Why the Best Bakers are Adding Infrared to Their Deck Ovens
Most deck ovens do a decent job. You’ve got the stone heating the bottom and the hot air doing its thing. But if you’ve ever pulled a loaf out and felt like the crust just didn’t pop—or it felt a bit soft where it should be shatter-crisp—you know exactly what I’m talking about. That’s why we put infrared (IR) bulbs in the ceiling. It fills in the gaps that standard heat misses.
How it actually works
Think of it this way: regular heating elements have to warm up the air first. IR bulbs don’t bother with that. They send out short-wave radiation that travels in a straight line and hits your dough instantly. It’s like stepping into the sun on a cold day. You feel the heat immediately. This gives you an instant “oven spring.” The bread shoots upward and the crust sears before the inside has a chance to overcook. The result? A crust that actually crunches and a crumb that stays moist. It’s the best of both worlds.
Picking the right gear
We usually go with quartz-halogen tubes. The quartz can take the brutal heat without warping, and the halogen keeps the filament from wearing out too fast. It just lasts longer. Now, you have to be smart about the wattage. If you’re baking heavy, artisan sourdough, you want a high-wattage tube for that intense heat. But be careful. If you put a powerhouse bulb in a tiny oven, you’ll torch the top of your loaf while the center is still raw dough. You’ve got to find that sweet spot between the IR intensity and your deck temperature.
Keeping things running
We use R7s or similar spring-loaded sockets. They make swapping bulbs a breeze. One tip: check your contact points every few months for carbon buildup. If those connectors get oxidized, they create resistance. That leads to overheating, and your bulbs will burn out way sooner than they should. Also, just a heads-up—these bulbs are fragile. One clumsy move during a deep clean and you’ve got a cracked tube. If your staff is in and out of the oven all day, just throw a protective shield over them. It’ll save you a lot of headaches.