Conventional baking in the kitchen – Franco Aliberti

“Baking represents more than 40% of the final product”

How important is baking in the creation of a dish? What happens to a product cooked in a conventional -no fan assisted – oven? How can the oven help us in the preparation of the line?
To answer these and many other questions, we are launching a series of in-depth articles on conventional baking, based on meetings with leading professionals from our #RoadToSmartBaking community, who have told us their point of view and other interesting facts.
The first interview is with the “Green Chef” Franco Aliberti, who defines his cuisine as sustainable, conscious and ethical.

It is well known that for leavened products, conventional baking – compared to fan assisted or convection baking – increases the shelf-life of the product. Can we state the same for gastronomy?
Yes, certainly this concept is applicable in gastronomy and also in any other ingredient you decide to cook. If the baking/cooking process is successful, the final product will inevitably benefit too, so not only will its shelf-life increase but also its presentation, its harmony in the mouth, its taste will change completely.
In my opinion, baking represents more than 40% of the final product because the effort put into making a product, the choice of ingredients and the attention to detail must necessarily be followed by perfect baking, or you risk ruining everything, so it really is a fundamental step.

Many professionals we have met say that having a deck oven in the kitchen is an added value: what do you think?
In a kitchen, having a deck oven sure makes a difference. Not only for leavened products such as bread, focaccia and panettone, but also for the world of gastronomy. For example, baked fish cooked in a deck oven has a scent of grilled, toasted, etc., as well as other dishes may they be a simple lasagne, cooked in a deck oven, get a special gratin coating, making them really interesting to the palate.

Moretti Forni is more and more present in the catering sector, and X series X50E model, which you tried out already, will soon be released: what do you think of it?
I can’t wait for it to come out on the market! Being able to have a compact oven with the incredible performance and potential of a large oven will certainly make a difference, not only in restaurants but also in delicatessens, in small premises that are limited in terms of space, but looking for the highest quality.

We saw you working with X series making your “Puccia & busecca”: why did you choose deck oven baking?
It’s very simple. I chose it not only for this particular recipe but for everything I do, because it is a method of baking that takes me back in time, but at the same time it is very advanced.
The deck oven or conventional oven gives me the confidence that the product is cooked in a certain way, and allows me to recreate that ‘home’ taste very well.
In addition, thanks to X series innovation, I was able to bake both bread – ‘la Puccia’ ed – directly on the refractory surface and tripe – ‘busecca’ ed. – in a pan in the same deck the same time. And it worked brilliantly!

How can serieX help you with line preparation and daily work management?
When you work with this type of artificial intelligence, which gives you the certainty that a product will be perfect eliminating the possibility of error, you already have a simplified supply chain: you are sure that your product will come out as you thought, imagined, because its sensors work autonomously to ensure perfect baking. This definitely has an impact on the business of an activity, because in addition to the great energy savings, there are also savings in the cost of ingredients: if you never make a mistake when baking, you never throw anything away because every dish turns out perfectly. This means zero waste, not only of energy but also of products.

Did you like this interview? Don’t miss the next protagonist, Michelin-starred chef Igor Macchia!