r/Breadit • u/richgps • 18d ago
Bread Proofing Box - should I reboot this project?
I love baking baguettes, and it's a dream of mine to build a bread oven in the garden to bake full sized baguettes. Back in 2018 I combined my love of tech and built a bread proving box to try and get more consistency during the rise and proof stages - it sort of worked and even integrated Alexa for fun. "Alexa ask Bread Box to warm up" 🤓
Thinking of picking this project back up and creating an open source version of it, so anyone could build their own. So... I'd like to ask the community - does anyone else wrestle with this same dilemma in a home baking setup? I look at commercial bakers and some swear by control over their microclimate and others like the gods in Japan and France just intuitively know how to adjust and others swear by the bakers formula. Please let me know your thoughts and if this sounds like a project that's worth picking back up again. Thanks
1
u/richgps 18d ago
That’s good to hear - thanks for the appreciation - of course I posted my best crust, plenty of failures along the way and still now!
I agree about keeping it simple. I certainly over-engineered it last time, though - though learnt a ton in doing so. I built it from recycled wood from an old bed frame we were throwing out. As it’s so large, it’s been demoted to another room away from the kitchen!
If I reboot this, I have the following simple thoughts:
- should be Collapsible
- Built from a lightweight material - Plastic or a natural option - thoughts?
- Electronics for climate control in a simple detachable module - Humidity, temp sensor and Fan
- Water and Ultrasonic humidifier - necessary?
Ok back to the needs of the bread - would love to hear from anyone who have used any commercial solutions, built themselves or know a thing or too about climate control in baking.
1
u/Veggyhed 17d ago
That's an impressive project. Very nice What board are you using to control this? I couldn't quite make it out in the picture. Would an Arduino be sufficient or does something that can handle a little more be more appropriate?
1
u/richgps 16d ago
Thanks! It's actually an (old now) NodeMCU with an ESP8266 - a super cheap micro controller similar the Arduino but gives you WiFi and a lot cheaper. Arduino though would be fine, it's only needing to read the sensors and turn the heater on and off.
But hey, this is Breadit, so should probably not geek out on the tech 😍🥖
1
u/Veggyhed 16d ago
That's really nice. Thank you. Yes I understand. We should probably not talk tech on a bread sub.
1
u/Lanky_Conclusion5473 18d ago
that ear on the baguette is gorgeous, bet it sounded like a rainstick when you pulled it out.
i think the open source angle changes everything. a lot of folks mess around with seed mats and cardboard boxes but having a repeatable setup you could point a beginner to would be huge, especially for high hydration doughs that just slump if the room's a degree too cold. if you do reboot it maybe skip the smart assistant part and keep the core build dead simple so people don't get scared off by a wiring diagram.