler: compact tower with a belt that moves up or down. The number of levels and the speed of the conveyor belt determine the cooling time of your product.
- Kaak Step Cooler: the solution when products must remain on trays and a buffer system is needed for cooling.
Advantages of Kaak cooling systems
- All our coolers are adapted to your specific process and product.
- Our coolers meet the highest hygienic standards for your high-quality products.
- Our equipment requires minimal maintenance or human intervention.
- You save costs through minimal maintenance and fully automatic cooling (without human intervention).
- You are assured of high output through maximum reliability and low standstill.
Advantages of controlled cooling
Control over the cooling process provides several advantages for your product.
- Baking quality is maintained through regulated cooling.
- It keeps the crust crisp.
- Properly cooled bread is easier to slice.
- Cooling extends the shelf life of the product.
- Quickly freeze products in line and prepare them for distribution.
Cooling of bread
Bread is vulnerable in the initial cooling phase. This is due to the high temperature (core 95°C to 80°C), which makes the core unstable. The sugars are also still busy restructuring themselves during the cooling phase. This recrystallisation strengthens the crumb and pushes humidity out of the baked product. Bread can only be cut correctly at temperatures below 30° C.
Recognising undercooling
Bread that has not been sufficiently cooled can be recognised by weak side walls that collapse during slicing, ragged slices, cracks in the crumb and excessive humidity due to condensation in the bread bag (which promotes mould growth). A disadvantage of undercooling is also that cutting blades become contaminated and consequently the standstill during the cutting process increases, which lowers your output. Controlled cooling puts an end to these problems.