fancy equipment you could do without

[pastrygirl]

We've all worked in places where there is zero budget for pastry equipment, ancient ovens, crusty this and that, etc., and dreamt of shiny new things. Do you ever find yourself graced with the luxury of those shiny new things and realize you'd rather have those old, ugly, but straightforward ones? Admittedly, sometimes there is a learning curve that is frustrating in the beginning but pays off. Other times, simple just works better.

A couple of years ago, it was the PacoJet. HATED it. I hated it so much, I went out and bought a Musso so I wouldn't have to change all my ice cream recipes. Half-quart capacity, kinda useless, a zillion little containers in the freezer just bugged me, and having to freeze things solid first just added to production time. Plus, if you want to re-spin with good results, you have to melt and re-freeze, otherwise you get the iciness that the Paco is supposed to eliminate. Bah!

Right now, it's the Houno Combi oven. A) I want an oven with RACKS so I can bake oh, say loaf pans, cake pans, whatever without having to put it on another sheet pan and try to fit the pan into the slots. B) I'm sure the corporate chef thought he was giving us something great, but I really don't need the programmable convection roast with built in thermometer. The steam would be nice if I could figure out how to give a blast when I put the bread in, but that would involve changing settings and other confusion, and I don't think it's designed for that. C) It only heats when the timer is on. I want the oven to stay hot all day, not have to reset the damn thing every ten minutes. D) the two-step door lock (even worse on another Houno model at a different lodge) requires jarring force that makes it extra-easy to bake fallen cakes. Give me a crusty old Blodgett and a squirt bottle any day.

Anyone?

[chefpeon]

I worked in exactly ONE bakery that had shiny new equipment, but it wasn't fancy or had a bunch of useless features. It was stuff that actually worked, all the time, dependably. I really liked that. The only thing I hated was the big Baxter convection oven. It was one of those ovens that you actually pushed a whole rack into, and when you close the door the rack would spin around. I hated doing my brulee in there, because when the rack started spinning, there'd be a slight jerk, and the brulee would spill out over the sides of the ramekins. Argh! I also didn't like walking into an oven......especially on a hot day.....

I'm used to working with crap. In one place I had a robotcoupe that was completely held together with duct tape. It actually worked too.

I was happy to hear what you said about the Pacojet, because that's one thing I've always wanted, but maybe not! I'd be happy with any ice cream machine actually.

Where I'm at now, I get to deal with a new mixer, which of course has that stupid stupid safety cage around the top of the bowl. Thanks for caring about my safety, but after 18 years in the business I've never stuck my giblets in the bowl as it's running and I'm not about to. All that cage does is get in my way, make more of a mess, and gives me more to clean at the end of the day.

I'd really really like to have a proof box. That's my one wish.

[Tri2Cook]

I haven't had that luxury yet. Hopefully someday I'll find myself in a kitchen full of all the nice equipment I want so I can have the priviledge of turning my nose up at them if they're not as great as I expected.

I'm kinda glad I couldn't afford a pacojet when they were first available because I no longer drool over it as much as I used to. I think I'd rather have a really good ice cream machine at this point. But that's coming from someone who's never used a pacojet.

[JeanneCake]

Where I'm at now, I get to deal with a new mixer, which of course has that stupid stupid safety cage around the top of the bowl. Thanks for caring about my safety, but after 18 years in the business I've never stuck my giblets in the bowl as it's running and I'm not about to. All that cage does is get in my way, make more of a mess, and gives me more to clean at the end of the day.

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I found that with enough sugar lodged into the mechanism (the part the cage swings around into), it just locks into place and it will operate with the cage wide open. I think it was a marathon day of buttercream making (and me holding a pen into the mechanism) that made it happen. It's been that way for months now and I'm hoping it's permanent....