Production Planning and Equipment Operation
Production planning and equipment operation tests whether you can turn a sales forecast into a schedule that the bench, the proofer and the oven can actually deliver.
Planning
Start from forecast sales plus a safety margin, then work backwards: bake-off time, final proof, shaping, bulk fermentation, mixing. Par levels set how much of each product is held. Dough retardation lets you mix today for tomorrow's bake and spreads the load across the shift.
Equipment
Planetary mixers suit small batches and cake batters; spiral mixers develop bread dough with less heat. Know bowl capacity and dough density: never fill above about two-thirds for doughs that expand. Deck ovens need preheating and recovery time between loads; convection ovens bake faster and browner, so reduce temperature by 10–20 °C. Verify proofer temperature and humidity daily.
Worked example
A three-deck oven holds 6 loaves per deck = 18 loaves. Bake time is 30 minutes with 2 minutes to load and unload, so a cycle is 32 minutes. In an 8-hour window: 480 ÷ 32 = 15 cycles, so 15 × 18 = 270 loaves. If demand is 320, you need a second oven or a shorter cycle - plan it before the shift, not during it.
Traps
Overloading the mixer so dough climbs the hook and warms; loading a cold deck; ignoring recovery time after opening the oven; and scheduling all retarded dough to come out at the same moment.