In a bakery, flour gets into the refrigeration. It drifts into the condenser coil on every reach-in and condensing unit nearby, picks up a little moisture, and turns into a felt-like mat that blocks the air. A unit with a matted condenser runs hot and runs constantly, and the compressor works much harder than it should.
So brushing or vacuuming those coils on a schedule matters more in a bakery than almost anywhere. Our post on condenser coil cleaning shows what that involves.
Retarders and dough
A retarder holds dough cold overnight to slow fermentation, and a retarder-proofer then warms up on a timer so the dough’s ready when the bakers come in. If the bread comes out over-proofed or flat in the morning, the cold side of that cycle’s a fair suspect. When you call, tell us what time the unit is set to switch over and what the dough looked like.
Laminated dough hates a reach-in that swings a few degrees, even inside 41 F.
Bakery kitchens also get hot once the ovens are going, and a reach-in parked next to a deck oven has less room to cope. If one unit near the ovens always runs warmer than the same model across the room, the heat’s probably part of it.
Cake and pastry cases
Refrigerated cases out front have to keep cream, custard and cheesecake at 41 F or below without drying everything out. Fogged glass is the usual complaint. After that it’s a case that’s cold at the bottom but warm at the top, or ice building on the coil behind the back panel. See display case repair for more.
