A 2023 Kitchen Innovations Award recipient, the ConvoSense by Convotherm is the world’s first AI-powered, fully automated combi oven cooking and baking system. ConvoSense sees what the operator is loading and instantly launches the perfect cooking program to produce it. Adept at mixed loads, food can be loaded all at once or one tray at a time. ConvoSense recognizes the food as it is loaded and launches the correct cooking program for each tray while simultaneously managing the entire cooking cavity for consistent, exceptional results.

Ovens have come a long way in 30 years, explains Jan Schat, a professional bread consultant who is a Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie champion. Schat points out modern ovens have become more compact and energy efficient. There is also more versatility in oven types and oven combinations available. “Good design is important but equally so is that the oven is well-manufactured and using quality materials,” he says.

WP Bakery Group USA responds to the old values of traditions and genuine craftsmanship with the fully automated and wood-fired deck baking oven WP PELLADOR. With the ultra-modern equipment, baked goods made according to old recipes with typical wood-fired character arrive on the consumer's table. Rustic crust, strongly baked, tasty and with typical aroma - the unique character of artisan baked wood-fired bread enjoys great popularity among consumers. Tradition and old values come to life again with the idea of baking over an open flame, with blazing wood in stone ovens.

MECATHERM's new M-DAN Oven was developed to meet the baking requirements of delicate pastry products, dairy desserts, vegetables, plant-based protein products, and other savory dishes such as meat and cheese-based pastries.

The new generation of the proven MIWE aero e+ brings together first-class baked goods and high-quality design in an impressive manner. The in-shop baking oven becomes an eye-catcher, impresses with its optimized ergonomics and already hints at high baking quality thanks to its exterior. 

Any old oven can bake bread, but you may have to fiddle with your fine-tuned recipe to get the same delicious sourdough loaf you are used to. With the right oven, you can get a consistent result and a popular product that sells out each day, according to American Baking Systems.

By creating a round chamber, Revent made the oven slimmer and, at the same time, more powerful with its one-of-a-kind ONE series oven. It scores high in all important aspects such as baking quality, footprint, and energy. The round chamber together with an intelligent 3-layered glass, fewer heat bridges and modern insulation leads to a minimum of energy waste. It uses less water and energy for baking, and the total life cycle energy consumption is minimized with fewer parts, less material and lower weight.

Bobby Jucker at Houston-based Three Brothers Bakers, one of the nation’s oldest and most iconic retail bakeries, points out that bakery ovens have come a long way in three decades. Innovation remains a common theme of its longstanding tradition. When asked what Jucker believes to be the most important oven advances from a retail baker’s perspective, he cites “steam generation, and the recovery aspect of those steam ovens.”

Empire's LFR rack ovens are ideal for high-volume bakeries, wholesale operations, kitchens, or restaurants producing quality baked goods. They're perfectly suited for everything from bagels and breads to the most demanding cakes and pastries around.

Josey Baker is a bread baker, published author, teacher, public speaker, and business owner based in San Francisco. Josey also is the author of Josey Baker Bread (Chronicle, 2014) and leads a small team of bread bakers & pizza makers who specialize in freshly milled whole grain sourdough. He takes great pride in working to embody a balance of integrity, quality, compassion, and fun in everything he does.