Patent Publication Number: US-2021161152-A1

Title: Dough preparation apparatus and methods

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/349,448, filed Jun. 13, 2016, and the present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/621,781, filed Jun. 13, 2017, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/947,130, filed Nov. 20, 2015, which is a continuation of PCT Patent Application No. PCT/US14/39367, filed May 23, 2014, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/826,849, filed May 23, 2013, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The present disclosure generally relates to dough preparation apparatus and more particularly to apparatus for preparing dough for proofing and baking. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In many food preparation establishments, bread and other baked goods are prepared from frozen dough. Some food preparation establishments have prescribed dough preparation processes for preparing frozen dough for proofing and baking. The environmental conditions at which frozen dough is prepared for baking can affect the quality of the baked product. 
     SUMMARY 
     In one aspect, a dough preparation apparatus includes a cabinet defining a dough preparation chamber. The apparatus includes recirculation ducting for recirculating air from the dough preparation chamber back to the dough preparation chamber. The apparatus includes a fan configured to move air in the recirculation ducting from the dough preparation chamber back to the dough preparation chamber. At least one heating element or cooling element outside the recirculation ducting is configured to heat or cool air in the recirculation ducting. A dough preparation controller is configured to operate the fan and the heating or cooling element for preparing dough in the dough preparation chamber. 
     In another aspect, a dough preparation apparatus includes a cabinet defining a dough preparation chamber. The apparatus includes recirculation ducting for recirculating gas from the dough preparation chamber back to the dough preparation chamber. The recirculation ducting includes an outlet for supplying air from the recirculation ducting to the dough preparation chamber and includes an inlet for exhausting air from the dough preparation chamber to the recirculation ducting. The recirculation ducting includes a return duct portion extending downstream from the outlet to said inlet for bypassing the dough preparation chamber. The apparatus includes a fan configured to move air in the recirculation ducting for moving the air from the dough preparation chamber back to the dough preparation chamber. The apparatus includes at least one of a heating element or a cooling element for heating or cooling air in the recirculation ducting. A dough preparation controller is configured to operate the fan and said at least one of the heating element or cooling element for preparing dough in the dough preparation chamber. 
     In yet another aspect, a dough preparation apparatus includes a cabinet having first and second dough preparation chambers. The chambers have a plurality of storage locations each sized for holding a container of dough. The cabinet includes first and second doors at a front of the cabinet. The first door permits access to the first chamber, and the second door permits access to the second chamber. A temperature control system is provided for controlling the temperature in the first and second chambers. The temperature control system includes a refrigeration system configured for refrigerating the first and second chambers independently. The temperature control system includes a heating system configured for heating the first and second chambers independently. The apparatus includes a dough preparation controller operatively connected to the temperature control system. The dough preparation controller is operative to control the temperature control system to control dough preparation environments in the first and second chambers for preparing the dough. The apparatus includes a tangible storage medium storing recipes executable by the dough preparation controller for preparing the dough. The tangible storage medium stores a dough thawing or slacking recipe that, when executed by the dough preparation controller, controls the temperature control system for thawing the dough to a thawed or slacked state and for maintaining the dough in the thawed or slacked state. The thawing or slacking recipe includes a thawed or slacked dough holding temperature set point in the inclusive range of about 25 degrees F. to about 40 degrees F. for maintaining the dough in the thawed or slacked state. The tangible storage medium stores a dough conditioning recipe that, when executed by the dough preparation controller, controls the temperature control system for conditioning the thawed or slacked dough to a conditioned state and for maintaining the dough in the conditioned state, said recipe including a conditioned dough holding temperature set point higher than the thawed or slacked dough holding temperature and being in the inclusive range of about 40 degrees F. to about 60 degrees F. for maintaining the dough in the conditioned state. The apparatus includes a user interface associated with the cabinet. The user interface includes a user input and a display. The user input includes at least one actuator for receiving input from a user to selectively execute the thawing or slacking recipe and the dough conditioning recipe for preparing dough in at least one of the first or second dough preparation chambers. 
     Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective of an oven of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective of an upper section of the oven, shrouds and covers of the upper section not being shown; 
         FIG. 3  is a section of the upper section of  FIG. 1  taken widthwise with respect to the upper section; 
         FIG. 3A  is a view similar to  FIG. 3  but showing an alternative embodiment of a steam injection system; 
         FIG. 4  is a section of the upper section taken lengthwise with respect to the upper section; 
         FIG. 5  is a rear perspective of the upper section; 
         FIG. 6  is an enlarged view of a portion of the section of  FIG. 4  showing a flue valve in an open position; 
         FIG. 7  is a view similar to  FIG. 6  but showing the flue valve in a closed position; 
         FIG. 8  is a section of the upper section taken lengthwise with respect to the upper section through an upper portion of a conduit system; 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic of a refrigeration system of the upper section; 
         FIG. 10  is a schematic of a control system for the oven; 
         FIG. 11  is a photograph of a screenshot of a user interface of the oven showing a recipe menu home screen; 
         FIG. 12  is a photograph of a screenshot of the user interface showing a recipe edit home screen; 
         FIG. 13  is a photograph of a screenshot of the user interface showing a retard recipe program screen; 
         FIG. 14  is a photograph of a screenshot of the user interface showing a proof recipe program screen; 
         FIG. 15  is a photograph of a screenshot of the user interface showing a bread recipe program screen; 
         FIG. 16  is a photograph of a screenshot of the user interface showing a retard recipe ready screen; 
         FIG. 17  is a photograph of a screenshot of the user interface showing a retard recipe run screen; 
         FIG. 18  is a photograph of a screenshot of the user interface showing a proof recipe ready screen; 
         FIG. 19  is a photograph of a screenshot of the user interface showing a proof recipe run screen; 
         FIG. 20  is a photograph of a screenshot of the user interface showing a bread recipe ready screen; 
         FIGS. 21-28  are photographs of screenshots of the user interface showing a bread recipe run screen at various stages of executing the bread recipe, with Vent Open, Steam Cycle, and Auxiliary Heat operational status indicators being shown in various states; 
         FIG. 29  is a photograph of a screenshot of the user interface showing the bread recipe program screen with an alternative recipe; 
         FIG. 30  is a photograph of a screenshot of the user interface showing the bread recipe program screen with another alternative recipe; 
         FIG. 31  is a perspective of a dough preparation apparatus; 
         FIG. 32  is a front elevation of the dough preparation apparatus; 
         FIG. 33  is a perspective of the dough preparation apparatus with left and right chamber doors thereof shown in open positions; 
         FIG. 34  is a front elevation of the dough preparation apparatus with the chamber doors shown in open positions; 
         FIG. 35  is an enlarged perspective of a portion of the dough preparation apparatus with the left chamber doors shown in open positions to illustrate the inside of a left dough preparation chamber; 
         FIG. 36  is an enlarged front elevation of a portion of the dough preparation apparatus with one of the left chamber doors shown in an open position to illustrate a rack of the left dough preparation chamber; 
         FIG. 37  is a cross section taken in the plane of line  37 - 37  of  FIG. 32 ; 
         FIG. 38  is a rear elevation of the dough preparation apparatus; 
         FIG. 39  is a rear elevation of the dough preparation apparatus with an access panel removed to illustrate multiple chamber conditioning devices; 
         FIG. 40  is a cross section similar to  FIG. 37  schematically illustrating a temperature control flow path through the left dough preparation chamber; 
         FIG. 41  is a cross section similar to  FIG. 37  schematically illustrating a humidity control flow path through the dough preparation chamber; 
         FIG. 42  is a schematic block diagram of a control system of the dough preparation apparatus; 
         FIG. 43  is a schematic block diagram of a memory of the control system, schematically illustrating recipes that are stored on the memory; 
         FIG. 44  is a schematic block diagram illustrating a recipe template for the recipes stored on the memory; 
         FIG. 45  is a schematic screenshot of an overview screen for a user interface of the control system; 
         FIG. 46  is a schematic screenshot of the user interface showing recipe actuators for selection by a user; 
         FIG. 47  is a perspective of another embodiment of a dough preparation apparatus; 
         FIG. 48  is a front elevation of the dough preparation apparatus of  FIG. 47  omitting an over-shelf and having doors open to expose dough conditioning chambers; 
         FIG. 49  is a top view of the dough preparation apparatus having components removed to show coils of a refrigeration system; 
         FIG. 50  is a bottom view of the dough preparation apparatus having components removed to show coils of a heating system; 
         FIG. 51  is a rear elevation of the dough preparation apparatus; and 
         FIG. 52  is a fragmentary section of the dough preparation apparatus taken in a plane including the line  52 - 52  of  FIG. 47 . 
     
    
    
     Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to the drawings,  FIG. 1  illustrates one embodiment of an oven (broadly “food preparation apparatus”) according to the present invention, indicated generally by the reference number  1 . The oven  1  may be used for cooking or baking food products, such as bread, among other things. As will become apparent, the oven  1  has customizable, independently programmable parameters permitting precise tailoring and testing of various recipes for retarding, proofing, and/or baking dough. 
     The oven  1  illustrated in  FIG. 1  includes a cabinet, generally designated by the reference number  5 , having an upper section  5 A and a lower section  5 B. The oven  1  includes a user interface  7  positioned between the upper and lower sections  5 A,  5 B for controlling oven operation. The upper section  5 A is adapted for retarding, proofing, and/or baking dough. The upper section  5 A will be described in further detail hereafter, with the understanding that the lower section  5 B can include its own components or components shared with the upper section configured for executing the same or different operations in the lower section as in the upper section, using a shared controller or separate controllers. Both of the sections  5 A and  5 B may be configured for retarding, proofing, and/or baking dough, or any combination thereof. Alternatively, for example, the lower section  5 B may be adapted for retarding and/or proofing, and the upper section  5 A may be adapted for proofing and/or baking. Other configurations may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. Moreover, the cabinet  5  may include more (e.g., three, four, etc.) or fewer (e.g., one) sections without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the oven may comprise a single chamber (e.g., sized for receiving about 10 pans) without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2-5 , the upper section  5 A is shown separated from the lower section  5 B and having covers, shrouds, and other parts removed to expose various components. As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the upper section  5 A comprises a chamber  11  defined by a top wall, a bottom wall, opposite side walls, and a back wall. The chamber  11  is accessible by opening a door  25  which closes the front of the chamber. The door  25  is shown in  FIG. 1  but is removed from the upper section  5 A in the remainder of the figures. One or more rack supports  29  are secured to the side walls of the chamber  11  for supporting a number of food racks (not shown) in the chamber. Each rack is sized to hold a number of pans of bread dough. It will be understood that the number and size of the racks can vary without departing from the scope of this invention. The chamber houses food placed therein in a food preparation environment that can be controlled by one or more food preparation environment control devices, described in more detail below, to, for example, change the temperature, humidity, air flow, and/or venting of the food preparation environment. The chamber  11  is surrounded by an upper housing, generally designated  41  in  FIG. 3 , having a top wall, a bottom wall, opposite side walls, and a back wall. The top and side walls of the housing  41  are spaced from respective walls of the cooking chamber  11  to provide a conduit system or flow path  53  for circulating air (or other gas) to, through and from the cooking chamber  11 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , the conduit system  53  comprises an upper portion  53 A above the cooking chamber  11  and side portions  53 B at opposite sides of the cooking chamber  11 . Other flow path configurations may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     A blower, generally indicated at  61  in  FIG. 3 , (broadly “food preparation environment control device”) is mounted in the upper portion  53 A of the conduit system  53 , adjacent the top of the upper section  5 A of the oven, for circulating air (or other gas) through the conduit system. In the illustrated embodiment, air enters the cooking chamber  11  through a plurality of entry openings  65  in the side walls of the chamber (see  FIGS. 2 and 4 ) and exits the chamber through an exhaust opening  69  in the top wall of the chamber below the blower  61 . The blower  61  comprises a blower motor  101  and a blower wheel  121 . The blower motor  101  is mounted on a top wall of the oven. The blower motor  101  drives rotation of the blower wheel  121  via output shaft  110 , which rotates in a bearing about a generally vertical axis. The blower wheel  121  is located in the upper portion  53 A of the air conduit system  53  adjacent (e.g., immediately above) the exhaust opening  69  in the top wall of the cooking chamber  11 . The blower motor  101  is operable to rotate the blower wheel  121  to circulate air through the conduit system  53  and cooking chamber  11  at velocities and flow rates suitable for retarding, proofing, and/or baking dough. Exemplary velocities include 0-600 ft/min. The blower motor  101  may rotate the blower wheel  121  in constant or pulsed manners (e.g., blower energized for time periods separated by time periods of the blower not being energized), as needed. Rotation of the blower wheel  121  creates suction at the suction side of the blower wheel (i.e., the lower portion of the blower wheel adjacent the exhaust opening  69 ) to pull gas from the cooking chamber  11  through the exhaust opening  69 . Gas is expelled from the blower wheel  121  at the output (exhaust) side of the blower wheel (i.e., the left and right sides of the blower wheel as shown in  FIG. 3 ) to circulate air through the conduit system  53  to the cooking chamber  11 . The blower  61  may be a variable-speed, reversible blower. More specifically, the blower motor  101  may be adapted to rotate the blower wheel  121  at variable rates and may be adapted to rotate the blower wheel in forward and reverse directions. Such a blower is disclosed in further detail in U.S. Pat. No. 8,378,265, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. For example, the oven  1  may be programmed to operate the blower  61  at different speeds for different recipes (e.g., faster or slower for bread recipe as compared to cookie recipe). 
     A heating system  71  (broadly “food preparation environment control device”) is provided for heating the air being circulated. The heating system  71  heats the air in the conduit system  53  after it leaves the chamber  11  and before it is re-circulated back to the chamber via the conduit system. By way of example, the heating system  71  may comprise one or more electric resistance heating elements in the upper portion  53 A of the conduit system  53  located adjacent the top wall of the chamber  11 . In the illustrated embodiment, the heating system  71  includes a primary heater  73  including first and second heating elements  73 A,  73 B on opposite sides of the blower wheel  121  and a secondary or auxiliary heater  75  including third and fourth heating elements  75 A,  75 B on opposite sides of the blower wheel adjacent the first and second heating elements, respectively. Other forms of primary and auxiliary heaters may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. As will become apparent, the heaters  73 ,  75  may be operated at the same or different times, for the same or different durations, and/or at the same or different duty cycles. For example, the primary heater  73  may be operated as the main heater for heating the circulating air, and the auxiliary heater  75  may be used at times when it is desired to rapidly increase the temperature of the circulating air (e.g., during pre-heat, temperature ramp up to start of bake recipe, etc.). The auxiliary heater  75  may be programmable to operate at duty cycles ranging from 0-100 percent at 1 percent increments. Other heating system configurations may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the auxiliary heater  75  may be omitted. Variations in heat output may be achieved by varying the duty cycle of the primary heater  73 . For high heat output, the duty cycle may be increased, and for lower heat output, the duty cycle may be decreased. For example, the duty cycle for the primary heater  73  may be programmed differently for different recipes (e.g., higher duty cycle and thus higher heat for ciabatta bread bake recipe than bake recipes for other types of bread). The auxiliary heater  75  and/or higher duty cycle of the primary heater  73  may be used for rapid recovery to temperature set point following a loss of temperature in the chamber  11  due to a door cycle open/close or food loading. 
     The oven  1  may include various sensors for indicating to control system of the oven relevant aspects of the retarding, proofing, and/or baking operations. For example, a temperature sensor  77  ( FIGS. 3 and 4 ) is provided in the chamber  11  for sensing the temperature in the chamber and indicating the sensed temperature to a control system of the oven. A relative humidity sensor  79  is provided in the chamber  11  for sensing and communicating to the control system the relative humidity in the chamber. In the illustrated embodiment, the head or tip  79 A of the humidity sensor is covered by a shield  81  to shield it from direct flow of a steam injection system, described in further detail below, to prevent artificially high relative humidity readings. The chamber  11  is selectively illuminated by lights  83  mounted on the back wall of the chamber  11 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , the oven  1  includes a steam injection system or humidification system, generally indicated by the reference number  91 , (broadly “food preparation environment control device”) adapted for introducing steam into the chamber  11 . As explained in further detail below, the steam injection system  91  may be used in operations such as bread baking to improve the color, texture, or crunchiness of the crust of the baked bread. For example, steam may be injected in the chamber  11  at the beginning of a bake recipe, after the beginning of a bake recipe, and/or intermittently during a bake recipe. Condensation of the steam on the outside or “skin” of the bread and subsequent baking may provide the desirable characteristics noted above. Moreover, the steam injection system  91  may be used in controlling the humidity in the chamber  11  during recipes calling for humidity (e.g., during a proof recipe). 
     The steam injection system  91  includes a source of steam  93  supported on the oven  1  and a steam delivery conduit  95  extending between the source of steam and the chamber  11 . In the illustrated embodiment, the source of steam  93  is a steam generator vessel which generates and holds a supply of steam in a reservoir. A solenoid valve  97  is positioned downstream from the steam generator  93  and upstream from the chamber  11  for selectively permitting steam injection into the chamber. The solenoid valve  97  has an open position in which it permits steam to enter the chamber  11  and a closed position in which it blocks steam from entering the chamber. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the steam delivery conduit  95  extends from behind the chamber  11  into the rear of the chamber, where the conduit is connected to two steam distribution conduits  99  that extend outwardly and downwardly inside the chamber along its rear wall. Steam is introduced into the chamber  11  through the ends of the steam distribution conduits  99 . Other sources of steam, other steam delivery and distribution conduits, and other valves may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the steam delivery conduits  99  may be arranged to distribute steam more evenly in the chamber to the various tray levels. Moreover, components of the steam injection system  91 , such as the valve  93 , may be omitted without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the source of steam  93  may produce steam “on demand” such that a valve is not required. When steam is needed, the steam is generated. An amount of water needed to produce the desired amount of steam may be introduced into the steam generator when called for by the control system such that a valve is not required to prevent excess steam from entering the chamber  11 . As another example, steam may be generated by introducing water onto the blower  61 , such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,378,265, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     As shown in an alternative embodiment, illustrated in  FIG. 3A , the steam injection system  91 ′ may include steam outlet portions (e.g., one or more holes  100 ′) positioned for delivering steam above each of the trays when held by the tray supports  29 ′. The injection system  91 ′ includes a steam delivery conduit  95 ′ and steam distribution conduits  99 ′ having steam outlet openings  100 ′ positioned above each set of rack supports  29 ′ for introducing steam to the region above each of the trays. The number of steam outlet portions corresponds generally to the number of levels of rack supports  29 ′, and the vertical position of the steam outlet portions is offset above respective tray supports  29 ′ for delivering steam to food on each of the trays supported on the tray supports. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2, 4, and 5 , a venting system  103  (broadly “food preparation environment control device”) of the oven includes a vent conduit or flue  111  for permitting gas to escape from the chamber  11  to ambient. The chamber  11  and air conduit system  53  is generally a closed system in which substantially the same air re-circulates over and over. However, at various times, it may be desired to passively or actively vent the chamber  11 . As shown in closer detail in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the flue  111  extends from an inlet end communicating with the air conduit system  53  to an outlet end above the chamber. By way of example, the opening may be a 0.375-in. diameter opening. The venting system  103  includes a fan  113  is provided at an intermediate portion of the flue  111  between the inlet and outlet ends for actively exhausting gas from the chamber  11  via the flue. The venting system also includes a valve or cap  115  adjacent the outlet end of the flue  111  adapted for sealing the outlet of the flue to prevent venting. The valve  115  includes a valve member  115 A selectively movable by a solenoid  115 B for moving the valve member between an open position (e.g.,  FIG. 6 ) in which the valve member permits flow through the flue  111  and a closed position (e.g.,  FIG. 7 ) in which the valve member blocks fluid flow through the flue. In the illustrated embodiment, the valve member  115 A includes a gasket  115 C comprising resiliently compressible material which is compressed when pressed against the outlet end of the flue  111  for forming a suitable seal. For example, it may be desirable while injecting steam into the chamber  11  to close the flue  111  to prevent steam from escaping the chamber. Moreover, when a high-humidity operation such as proofing is finished, it may be desirable to actively vent the chamber  11  using the fan  113  to prepare for the baking cycle. With less relative humidity in the chamber  11 , it requires less energy to heat the gas in the chamber to the higher baking temperature. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 4 , the chamber  11  includes a sloped floor  131  and drain  133  for collecting and draining condensed liquid from the bottom of the chamber  11 . For example, some of the steam injected by the steam injection system  91  into the chamber  11  may condense inside the chamber. The sloped floor  131  of the chamber  11  promotes draining of the condensed liquid by gravity to the drain  133 . In the illustrated embodiment, the floor includes front, rear, left and right sections  131 A- 131 D sloping toward a central region of the floor to an inlet  133 A of the drain  133 . The drain  133  extends from the drain inlet  133 A to a drain outlet  133 B positioned for delivery of the drained condensate outside of the chamber  11  (e.g., to a catch basin). The drain  133  includes a valve  133 C ( FIG. 4 ) having an open position in which the valve permits flow of liquid through the drain and a closed position in which the valve blocks flow of liquid (and gas) through the drain. The valve  133 C may be closed at various stages of recipes or for entire recipes, depending on whether it is desired to prevent liquid from draining from the chamber  11  and/or to prevent gas from entering the chamber through the drain. Generally speaking, the drain  133  may be closed by the valve  133 C at the same times the flue  111  is closed by the valve  115 . Sloped chamber floors having other configurations (e.g., primarily toward a rear of the chamber rather than the center of the chamber) and other types of drains may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the drain inlet  133 A may serve as a steam injection port into the chamber  11 . The steam delivery conduit  95  may be in communication with the drain inlet  133 A via a three-way valve having a first open position in which steam is permitted to flow into the chamber  11  from the steam delivery conduit  95 , a second open position in which liquid from the chamber  11  is permitted to enter the drain  133 A, and a third closed position in which the valve blocks flow of steam and condensate. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 4, 5, and 9 , the oven  1  includes a refrigeration system  141  (broadly “food preparation environment control device”) that may be used for a retarding operation in the same chamber  11  in which the dough is proofed and/or baked. In addition, the refrigeration system may be used during other recipes, such as for proofing or baking recipes, or between recipes to rapidly cool the chamber to prepare for a recipe calling for a lesser temperature than a previously executed recipe. The refrigeration system  141  is supported on the oven  1 , and more particularly in a housing  143  on the rear side of the upper section  5 A. Example refrigeration system components which may be supported in the housing  143  are shown schematically in  FIG. 9 . For example, the refrigeration system  141  may include a compressor  145 , a condenser  147 , a refrigerant receiver  149 , an expansion valve  151 , and an evaporator  153 . Persons having ordinary skill in the art will understand air blown over the evaporator  153  (e.g., by a fan  155 ) will be cooled. The cooled air is delivered from the refrigeration system  141  via a cool air conduit  157  having an inlet end  157 A connected to the refrigeration housing  143  and an outlet end  157 B in communication with the rear, upper portion of the duct system  53  above the chamber  11 . The cool air moves through the duct system  53  and enters the chamber  11  via the outlet openings  65  in the sides of the chamber. Accordingly, dough may be placed in the chamber  11  to be held in refrigerated conditions in a retarding operation (e.g., prior to proofing and baking the dough in the same chamber). Moreover, the dough may be held in a frozen or slacked state for a period of time prior to a retarding operation. In addition, the refrigeration system  141  may be used to rapidly cool the chamber  11  between baking and proofing operations, or to rapidly cool the chamber at or near an end of a bake operation to permit the bread to be served for consumption more quickly. Refrigeration systems having other configurations may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the refrigeration system  141  may include a warm air return from the chamber  11  to the refrigeration housing  143 . Moreover, refrigeration systems other than vapor-compression refrigeration systems may be used. For example, the refrigeration system may include a heat pump, Peltier device, solid state refrigerator, or thermoelectric cooler. 
     As is now apparent, the oven  1  includes suitable components and systems (e.g., food preparation environment control devices) such that the chamber  11  may be used for retarding, proofing, and baking, if desired. Ovens not having all of these capabilities (e.g., capable of only proofing and baking, or only baking) may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the refrigeration system  141  may be omitted. 
     As shown schematically in  FIG. 10 , a control system  161  for the oven may include a central processing unit (CPU)  163 , a tangible storage medium  165  (e.g., including forms of storage such as software  165 A and firmware  165 B), and the user interface  7 . The CPU  163  may be a microprocessor or the like. The control system  161  includes interconnection electronics  167  that operatively connect the various components of the control system with other components of the oven, such as the refrigeration system  141 , steam injection system  91 , flue valve  115 , blower  61 , heating system  71 , and temperature and relative humidity sensors  77 ,  79 . The CPU  163  is adapted for reading and executing instructions stored in the storage medium  165 , and is responsive to the user interface  7 , for controlling the various components and systems of the oven  1 . A user can enter or modify instructions stored on the storage medium  165  via the user interface  7 . In the illustrated embodiment, the user interface  7  is a touch screen, as explained in further detail below. Other types of user interfaces may be used without departing from the present invention. The user interface  7  provides command signals via the interconnection electronics  167  to the CPU  163 . The command signals can include changes to the parameters (e.g., time, temperature, humidity, etc.) stored in the tangible storage medium  165 . The CPU  163  responds to the command signals and provides control signals corresponding thereto via the interconnection electronics  167  to the various components and systems of the oven  1 . For example, the interconnection electronics  167  may include electrical or fiber optic lines or wireless communication devices. 
     As will be described with reference to  FIGS. 11-15, 29, and 30 , the user interface  7  is adapted for permitting a user to program various retarding, proofing, and baking recipes (broadly “food preparation recipes”). The user interface  7  provides the user the ability to program individual parameters or aspects of retarding, proofing, and baking recipes independently of each other for controlling the food preparation environment control devices. The parameters can define operational states (e.g., active or inactive) of the food preparation environment control devices, such as the blower  61 , heating system  71 , humidification system  91 , venting system  103 , and/or refrigeration system  141 . For example, start times and durations of various stages of a baking recipe can be customized and defined with respect to a recipe time (e.g., countdown time). The user interface  7  illustrates to the user in graphical format operational states of the food preparation environment control devices according to the programmed parameters of a recipe for enhanced user understanding of the programmed parameters and recipe. This may be particularly useful when a recipe such as a baking recipe includes various functions such as humidification (e.g., steam injection) and venting which may include stages and/or operational states having overlapping durations. For example, operational states for the food preparation environment control devices may include the state of being “active” (e.g., “on”) or “inactive” (e.g., “off”). It will be appreciated the user interface  7  may be used with other food preparation apparatus (e.g., for food cooking, baking, frying, mixing, washing, sanitizing, etc.) and/or for programming other types of food preparation recipes without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 11 , in the illustrated embodiment, the user interface  7  is a touch screen, including both a user input and a display. The display includes a color liquid crystal display screen, and the user input includes a touch-sensitive panel overlaying the display screen. The display includes a graphical display  201  (e.g., see  FIG. 15 ) for displaying graphical representations associated with a programmed recipe, as will be explained in further detail below. The user input includes “actuators” at various areas of the touch screen where the touch screen is responsive to the touch of a user. The actuators may be identifiable to the user by text or graphic information on the display underlying respective areas of the touch sensitive panel. Accordingly, to an extent, the user input includes the display or portions of the display (e.g., for making the actuators and their functions identifiable to the user). Other types of user interfaces may be used without departing from the present invention. For example, the display and user input may be separate from one another. The display may include other types of screens or indicators. Moreover, the user input may comprise other types of actuators, such as keyboards, mice, buttons, switches, or even microphones for receiving information from the user. 
     As shown in  FIG. 11 , a Recipe Menu Home Screen is displayed on the touch screen  7 . The screen is divided into upper and lower sections corresponding to the upper and lower sections of the oven  1 . The lower section is shown as being configured as a proofer and having corresponding controls. Operation of the upper section will be described in further detail hereafter, with the understanding that the lower section could be configured to execute the same or different operations as the upper section, as explained above. The upper section of the screen includes an icon representative of the upper section of the oven to indicate to the user that the controls relate to the upper oven section. On this screen, the user has the option of selecting from a plurality of recipes stored on the tangible storage medium. As illustrated, three recipes are displayed, including Retard, Proof, and Bread (Bake). The user could begin execution of one of these recipes by pressing the respective actuator. Other recipes could be accessed by using Page Left or Page Right actuators. 
     If it is desired to program a new recipe or modify an existing recipe, the user may press the actuator at the top right of the screen represented by an exclamation point. This brings the user to a Recipe Edit Home Screen, as shown in  FIG. 12 . The Recipe Edit Home Screen provides a list of all recipes stored in the tangible storage medium  165 . The list of recipes includes the Retard, Proof, and Bread (Bake) recipes displayed previously on the Recipe Menu Home Screen ( FIG. 11 ). The user may select any of the recipes by pressing the respective actuator. 
     For example, pressing the Retard actuator causes the display to show the Retard Recipe Program Screen of  FIG. 13 . The recipe being programmed is indicated by the word “RETARD” displayed at the top of the screen. The screen lists several parameters on the user input which may be programmed in a given recipe. For example, the parameters include Recipe Time, Recipe Set Point (temperature), Oven Humidity, Steam Cycle Start, Steam Delay, Steam On Time, Vent Close Delay, and Vent Close Time. Each of the parameters includes a parameter value display  211  (i.e., indicating the programmed value for the respective parameter) and an actuator  213  permitting the user to change the displayed value. In the illustrated case, the actuators  213  each include plus and minus buttons for increasing or decreasing the programmed value. In the Retard recipe as displayed, the Recipe Time is 60:00 minutes and the Recipe Set Point (temperature) is 38 degrees F. All of the other programmable parameters are not used or set to zero. The graphical display  201  on the screen includes a graphical representation  221  of the programmed recipe in the form of a two-dimensional bar graph adjacent the bottom of the screen. Colors used in the bar graph correspond to colors of parameter color indicators  231  (e.g., colored boxes) adjacent each programmable parameter label. The bar graph  221  represents the operational states of food preparation environment control devices used in the recipe according to the parameters displayed by the screen as a function of time (horizontal axis). The recipe has a beginning at the left side of the bar graph, an end at the right side of the bar graph, and a duration (recipe time) extending between the two ends. In this case, the graph is a solid red bar extending from the left to the right. The red color of the graph corresponds to the red color of the color indicator  231  next to the Recipe Time parameter label. The user can select whether to “chain” a second recipe to the recipe being programmed such that the control system operates the chained recipe automatically after execution of the displayed recipe. In the illustrated case, the Proof recipe is chained to the Retard recipe, as indicated by the arrow and word “PROOF” displayed at the top right of the screen. The chained recipe can be changed by adjusting the Chain parameter using a chain actuator  237  (i.e., plus or minus actuators) on the left side of the screen. The Proof recipe is the fourth recipe listed on the Recipe Edit Screen ( FIG. 12 ). Accordingly, a number  4  is displayed in the value display of the Chain parameter. When the recipe is programmed as desired, the recipe is saved to the tangible memory  165  by pressing the save actuator  239  represented by the arrow at the bottom right of the screen. Pressing the back arrow actuator  241  at the bottom left of the screen brings the user back to the Recipe Edit Home Screen, where the user can then select a different recipe to be programmed. 
       FIG. 14  shows a Proof Recipe Program Screen including similar parameters as listed on the Retard Recipe Program Screen. In this case, the Proof recipe parameters include a Recipe Time of 60:00 minutes, a Recipe Set Point (temperature) of 105 degrees F., and an Oven Humidity of 80%. All of the other parameters are turned off or set to zero. The graphical representation  251  (bar graph) of the recipe on the graphical display  201  at the bottom of the screen is similar to the bar graph  231  ( FIG. 13 ) representing the Retard recipe. The chained recipe in this case is the Bread (Bake) recipe. After the Proof recipe is programmed as desired, it is saved to the tangible storage medium  165 . 
       FIG. 15  shows a Bread Recipe Program Screen including similar parameters as listed on the prior recipe program screens. The chained recipe is programmed for “off,” such that no recipe will be automatically executed following the Bread recipe, and an alarm will sound at the end of the recipe, as indicated by the word “ALARM” at the top right of the screen. For the Bread recipe, the parameter Aux Heat Duty Cycle is provided in place of Oven Humidity. Moreover, all of the available parameters are used as part of the recipe, including steam cycle parameters Steam Delay, Steam On Time, Vent Close Delay, and Vent Close Time. It will be appreciated that the Steam Delay parameter defines an inactive operational status of the humidification system  91 , the Steam On Time defines an active operational status of the humidification system, the Vent Close Delay defines an active operational status of the venting system  103  (i.e., flue open), and the Vent Close Time defines an inactive operation status of the venting system (i.e., flue valve closed). As explained above, a steam cycle may be advantageous in a bake recipe to improve the color, taste, and/or texture of the bread crust. The programmed parameters for the displayed recipe include Recipe Time at 12:00 minutes, Recipe Set Point (temperature) at 350 degrees F., Aux Heat Duty Cycle at 60%, Steam Cycle Start at 1:00 minute, Steam Delay at 1:00 minute, Steam On Time at 1:30 minutes, Vent Close Delay at 0:30 minute, and Vent Close Time at 3:00 minutes. 
     Still referring to  FIG. 15 , the graphical representation  261  of operational status of the food preparation environment control devices used in the recipe is displayed in the graphic display  201  at the bottom of the screen and includes several colors for this recipe. The horizontal scale of the bar graph  261  is set by the recipe time of 12:00 minutes. The operational status of the food preparation environment control devices associated with the programmed parameters are displayed with respect to one another as a function of time along the bar graph  261  in proportion to the scale of the recipe time. For example, at the left side of the bar graph, a blue bar  263  corresponds to the light blue color indicator  231  of Steam Cycle Start and has a length extending from the left to the right corresponding to the programmed 1:00 minute and shown in proportion to the 12:00 minute length of the red bar (i.e., the full width of the bar graph  261 ) indicating the Recipe Time. The Steam Cycle Start bar  263  has a beginning, an end, and a duration, as with the other bars displayed on the bar graph. The Steam Cycle Start bar  263  represents a delay in the start of the steam cycle. During the Steam Cycle Start, the chamber  11  may be heated at the Recipe Set Point as a “pre-bake” before the beginning of the steam cycle. The blower  61  and heating system  71  may operate to maintain the set point temperature in the chamber  11 . At the end of the Steam Cycle Start, the steam cycle begins. The blower  61  and heating system  71  may be de-energized or turned off during the steam cycle and re-energized after the steam cycle is finished. Alternatively, the blower  61  may operate at a low speed or may be pulsed to provide gentle gas flow during the steam cycle. As shown in the graph, the steam cycle includes a beginning and an end indicated by vertically extending orange bars  265 . The duration of the steam cycle extends between the vertical bars and includes colored bars representative of different stages of the steam cycle. The steam cycle includes a first or steaming function and a second or venting function. The two functions are displayed separately on the bar graph in two rows, one above the other. The steaming function is indicated by the top row on the graph  261  and includes the stages Steam Delay and Steam On Time. The Steam Delay is indicated by a dark green bar  267  corresponding to the dark green color indicator  231  next to the Steam Delay parameter label. The Steam On Time is indicated by a yellow bar  269  corresponding to the yellow color indicator  231  next to the Steam On Time parameter label. The venting function is indicated by the bottom row on the graph and includes stages Vent Close Delay and Vent Close Time. The Vent Close Delay and Vent Close Time are indicated by a blue bar  271  and a light green bar  273 , respectively, corresponding to the blue and light green color indicators  231  next to the Vent Close Delay and Vent Close Time parameter labels. Accordingly, the stages of the two functions of the steam cycle are displayed with respect to each other as a function of time. The graphical representation of the programmed steam cycle permits a user to quickly and conveniently understand how the beginning, end, and duration of each of the functions and their stages relate to each other. For example, it is readily apparent by comparison of the beginning of the light green bar  273  at the bottom of the graph  261  to the beginning of the yellow bar  269  at the top of the graph that the steam injection (Steam On Time) is programmed to begin after the flue valve  115  is closed (Vent Close Time). The graph  261  permits the user to rapidly understand how adjustment of one or more parameters affects the recipe as a whole. The programmed parameters are saved to the tangible storage medium  165 . 
     As noted herein, the screen of the user interface  7  includes a graphical representation  221 ,  251 ,  261  of the operational statuses associated with the recipe according to the parameters displayed by the screen. When a user touches the screen and changes one of the parameters, the touch screen  7  provides command signals indicative of the changed parameter to the CPU  163 , which responds by providing corresponding control signals to the affected components and systems of the oven  1 . The CPU  163  stores the parameter changes in the tangible storage medium  165 . In addition, the CPU  163  responds to the parameter changes stored in the medium  165  by revising the graphical representation of the programmed recipe illustrated on the screen to reflect the changed parameters. Thus, the screen illustrates in real time as a bar graph the recipe according to the parameters displayed by the screen. Other graphical representations of the recipe may be displayed by the screen without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     It will be appreciated that the programmable parameters shown in the recipe program screens of  FIGS. 13, 14, and 15 , are provided by example without limitation. For example, the user interface  7  may be configured, for retard, proof, bake, or other recipes, to permit the user to program other functions such as various temperature set points at different times of a recipe, start times and run durations for the blower  61  and/or flue vent fan  113 , open times and durations for the flue valve  115  and drain valve, start and run durations for the refrigeration system  141 , and/or other parameters. This would provide the user with increased adjustability for tailoring recipes to achieve desired characteristics. Moreover, it will be understood that these parameters may be displayed in a graphical representation like discussed above. For example, if the user interface  7  permitted the user to define the start time and run duration of the blower  61  that parameter could be reflected on the bar graph in the form of a third function including a suitable bar or bars (e.g., positioned above or below the illustrated function bars). 
     An example operation of the oven will now be described with respect to the user interface views of  FIGS. 11 and 16-28 . Referring again to  FIG. 11 , a programmed recipe may be selected for execution from the Recipe Menu Home Screen. Assuming the user pressed the Retard actuator, the Retard Recipe Ready Screen of  FIG. 16  would be shown. This screen includes recipe set point indicators along the top of the screen indicating the 0% Oven Humidity, 38 degrees F. Recipe Set Point, and 60:00 minute Recipe Time previously programmed. Below the recipe set point indicators, the screen indicates the “chained” recipe by the text “Next Recipe: PROOF,” which was previously programmed. The screen also includes a time bar  301 , a start actuator  305  represented by an arrow outlined in green, and a series of operational status indicators  307  relating to the programmed parameters, including Vent Open, Steam Cycle, and Auxiliary Heater. The operational status indicators  307  are shown as active (illuminated) or inactive (dark), and may show different active colors, depending on the status of the respective parameter or food preparation environment control device at any given time during execution of the recipe. The colors shown on the operational status indicators  307  when illuminated may correspond to the colors of the parameter color indicators next to the parameter labels on the recipe program screen. 
     After the user presses the start actuator  305 , the oven will begin executing the recipe and the screen will change to the Retard Recipe Run Screen shown in  FIG. 17 . As the Retard recipe runs, the screen will look substantially the same as that displayed in  FIG. 17  for the duration of the recipe, except the time bar  301  and a countdown timer  311  (collectively or separately, broadly referred to as “countdown display”) will be continuously updated to indicate the passage of recipe time. The Vent Open operational status indicator  307  will be dark to indicate the flue valve  115  is closed. The refrigeration system  141  will be operated to maintain the 38 degrees F. set point for 60 minutes. The blower  61  may be off or operated in a relatively slow or pulsed fashion. 
     At the end of the Retard recipe, the chained Proof recipe will begin automatically, and the Proof Recipe Run Screen of  FIG. 19  will be shown. If the Proof recipe were not chained to start automatically, the user could navigate to the Proof Recipe Ready Screen shown in  FIG. 18  and press the start actuator  305  to initiate the Proof recipe. As the Proof recipe runs, the screen will look substantially the same as that displayed in  FIG. 19  for the duration of the recipe, except the time bar  301  and countdown timer  311  will be continuously updated to indicate the passage of recipe time. The Vent Open operational status indicator  307  is dark to indicate the flue valve is closed. The blower  61  and heating system  71  will operate to maintain the 105 degree F. set point, and the steam injection system  91  will operate as needed to maintain the 80% relative humidity set point for 60 minutes. Alternatively, a humidification system separate from the steam injection system  91  may be used in maintaining the 80% relative humidity set point. The blower  61  may be off or operated in a relatively slow or pulsed fashion. 
     At the end of the Proof recipe, the chained Bread (bake) recipe will begin automatically, and the Bread Recipe Run Screen of  FIG. 21  will be shown. If the Bread recipe were not chained to start automatically, the user could navigate to the Bread Recipe Ready Screen shown in  FIG. 20  and press the start actuator  305  to initiate the Bread recipe. As the Bread recipe runs, the time bar  301  and countdown timer  311  will be continuously updated to indicate the passage of recipe time, and the operational status indicators  307  will be lit and unlit based on the status of the respective parameters or food preparation environment control devices. Between countdown times 12:00 and 11:00 (e.g., at countdown time 11:45 as shown in  FIG. 21 ), the Vent Open operational status indicator  307  will be illuminated because the flue valve  115  will be open during the pre-bake before the steam cycle. Between countdown times 11:00 and 10:30 (e.g., at countdown time 10:50 as shown in  FIG. 22 ), the Steam Cycle operational status indicator  307  will be illuminated to show the steam cycle has begun. The status indicator  307  will be illuminated in blue to indicate delay before injecting steam. The blower  61  and heating system  71  may be de-energized at the beginning of the steam cycle (i.e., at the beginning of the Steam Delay stage). Desirably, this provides the blower  61  with sufficient time to “spin down” or stop rotating before steam injection begins. The Vent Open operational status indicator  307  is still illuminated. Between countdown times 10:30 and 10:00 (e.g., at countdown time 10:02 shown in  FIG. 23 ), the Vent Open operational status indicator  307  will be dark indicating the flue valve  115  is closed. The flue valve  115  is closed before steam injection so steam is not lost out of the flue when it is injected into the chamber. The Steam Cycle operational status indicator  307  is still illuminated in blue to indicate delay before steam injection. Presumably, the blower  61  has stopped or almost stopped spinning by now. Between countdown times 10:00 and 8:30 (e.g., at countdown time 9:30 as shown in  FIG. 24 ), the Vent Open operational status indicator  307  will remain dark, and the Steam Cycle operational status indicator will be illuminated in yellow to indicate steam is being injected into the chamber  11 . The yellow color corresponds to the yellow color indicator  231  next to the Steam On Time parameter label on the Bread Recipe Program Screen (see  FIG. 15 ). The blower  61  and heating system  71  may remain off, or they may be pulsed. For example, the blower  61  may be pulsed to provide minimal gas circulation in the chamber  11  to cause steam in the chamber to flow into contact with the dough. Between countdown times 8:30 and 7:30 (e.g., at countdown time 8:15 as shown in  FIG. 25 ), the Steam Cycle operational status indicator  307  will be illuminated in blue to indicate the steam injection has ended. The Vent Open operational status indicator  307  will remain dark until the end of the Vent Close Time (i.e., at countdown time 7:30). The flue valve  115  may be kept closed during this time to provide the injected steam with additional time to saturate the chamber  11  and contact the dough. At the end of the steam cycle (i.e., at countdown time 7:30), the blower  61  and heating system  71  may re-energize to bring the temperature in the chamber  11  back to the Recipe Set Point for the remainder of the recipe time. As shown in  FIG. 26 , the Auxiliary Heater operational status indicator  307  may be illuminated red for a period of time after the end of the steam cycle indicating that the auxiliary heater  75  is being used to assist the primary heater  73  in re-establishing the Recipe Set Point. The auxiliary heater  75  will be operated at the programmed Aux Heat Duty Cycle. After the Recipe Set Point is achieved again in the chamber  11  (e.g., by countdown time 3:41 as shown in  FIG. 27 ), the auxiliary heater  75  may be turned off, as indicated by the Auxiliary Heater operational status indicator  307  being dark. The blower  61  and heating system  71  operate for the remainder of the countdown time to maintain the Recipe Set Point temperature. At the end of the recipe, the time bar  301  has timed out, the countdown timer  311  shows 0:00, and an alarm may sound. 
       FIGS. 29 and 30  illustrate alternative embodiments of Bread (Bake) recipes and corresponding graphical representations  461 ,  561 . The recipe of  FIG. 29  includes similar parameters as the Bread recipe described above, except for the Steam Cycle Start parameter is 0:00, meaning the steam cycle will start at the beginning of the recipe rather than after a delay. Like the graphical representation  261 , this graphical representation  461  includes vertically extending orange bars  465  designating the steam cycle, a dark green bar  467  indicating the Steam Delay, a yellow bar  469  designating the Steam On Time, a blue bar  471  designating the Vent Close Delay, and a light green bar  473  designating the Vent Close Time. The recipe of  FIG. 30  includes similar parameters as the Bread recipe described above, except there is no delay before the start of the steam cycle, and the Steam Delay and Vent Close Delay parameters have the same values such that the steam injection begins at the same time as the flue valve  115  closes. The graphical representation  561  includes vertically extending orange bars  565  designating the steam cycle, a dark green bar  567  indicating the Steam Delay, a yellow bar  569  designating the Steam On Time, a blue bar  571  designating the Vent Close Delay, and a light green bar  573  designating the Vent Close Time. Other recipes may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the flue valve  115  may not be closed until after steam injection begins. It will be understood that the user interface permits custom tailoring of the respective variables such that recipes can be programmed by controlling parameters (e.g., operational status of different food preparation environment control devices) independently from each other. 
     It will be appreciated that the retard, proof, and bake recipes described above are provided by way of example without limitation. Other recipes may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the storage medium  165  may include instructions for executing any one of the examples below or combinations thereof. A hold recipe may be used to hold dough in a frozen or slacked state before a retard recipe. The oven  1  may be programmed for holding food such as grilled chicken, fried chicken, hamburger patties, etc. in a cooked state prior to serving. The oven  1  may be programmed to execute a retard recipe in which the steam injection system  91  is used (e.g., delivers a small volume of steam) to introduce moisture into the chamber  11  to assist in the retard process. A retard recipe may be chained directly to a bake recipe such that the oven executes a bake recipe automatically after executing a retard recipe (no intermediate proof recipe). The refrigeration system  141  may be used in a bake recipe. For example, the refrigeration system  141  may be used at or near the end of a bake recipe to rapidly cool the chamber  11  so that less heat emits from the oven when opened by a user and/or so that the baked bread cools more rapidly and can be served for consumption more quickly. The active venting flue fan  113  and/or the refrigeration system  141  may be used at or near the end of a bake recipe and/or between a bake recipe and a proof recipe for rapidly cooling the chamber  11 . Retard, proof, and/or bake recipes may include different temperature set points at various times of the recipe. 
     The following 60 minute retard recipes, which the storage medium  15  may include instructions for executing, are provided as additional examples, including various stages listed in order of execution: 1) 20 minutes at 35 degrees F., 20 minutes at 45 degrees F., and 20 minutes at 55 degrees F.; 2) 20 minutes at 65 degrees F., 20 minutes at 60 degrees F., and 20 minutes at 50 degrees F.; 3) 10 minutes at 100 degrees F., 20 minutes at 60 degrees F., and 30 minutes at 50 degrees F.; 4) 20 minutes at 100 degrees F., 20 minutes at 40 degrees F., and 20 minutes at 65 degrees F.; and 5) 20 minutes at 40 degrees F., 20 minutes at 100 degrees F., and 20 minutes at 50 degrees F. Accordingly, the oven  1  may be programmed with retard recipes in which there are multiple stages including differently programmed parameters, in which multiple stages include different durations, in which not only the refrigeration system but also the heating system is used, in which the recipe set point temperature increases over the recipe duration, in which the recipe set point temperature decreases over the recipe duration, in which the recipe set point temperature increases then decreases over the recipe duration, and/or in which the recipe set point temperature decreases then increases over the recipe duration. Desirably, at the end of a retard recipe, the dough is about 50 to 55 degrees F. It may be desirable to heat the dough for a duration of the retard recipe to decrease the time required to bring the dough to such a temperature, or to bring the dough to such a temperature more evenly (i.e., inside and out). It will be appreciated that the 60 minute retard recipe time is provided as an example without limitation. The recipe times may be longer or shorter without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     In an aspect of the present invention, the oven  1  may be programed to provide a user with a warning indication that the end of a recipe is upcoming. The warning indication may be an audio (e.g., an alarm such as a chirp or beep) and/or visual (e.g., flash of the lights  83  inside the chamber  11 ) indication. For example, the storage medium  165  may include instructions to provide a warning indication when there is 5, 4, 3, 2, and/or 1, etc. minutes remaining on a given recipe (e.g., retard, proof, or bake recipe). This may be useful to remind a user to check on the performance of a recipe while it is being executed and to prompt the user to determine whether the recipe should be altered before it ends. For example, as shown in  FIGS. 17, 19, and 21 , the run screens for the retard, proof, and bake recipes each include, to the right of the countdown timer, a “plus one minute” actuator represented by “+1” outlined in blue. If a user notices that a certain execution of a recipe could benefit from additional time (e.g., bread not fully retarded, proofed, or baked), the user can press the “+1” actuator to lengthen the recipe in increments of one minute per press of the actuator. The warning indicator may be particularly helpful when recipes are chained together and the user would like to modify (e.g., lengthen) the recipe being executed before the control system automatically starts the next recipe. The next recipe may include significantly different parameters (e.g., temperature, humidity, etc.) such that after the next recipe starts, it would be difficult for the user to quickly recreate the conditions in the chamber used for the previous recipe. 
     It will be appreciated that food preparation apparatus such as the oven  1  described herein may be used for programming and testing new food preparation recipes. For example, the oven  1  may be used to program retarding, proofing, and/or baking recipes thought to impart desirable characteristics (e.g., taste, texture, color) on baked bread. The graphic representation of the recipes provides convenient understanding of how the programmed relate to each other as a function of time and how modification of various parameters affects the recipe as a whole. The oven can be used to execute the programmed recipes, and if satisfactory, the tested recipes can be used to program production ovens. For example, the tested recipes may be copied from the tangible memory  165  to a USB flash drive (or other portable tangible memory) for uploading to other ovens (e.g., located in remote food service stores). 
     It will be understood that the user interface  7  disclosed herein has broader applicability than merely for food preparation apparatus such as the oven discussed herein. For example, the user interface  7  may be used in other recipe-implementing apparatus in which it may be desirable to display a graphic representation of a recipe with respect to time. For example without limitation, such a user interface  7  may be used in conjunction with a dish washer (ware washer), clothes washer, food holding cabinet, etc. Recipes having multiple functions and/or multiple stages can be shown graphically with respect to time to facilitate user comprehension of the recipes as programmed. Recipe-implementing apparatus other than ovens or food preparation apparatus may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 31-39 , an embodiment of a dough preparation apparatus, which may be referred to as a dough preparation work station, is generally indicated at reference number  1010 . The dough preparation apparatus  1010  includes a cabinet  1012  having separate left and right dough preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015  ( FIGS. 33 and 34 ) that are arranged side-by-side. Other numbers of chambers (e.g., one, three, four, etc.) can be provided without departing from the scope of the present invention. The cabinet  1012  has a counter  1016  above the first and second dough preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015 . The counter  1016  has an exposed upper work surface positioned at about waist height of an average adult person when standing. As explained in further detail below, the dough preparation apparatus  1010  includes multiple chamber conditioning systems configured to independently adjust various environmental conditions of the left and right dough preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015 . As will be appreciated, the dough preparation apparatus  1010  provides a multipurpose dough preparation station for user handling and automated processing of frozen dough prior to proofing. 
     To automate and precisely control various dough preparation processes, the dough preparation apparatus  1010  includes a control system  1018  that, as shown schematically in  FIG. 42 , comprises a memory  1020  for storing a plurality of dough preparation recipes. As explained below, a user can select a recipe using a user interface  1022 , whereby a controller  1024  reads the selected recipe from the memory  1020  and executes the recipe in a selected one of the left and right chambers  1014 ,  1015  using one or more of the chamber conditioning systems. Exemplary recipes discussed in greater detail below may be configured to slowly thaw dough from a frozen state to a slacked or thawed state and maintain the dough in the slacked or thawed state for extended durations; condition dough from the slacked or thawed state to a conditioned state in which the dough is ready for proofing; hold dough in the conditioned state for a period of time; rapidly thaw dough from a frozen state to the slacked or thawed state; and/or hold dough in a frozen state prior to thawing. As will be appreciated, these exemplary recipes can be used to precisely control aspects of preparing frozen dough for subsequent proofing and baking. It will be appreciated that the dough preparation apparatus provides precise control of the thawing, conditioning, and holding environments. Baked products having improved characteristics are possible because of the consistency and precise control over the preparation environments in the chambers  1014 ,  1015 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 31-33 and 37 , the cabinet  1012  includes a plurality of insulated walls, some of which define portions of the left and right dough preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015 . A bottom wall  1030  extends along a width W ( FIG. 32 ) of the cabinet  1012  from a left side margin to a right side margin. The bottom wall  1030  likewise extends along a depth D ( FIG. 31 ) of the cabinet from a front edge margin to a rear edge margin. In the illustrated embodiment, the bottom wall  1030  is mounted on casters  1032  that allow the dough preparation apparatus  1010  to be rolled over a support surface S ( FIG. 32 ). It will be understood that the cabinet may also be supported on the floor in other ways (e.g., by fixed feet, etc.). 
     A rear insulating wall  1033  ( FIG. 37 ) extends up from adjacent a rear edge margin of the bottom wall  1030  and extends generally along the width W of the cabinet  1012 . In certain embodiments, the rear wall  1033  is formed from separate left and right rear insulating panels. The rear wall may also be formed from a single panel or more than two panels in other embodiments. As will be explained in further detail below, various components of the chamber conditioning systems are mounted on the cabinet  1012  to the rear of the rear insulating wall  1033 . In the illustrated embodiment, a lower portion of the rear wall  1033  is positioned forward of an upper portion of the rear wall to provide additional space behind the lower portion of the rear wall for receiving larger components of the chamber conditioning systems. The chamber conditioning systems include components that extend through the rear wall  1033  to communicate with the left and right dough preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015 . As discussed in further detail below, the rear insulating wall  1033  partially defines air handling ducts (broadly, “ducting”) used to control the environmental conditions of the left and right chambers  1014 ,  1015 . As shown in  FIGS. 37 and 38 , a rear access panel  1035  covers some of the system components mounted on the rear insulating wall  1033 . 
     A plurality of parallel, vertically oriented walls  1034 ,  1036 ,  1038  that extend up from the bottom wall and along the depth D of the cabinet  1012  define the sides of the left and right chambers  1014 ,  1015 . A left side wall  1034  extends up from adjacent the left side edge margin of the bottom wall  1030  and a right side wall  1036  extends up from adjacent the right side edge margin. A partition wall  1038  ( FIGS. 33 and 35 ) oriented generally parallel to the left and right side walls  1034 ,  1036  extends up from the bottom wall  1030  at a location spaced apart between the left and right side walls. In the illustrated embodiment, the partition wall  1038  is positioned at about a midpoint along the width W of the cabinet  1012 , but it may also be located at other positions (e.g. at about a one-quarter point along the width of the cabinet or at about a one-third point along the width of the cabinet, etc.) without departing from the scope of the invention. The partition wall  1038  divides the interior of the cabinet between the left and right dough preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015 , such that the left dough preparation chamber extends between the left side wall  1034  and the partition wall and the right dough preparation chamber extends between the partition wall and the right side wall  1036 . 
     Desirably, each of the bottom wall  1030 , the rear wall  1033 , the left side wall  1034 , the right side wall  1036 , and the partition wall  1038  are formed from a thermally insulating material such as an encapsulated, rigid foam. Thus, the left and right dough preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015  may be thermally separated or isolated from one another and the ambient environment. As explained below, the thermal or environmental separation of the two chambers  1014 ,  1015  allows the chamber conditioning systems to control the environmental conditions of each chamber separately. If desired, the two chambers  1014 ,  1015  can be used at the same time to carry out different dough preparation recipes or the same recipe. 
     The counter  1016  is desirably positioned on the cabinet  1012  at an elevation at which a user may rest dough or containers (e.g., pans) of dough when handling the dough before, after, and/or during dough preparation recipes carried out by the apparatus  1010  or in conducting other dough preparation work. In the illustrated embodiment, the top surface of the counter  1016  is spaced apart from the support surface S by a height H ( FIG. 32 ). The height H may, for example, be in an inclusive range of from about 30 inches to about 50 inches, and more desirably in an inclusive range from about 32 inches to about 40 inches. Part or all of the counter  1016  may also be used as a temporary or permanent storage shelf for supporting various items, such as countertop food preparation appliances, food storage containers, food processing implements, etc. In the illustrated embodiment, the counter  1016  forms the top wall of the cabinet  1012 . The illustrated counter  1016  comprises an insulating material to environmentally isolate the dough preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015  from the ambient environment. In other embodiments, the counter may be positioned above an insulating top wall of the chambers  1014 ,  1015  such that the counter need not be insulated. Desirably, the exterior surfaces of the cabinet  1012  (and the other surfaces of the cabinet) are formed by a hard and durable material (e.g., sheet metal) to withstand the rigors of frequent use. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 31-34 , an over-shelf  1040  is mounted on the cabinet  1012 . The over-shelf  1040  includes a left wall  1042 , a right vertical wall  1044 , and an intermediate vertical wall  1046  that are oriented parallel to each other and spaced apart from one another along the width W of the cabinet  1012 . A horizontal shelf  1048  is supported on the top ends of the vertical walls  1042 ,  1044 ,  1046 . The over-shelf  1040  extends forward from the rear of the cabinet  1012  and has a depth that is substantially less than the depth D of the cabinet. Thus the over-shelf  1040  does not obstruct access to the front end portion of the counter  1016 . The over-shelf  1040  defines storage space below the over-shelf. In the illustrated embodiment, the over-shelf defines a left storage cavity or cubby  1050  that extends between the left vertical wall  1042  and the intermediate vertical wall  1046  and a right storage cavity or cubby  1052  that extends between the intermediate vertical wall and the right vertical wall  1044 . The cubbies  1050 ,  1052  may include lower shelves (not shown) or may receive various items that are supported on the counter  1016 . Electrical outlets (e.g., power connectors) for powering appliances and the like may be provided on or adjacent the over-shelf  1040 . Hooks  1054  are mounted on the front surface of the horizontal shelf member  1048  to provide hanging storage. In the illustrated embodiment, the over-shelf  1040  supports the control system  1018 , but the control system can be positioned in association with the cabinet  1012  in other ways (e.g., supported or mounted on the cabinet in other positions or orientations, or supported or mounted adjacent the cabinet) without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 33-36 , the cabinet  1012  includes a front frame  1060  at the front end portions of the counter  1016  and the bottom, left side, right side, and partition walls  1030 ,  1034 ,  1036 ,  1038  of the cabinet. The front frame  1016  defines a left opening  1064  and a right opening  1065 . The left opening  1064  provides access to the left dough preparation chamber  1014 , and the right opening  1065  provides access to the right dough preparation chamber  1015 . 
     In the illustrated embodiment, first and second left chamber doors  1074 A,  1074 B are mounted on the cabinet to selectively cover the left opening  1064  and first and second right chamber doors  1075 A,  1075 B are mounted on the cabinet to selectively cover the right opening  1065 . The first and second left chamber doors  1074 A,  1074 B are pivotably mounted on the front frame  1060  of the cabinet  1012  on opposite sides of the left chamber opening  1065  for pivoting between a closed position ( FIGS. 31 and 32 ) and an open position ( FIGS. 33 and 34 ). The first and second right chamber doors  1075 A,  1075 B are likewise pivotably mounted on the front frame  1060  on opposite sides of the right chamber opening  1065  for pivoting movement between a closed position and an open position. Each door  1074 A,  1074 B,  1075 A,  1075 B includes a gasket or other seal for sealingly engaging the front frame  1060  to environmentally seal the respective chamber opening  1064 ,  1065  from the ambient environment. The doors  1074 A,  1074 B,  1075 A,  1075 B may be constructed, for example, from a material that provides insulation between the left and right dough preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015  and the ambient environment (e.g., encapsulated foam, glass, etc.). 
     The dough preparation apparatus  1010  may be constructed so that containers (e.g., trays or forms, etc.) containing dough may be loaded or unloaded from either of the left and right dough preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015  when one of the respective doors  1074 A,  1074 B,  1075 A,  1075 B is open. In the illustrated embodiment, first and second pairs of chamber racks  1084 A,  1084 B  1085 A,  1085 B are positioned in each of the left and right dough preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015  in a side-by-side arrangement. In the illustrated embodiment, the first left chamber rack  1084 A is positioned in the left side portion of the left dough preparation chamber  1014 , in general alignment with the first left chamber door  1075 A along the width W of the cabinet  1012 ; and the second left chamber rack  1084 B is positioned in the right side portion of the left dough preparation chamber  1014 , in general alignment with the second left chamber door  1075 B along the width W of the cabinet  1012 . Similarly, the first right chamber rack  1085 A is positioned in the left side portion of the right dough preparation chamber  1015 , in general alignment with the first left chamber door  1075 A along the width W of the cabinet  1012 ; and the second right chamber rack  1085 B is positioned in the right side portion of the right dough preparation chamber  1015 , in general alignment with the second right chamber door  1075 B along the width W of the cabinet  1012 . 
     Each rack  1084 A,  1084 B  1085 A,  1085 B includes a plurality of guide rails  1086  extending laterally from rack support walls  1088 . The guide rails  1086  of each rack  1084 A,  1084 B,  1085 A,  1085 B are vertically spaced apart from one another along the height of the respective chamber  1014 ,  1015 . Each of the illustrated guide rails  1086  is formed by a cutout of the rack wall  1088  that is folded inward to a horizontal orientation. The guide rails  1086  are arranged vertically in operative pairs. Each operative pair forms a guide for slidably guiding suitably sized and shaped containers (e.g., trays, pans, and/or forms) onto the respective racks  1084 A,  1084 B  1085 A,  1085 B and into the respective dough preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015 . Other rack configurations can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     As shown in  FIG. 36 , when the second left chamber door  1074 B is open but the other chamber doors  1074 A,  1075 A,  1075 B are closed, a container containing the dough may be slid into the chamber  1014  and onto the rack  1084 B using the guide rails  1086 . Similarly, when any one of the other chamber doors  1074 A,  1075 A,  1075 B is open, a container containing the dough may slide into the respective chamber  1015  and onto the respective rack  1084 A,  1085 A,  1085 B using the guide rails  1086 . Accordingly, the arrangement of doors  1074 A,  1074 B,  1075 A,  1075 B and racks  1084 A,  1084 B,  1085 A,  1085 B in the illustrated embodiment allows a portion of the chamber opening  1064 ,  1065  corresponding generally to the width of the container or the width of the rack  1084 A,  1084 B (in this case, about one-half of the respective chamber opening  1064 ,  1065 ) to be uncovered during loading and unloading of dough from the chamber  1014 ,  1015 . This helps minimize exposure of the environmentally controlled chambers  1014 ,  1015  to the ambient environment during loading and unloading. 
     Referring to  FIG. 37 , the dough preparation apparatus  1010  includes walls arranged in the interior of the cabinet  1012  for providing recirculation ducting for delivering supply air to each of the dough preparation cavities  1014 ,  1015  and exhausting return air from each of the dough preparation cavities.  FIG. 37  depicts the left dough preparation cavity  1014 , and it will be understood that the ducting arrangement in the right cavity  1015  is generally the same. 
     As shown in  FIG. 37 , the recirculation ducting includes a supply duct  1090  defined by the bottom surface of the counter  1016 , an internal divider wall  1092 , and an internal supply wall  1094 . An upper segment of the internal divider wall  1092  extends downward from the counter  1016  in parallel, spaced apart relationship with the upper portion of the rear cabinet wall  1033 . As discussed in further detail below, a fan  1096  is mounted on the internal divider wall for moving air through the recirculation ducting. A lower portion of the internal divider wall  1092  slopes forward to a bottom end that is joined to the bottom end of the internal supply wall  1094 . The internal supply wall  1094  includes an upstream segment that extends upward from the bottom end, an intermediate segment that angles upward and forward from the upstream segment, and a downstream segment that extends forward from the upper end of the intermediate segment, generally in parallel spaced apart relationship with the bottom surface of the counter  1016 . The supply duct  1090  has a supply outlet  1098  (e.g., one or more openings provided in a forward end of the supply duct) adjacent the top front corner of the left dough preparation chamber  1014 . Air passes from the supply duct  1090  to the chamber  1014  through the outlet  1098 . 
     The return duct  1100  is defined by the front surface of the rear wall  1033 , the internal divider wall  1092 , and an internal return wall  1102 . The internal return wall  1102  has a lower upstream segment that extends upward from a lower end at an inlet  1104  of the return duct  110 . An intermediate segment of the return wall  1102  angles upward and rearward from the top end of the upstream segment to a lower end of a downstream segment. The downstream segment extends upward from the lower end, generally in parallel spaced apart relationship with the upper segment of the rear wall  1033 , to the location where the lower end of the diver wall  1092  is joined to the lower end of the internal supply wall  1094 . The internal divider wall  1092  separates the downstream end portion of the return duct  1100  from the upstream end portion of the supply duct  1090 . As explained below, the fan  1096  is configured to recirculate air from the chamber  1014  back to the chamber via the return duct  1100  and the supply duct  1090 . As explained in further detail below, the air is conditioned in the recirculation ducting for controlling one or more environmental conditions within the respective dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015 . It will be appreciated that recirculation ducting having configurations other than described and illustrated herein can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     As mentioned above, the dough preparation apparatus  1010  includes multiple chamber conditioning systems that are configured to control the environmental conditions of the left and right dough preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015  independently. Referring to  FIG. 39 , the illustrated dough preparation apparatus  1010  includes a humidity control system, generally indicated at  1110 , configured to independently control the humidity of each of the dough preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015 , and a temperature control system, generally indicated at  1112 , configured to independently control the temperature in each of the first and second dough preparation chambers. Other numbers and types of chamber conditioning systems can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     The temperature control system  1112  comprises a multiplexed refrigeration system including a common compressor  1120 , condenser  1121 , and receiver  1122  and including separate evaporator coils  1124 ,  1125  ( FIG. 34 ) for the left and right dough preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015 . In the illustrated embodiment, the refrigeration system further includes a common accumulator  1128  upstream of the compressor  1120 , but the refrigeration system may lack an accumulator or use chamber-specific accumulators without departing from the scope of the present invention. Moreover, other types of refrigeration systems can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     Each evaporator coil  1124 ,  1125  is operatively connected to the respective dough preparation chamber to provide cooling. In the illustrated embodiment, each evaporator coil  1124 ,  1125  is positioned in the respective supply duct  1090 , adjacent and downstream from the fan  1096 . As shown in  FIG. 40 , the fan  1096  in each chamber  1014 ,  1015  is configured to blow recirculated air from the return air duct  1100  along a temperature control flow path TP that passes through the respective evaporator coil  1124 ,  1125  and the respective supply duct  1090 , out the outlet  1098  of the supply duct, and into the respective dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015 . The evaporator coil  1124 ,  1125  removes heat from the recirculated air as the air passes over the coil. After passing through the dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015 , the temperature control flow path enters the return duct  1100  at the return inlet  1104 . The air flows through the return duct  1100  and is recirculated by the fan  1096 . 
     To provide independent control of the refrigeration of each of the left and right dough preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015 , the flow of refrigerant from the common receiver  1122  to each evaporator coil  1124 ,  1125  is independently controlled by a multiplexer, generally indicated at  1130 , as shown in  FIG. 39 . The refrigerant from the receiver  1122  travels along a single liquid line  1131  until it reaches a flow divider  1132  of the multiplexer  1130 . Subsequently, a portion of the refrigerant flows through a left chamber liquid line  1134  to the left evaporator coil  1124  and the remainder of the refrigerant flows through a right liquid line  1135  to the right evaporator coil  1125 . A first solenoid valve  1144  operatively coupled to the left liquid line  1134  controls the flow of liquid refrigerant to the left evaporator coil  1124 , and a second solenoid valve  1145  operatively coupled to the right liquid line  1135  controls the flow of liquid refrigerant to the right evaporator coil  1125 . 
     As shown schematically in  FIG. 34 , each illustrated evaporator coil  1124 ,  1125  is fitted with a heating element  1154 ,  1155  (e.g., on or in the evaporator coils  1124 ,  1125 ). Each heating element  1154 ,  1155  serves two functions in the dough preparation apparatus  1010 . First, the heating element  1154 ,  1155  functions as a defrosting device for defrosting the respective evaporator coil  1124 ,  1125 . Second, the heating element  1154 ,  1155  functions as a heating element in a heating system for heating the respective one of the dough preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015 . Thus, in the illustrated embodiment, each heating element  1154 ,  1155  is operatively connected to the respective dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015  to heat the dough preparation chamber and thereby warm dough positioned therein. More specifically, each heating element  1154 ,  1155  is positioned in the respective supply duct  1090  adjacent the fan  1096  (at about the same location as the respective evaporator coil  1124 ,  1125 ). As shown in  FIG. 40 , each fan  1096  is configured to blow recirculated air from the return air duct  1100  along a temperature control flow path TP that passes through the respective evaporator coil  1124 ,  1125 , through the downstream end of the respective supply duct  1090 , out the outlet  1099  of the supply duct, and into the respective dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015 . The heating element  1154 ,  1155  heats the recirculated air as it passes over the heating element to heat the respective chamber  1014 ,  1015 . 
     To provide closed loop temperature control, the dough preparation apparatus includes at least one temperature sensor  1158  for sensing a temperature of the dough preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015 . Each temperature sensor  1158  is operatively coupled to the respective dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015  to provide an output signal representative of a temperature of the respective dough preparation chamber. In the illustrated embodiment, one temperature sensor  1158  is positioned in the return air duct  1100  of each of the dough preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015 . Temperature sensors can be provided in other locations or omitted without departing from the scope of the present invention. As explained below, the controller  1024  receives and uses the output signals from the temperature sensors  1158  when carrying out dough preparation recipes. 
     It will be understood that other kinds of temperature control systems for controlling the temperatures of first and second dough preparation chambers independently can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, instead of using a multiplexed refrigeration system to cool the chambers, other separate refrigeration systems can be provided for each chamber. Likewise, instead of using a heating system comprising separate heating elements located at the evaporator coils of the refrigeration system, a temperature control system could include a multiplexed heating system or a heating system with separate heating elements in other locations. Other variations are also possible. Moreover, it will be appreciated that the illustrated temperature control system  1112  operates as a closed-loop system, but open-loop or time-based systems (e.g., without sensors) can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 39 , the humidity control system  1110  includes left and right humidifiers  1164 ,  1165  that are mounted on the rear wall  1033  of the cabinet  1012 . The left humidifier  1164  is configured to supply humidity to the left dough preparation chamber  1014  and the right humidifier  1165  is configured to supply humidity to the right dough preparation chamber  1015 . In the illustrated embodiment, each humidifier  1164 ,  1165  is a cool air ultrasonic humidifier (e.g., ultrasonic mister), but other types of humidifiers can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. It will be understood that the humidity control system could be a multiplexed system, instead of comprising separate humidifiers. 
     In addition to the humidifiers  1164 ,  1165 , the humidity control system  1110  includes other components. For example, the humidity control system  1110  includes a filter  1166  that is fluidly connected to a water supply. The filter  1166  is located upstream of the humidifiers  1164 ,  1165  within the humidity control system  1110 . The filter  1166  is configured to filter supply water before it is received by the humidifiers. The humidity control system  110  also includes a buffer tank  1168  upstream of the humidifiers  1164 ,  1165  for storing and pretreating a volume of filtered water before supplying it to the humidifiers. Conduits (not shown) extend from the buffer tank  1168  to the humidifiers  1164 ,  1165  to carry the filtered and treated water from the buffer tank to the humidifier. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 39 and 41  each humidifier  1164 ,  1165  is configured to generate moisture-entrained air. A supply conduit  1170  extends from each humidifier  1164 ,  1165  to supply the moisture-entrained air to the respective dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015 . In the illustrated embodiment each supply conduit  1170  extends from the top end of the respective humidifier  1164 ,  1165  and has an outlet end positioned immediately upstream of the fan  1096 . Each humidifier  1164  also has a return conduit  1172  that has an inlet end located within the return air duct  1100  of the respective chamber  1014 ,  1015 . As explained below, each humidifier  1164 ,  1165  receives air from the return air duct  1100  through the return conduit  1172  and uses the return air to humidify the respective chamber  1014 ,  1015 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 41 , the humidity control system  1110  is configured to direct moisture-entrained air through each of the dough preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015  along a humidity control flow path HP to increase the humidity within the respective chamber. More specifically, the fan  1096  (and, in some embodiments, an internal humidifier fan, not shown) draws moisture-entrained air out of the outlet of the respective supply conduit  1170  and drives the moisture-entrained air through the respective supply duct  1090 . The moisture-entrained air flows out of the outlet  1098  of the supply duct  1090  into the respective chamber  1014 ,  1015 . Recirculated air is drawn from the return inlet  1104  through the return duct  1100  and into the return conduit  1172  of the respective humidifier  1164 ,  1165 . The humidifier  1164 ,  1165  entrains moisture in the recirculated air and the flow cycle repeats. 
     To control the amount of humidity that the humidity control system  1110  provides to each chamber  1014 ,  1015 , the humidity control system is configured to provide moisture-entrained air to each of the chambers at an independently controllable duty cycle. For example, over a predetermined period of time (i.e., a humidity cycle period), each humidifier  1164 ,  1165  may be “on” or “active,” delivering moisture-entrained air to the respective chamber  1014 ,  1015 , for a certain percentage of the time period, and “off” or “inactive,” not delivering any moisture to the respective chamber, for the remainder of the time period. The duty cycle for each humidifier  1064 ,  1065 , which may be set by the controller  1024  as explained below, is the percentage of each predetermined time period during which the humidifier  1164 ,  1165  is “on” or “active” and delivering moisture to the respective chamber  1014 ,  1015 . Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the illustrated humidity control system  1110  operates as an open-loop or time-based system, but a closed-loop (e.g., including a humidity sensor  1182  ( FIG. 42 )) can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     Although the illustrated embodiment includes multiple chamber conditioning systems including a humidity control system  1110  and a temperature control system  1112 , it will be understood that other numbers and/or other types of chamber conditioning systems can be provided without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     As shown schematically in  FIG. 42 , the control system  1018  of the dough preparation apparatus includes the controller  1024  (e.g., dough preparation controller), which may be a microprocessor, programmable logic controller, or the like. The memory  1020 , which is operatively connected to the controller, is a tangible storage medium (e.g., including forms of storage such as software  1020 A and firmware  1020 B). The control system  1018  includes interconnection electronics  1180  that operatively connect the various components of the control system  1018  with other components of the dough preparation apparatus, such as the user interface  1022 , the temperature control system  1112 , the humidity control system  1110 , the temperature sensors  1158 , and optional humidity sensors  1182  that are operatively connected to the dough preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015  for sensing humidity therein. For example, the interconnection electronics  1180  may include electrical or fiber optic lines or wireless communication devices. The controller  1024  is adapted for reading and executing instructions stored in the memory  1020 , and is responsive to the user interface  1022 , for controlling the various components and systems of the dough preparation apparatus  1010 . A user can enter or modify instructions stored in the memory  1020  via the user interface  1022 . In the illustrated embodiment, the user interface  1022  is a touch screen, as explained in further detail below. Other types of user interfaces can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. The user interface  1022  provides command signals via the interconnection electronics  1180  to the controller  1024 . The command signals can include execution instructions that direct the controller  1024  to execute one or more of the recipes stored on the memory  1020  in one of the dough preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015  using the components of the dough preparation apparatus  1010 . The controller  1024  responds to the command signals and provides control signals corresponding thereto via the interconnection electronics  1180  to the various components and systems of the apparatus  1010 . 
     Referring again to  FIG. 31 , in the illustrated embodiment, the control system  1018  includes a touchscreen user interface  1022  that is mounted on the over-shelf  1040  in a housing  1184 . The control system  1018  may be an all-in-one device in the sense that the housing  1184  for the user interface  1022  may also contain the memory  1020  and the controller  1024  of the control system  1018 . It will be understood that, in other embodiments, the resources of the control system  1018  may be distributed across multiple devices and/or locations. By supporting or mounting the user interface on the over-shelf  1040  (or other suitable location adjacent the upper end of the cabinet  1012 ), the user interface  1022  is readily associated with the dough preparation apparatus and positioned for easy user access during dough preparation. It will be understood that a user interface can be associated with the cabinet  1012  in other ways without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, instead of being supported on the over-shelf  1040 , the user interface could be supported on the work top  1016  or elsewhere on the apparatus  1010  (e.g., one or more of the doors  1074 A,  1074 B,  1075 A,  1075 B). In still other embodiments, the user interface could be mounted or supported independent from the apparatus  1010  (e.g., but adjacent to the apparatus). 
     As will be described in further detail below, the control system  1018  permits the user to initiate various “dough preparation recipes” using the dough preparation apparatus. The recipes may be stored on the memory  1020  and include control instructions that define various parameters of the apparatus  1010  during execution of the respective recipe. The parameters can define operational states (e.g., active or inactive) of the chamber conditioning systems, such as the humidity control system  1110  and the temperature control system  1112 , etc. For example, start times and durations of various stages of a recipe can be defined with respect to a recipe time (e.g., countdown time). As explained below, the user interface  1022  may display to the user in graphical format operational states of the chamber conditioning systems and recipes for enhanced user understanding of the recipe. This may be particularly useful when a recipe includes combined functions such as humidification and temperature control, which may include stages and/or operational states having overlapping or sequential durations. For example, operational states for the food preparation environment control devices may include the state of being “active” (e.g., “on”) or “inactive” (e.g., “off”). 
     Referring to  FIG. 43 , the illustrated memory  1020  stores five recipes  1202 ,  1204 ,  1205 ,  1206 ,  1208  that can be used in various ways to prepare dough for proofing and baking. Each of the recipes  1202 ,  1204 ,  1205 ,  1206 ,  1208  defines control instructions for controlling one or more environmental conditions of a dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015  using one or more of the chamber conditioning systems  1110 ,  1112 . As explained below, any of the recipes  1202 ,  1204 ,  1205 ,  1206 ,  1208  may be selectively executed in either of the dough preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015  based on inputs the user provides to the user interface  1022 . The illustrated memory  1020  stores a frozen holding recipe  1202 , a slow thawing or slacking recipe  1204 , a fast thawing or slacking recipe  1205 , a dough conditioning recipe  1206 , and a conditioned holding (e.g., retarding) recipe  1208 , which are configured for preparing dough prior to proofing. It will be understood that the memory may store other recipes, such as other thawing recipes, conditioning recipes, holding recipes, proofing recipes, and/or baking recipes, retarding recipes, etc., without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 44 , each of the illustrated recipes  1202 ,  1204 ,  1206 ,  1208  includes a plurality of parameters defined by a recipe template  1210 . In general, the recipe template  1210  provides a uniform list of parameters that define the recipes and are used to provide control instructions for controlling one or more environmental conditions of a dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015  using one or more of the chamber conditioning systems  1110 ,  1112 . It will be understood that recipes may have other templates or be formatted independently of one another without departing from the scope of the present invention. As explained below, the controller  1224  is configured to read recipes formatted according to the template  1210  and execute the control instructions of the recipe using the temperature control system  1112  and the humidity control system  1110 . 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the recipe template  1210  includes a temperature set point parameter  1212  for controlling the temperature control system  1112  using closed loop control. The recipe template  1210  also includes humidity control parameters  1214 ,  1216 , including a humidity duty cycle and a humidity period, for controlling the humidity control system  1110  using duty cycle control (i.e., alternating timed periods of activity and inactivity). Parameters suitable for other control schemes may also be used to control the temperature control system and/or the humidity control system. The recipe template  1210  defines Boolean logic parameters  1220 ,  1222  that determine whether the heating system of the temperature control system  1112  and the humidity system  1110 , respectively, are active (parameter set to True) or inactive (parameter set to False) during execution of the recipe. The refrigeration system of the temperature control system  1112  is always active based on the illustrated recipe template  1210 . However, other recipe templates could include a parameter for selectively activating the refrigeration system in different recipes. Finally, the recipe template  1210  includes a duration parameter  1224  that determines a recipe duration and a next recipe parameter  1226  that provides a pointer to another recipe for automatically switching from one recipe to the next after a recipe duration has elapsed. For recipes having indefinite runtimes, each of the parameters  1224  and  1226  are set to NA. Other recipe templates can include additional and/or different parameters, and other recipe conventions can be used, without departing from the scope of the invention. As used herein, the term “recipe” can refer to a single recipe, or multiple (e.g., sequential) recipes or recipe stages making up a combined recipe. 
     As shown in Table 1 below, in one embodiment, the frozen holding recipe  1202  sets the Boolean logic parameters  1220 ,  1222  to False to provide an indication that neither the heating system of the temperature control system  1112  nor the humidity system  1110  is to be used during execution of the frozen holding recipe. It will be understood, however, that the heating elements  1154 ,  1155  may nonetheless be used in their capacity of evaporator coil defrosting elements (independent from a dough preparation recipe) during the frozen holding recipe to defrost the evaporator coils  1124 ,  1125 . Because the humidity on parameter  1222  is set to false, the humidity control parameters  1214 ,  1216  are set to NA. The recipe shown in Table 1 defines a frozen holding recipe that has an unlimited duration, as indicated by the duration and next recipe parameters  1224 ,  1226  being set to NA. After initiation of the frozen holding recipe  1202  in one of the chambers  1014 ,  1015 , the controller will not initiate another recipe in the chamber until the user interface  1022  receives a user input initiating another recipe. In the illustrated embodiment, the frozen holding temperature set point parameter  1212  is set to 27° F. Thus, when the illustrated frozen holding recipe  1202  is executed, the controller operates the refrigeration system of the temperature control system  1112  in a closed loop manner to maintain the refrigeration system at about 27° F. The frozen holding recipe  1202  is therefore configured to freeze dough and/or maintain dough in a frozen state for an extended duration. It will be understood that the frozen holding recipe  1202  may define other frozen holding temperature set points, such as a frozen holding temperature set point in an inclusive range of from about 0° F. to about 32° F., and more desirably in an inclusive range from about 0° F. to about 20° F., without departing from the scope of the present invention. The parameters of the frozen holding recipe can also vary from those shown in Table 1 in other ways without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
             
               
                   
                 TABLE 1 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Parameter 
                 Value 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
                 Temperature Set Point (° F.) 
                 27 
               
               
                   
                 Humidity Duty Cycle (%) 
                 NA 
               
               
                   
                 Humidity Period (s) 
                 NA 
               
               
                   
                 Humidity on 
                 False 
               
               
                   
                 Heat on 
                 False 
               
               
                   
                 Duration (hr) 
                 NA 
               
               
                   
                 Next Recipe 
                 NA 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     The slow thawing recipe  1204  and the fast thawing recipe  1205  define instructions for controlling environmental conditions of a dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015  using the humidity control system  1110  and the temperature control system  1112  to thaw dough in the dough preparation chamber from a frozen state to a slacked or thawed state. For purposes of this disclosure, dough in a “slacked state” will be understood to mean dough that is partially-thawed (at a higher temperature relative to its previous temperature) and ready for being worked in one or more dough preparation processes (e.g., scoring, stretching, seasoning, etc.). As explained below, the slow thawing recipe  1204  is configured when executed to slowly thaw frozen dough to a slacked or thawed state and to hold the slacked or thawed dough in the slacked or thawed state. Desirably, dough in the slacked or thawed state has an internal temperature in the inclusive range of about 25 degrees F. to about 40 degrees F., more desirably in the inclusive range of about 30 degrees F. to about 40 degrees F., and more desirably in the inclusive range of about 30 degrees F. to about 36 degrees F. (e.g., about 32 degrees F.). The fast thawing recipe  1205  is configured when executed to thaw frozen dough to the slacked or thawed state more quickly than the slow thawing recipe  1204 . In general, it is contemplated that the slow thawing recipe  1204  may be used for thawing frozen dough overnight so that the dough is in a ready-to-use condition (slacked or thawed state) when a user arrives in a food preparation facility in the morning. The fast thawing recipe  1205  may be used for a more immediate (e.g., unexpected) need for slacked or thawed dough arises and frozen dough must be thawed to a slacked or thawed state more quickly. 
     As shown in Table 2 below, in one embodiment, when the controller  1024  executes the slow thawing recipe  1204 , it uses ambient heating and the refrigeration system of the temperature control system  1112  to adjust the temperature of a selected dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015  toward a slow thawing temperature set point. In the illustrated embodiment, the slow thawing temperature set point parameter  1212  is 32° F. In other embodiments, the slow thawing temperature set point defined in the control instructions of a slow thawing recipe may be in an inclusive range of from about 25° F. to about 40° F., in an inclusive range from about 25° F. to about 35° F., in an inclusive range of from about 30° F. to about 40° F., or more desirably in an inclusive range from about 30° F. to about 36° F. Other slow thawing temperature set points can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
             
               
                   
                 TABLE 2 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Parameter 
                 Value 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
                 Temperature Set Point (° F.) 
                 32 
               
               
                   
                 Humidity Duty Cycle (%) 
                 12 
               
               
                   
                 Humidity Period (s) 
                 350  
               
               
                   
                 Humidity on 
                 True 
               
               
                   
                 Heat on 
                 False 
               
               
                   
                 Duration (hr) 
                 30 
               
               
                   
                 Next Recipe 
                 Alarm 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     When executing the slow thawing recipe  1204 , the controller is operative to control the temperature control system  1112  to adjust the temperature of the dough preparation chamber toward the slow thawing temperature set point. In the illustrated slow thawing recipe  1204 , the heat on parameter  1220  is set to False. Thus, the slow thawing recipe  1204  includes an indication (e.g., the False heat on parameter  1220 ) that the temperature control system  1112  is not to be used to heat the dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015  during execution of the slow thawing recipe. In other words, the slow thawing recipe  1204  is free of a parameter that indicates that a heating system is used to warm the chamber (However, it will be understood that the heating elements  1154 ,  1155  may nonetheless be used in their capacity of evaporator coil defrosting elements (independent from a dough preparation recipe) during the slow thawing recipe to defrost the evaporator coils  1124 ,  1125 .) The controller executes the slow thawing recipe  1204  using closed loop temperature control based on a temperature signal from the temperature sensor  1158  associated with the respective chamber  1014 ,  1015 . Because the heat on parameter is set to False, the controller  1024  is operative to control the temperature control system  1112  so that ambient heating (and not an active heating system) heats the dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015  when the temperature of the dough preparation chamber is lower than the slow thawing temperature set point. When the temperature in the dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015  is greater than or equal to a hysteresis temperature, higher than the slow thawing temperature set point (e.g., 4 degrees higher than the slow thawing temperature set point), the controller is operative to control the refrigeration system of the temperature control system  1112  to cool the dough preparation chamber. The refrigeration system is activated until the temperature in the chamber reaches the slow thawing temperature set point, and the refrigeration system remains idle until the temperature is once greater than or equal to the hysteresis temperature. 
     The slow thawing recipe  1204  illustrated in Table 2 also defines slow thawing humidity parameters  1214 ,  1216  at which the controller  1024  is configured to operate the humidity control system  1110  when the slow thawing recipe is executed. In the illustrated embodiment, the slow thawing recipe defines a slow thawing humidity duty cycle of about 12% and a slow thawing humidity cycle period of about 350 seconds. In other embodiments, the slow thawing recipe can define a slow thawing humidity duty cycle in an inclusive range of from about 10% to about 20% and a slow thawing humidity cycle period in an inclusive range of from about 100 seconds to about 600 seconds. Other slow thawing humidity parameters can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the slow thawing recipe  1204  functions to both thaw frozen dough from a frozen state to a slacked or thawed state and to subsequently maintain the slacked or thawed dough in the slacked or thawed state for an extended period of time. The recipe duration parameter  1224  is set to 30 hours, and the next recipe parameter is set to Alarm. The slow thawing recipe  1204  is, therefore, set to run for a duration of 30 hours during which dough can be maintained in a slacked or thawed state according to the parameters of the recipe. After the slow thawing duration has elapsed, the controller  1024  is configured to provide an alarm signal to the user through the user interface indicating that the dough should be removed because it has been maintained in a slacked or thawed state for a maximum duration. The controller  1024  is configured to continue operating the chamber conditioning systems  1110 ,  1112  according to the slow thawing parameters, even after providing the alarm. It will be understood that the recipe duration parameter  1224  and the next recipe parameter  1226  could be set to NA so that the thawing recipe runs indefinitely, without any alarm. 
     Although the illustrated slow thawing recipe  1204  is a single stage recipe, it is expressly contemplated that the slow thawing recipe can include multiple stages for sequentially thawing dough and holding thawed or slacked dough. For example, the slow thawing recipe can include a first slow thawing instance of the recipe template  1210  with parameters defined for thawing dough from a frozen state. The first recipe instance can include a recipe duration parameter  1224  and a next recipe parameter that points to a second instance of the recipe template  1210  with parameters defined for holding the dough in a slacked or thawed state. For example, the holding instance of the recipe template  1210  may have a lower set point temperature than the thawing instance. Still other slow thawing recipe stages (e.g., multiple thawing stages, etc.) may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     As shown in Table 3 below, in one embodiment, when the controller  1024  executes the fast thawing recipe  1205 , the controller initially uses heating provided by a heating element  1154 ,  1155  to adjust the temperature of a selected dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015  toward a fast thawing temperature set point. In the illustrated embodiment, the fast thawing temperature set point parameter  1212  is 100° F. Other fast thawing temperature set points can be used for a fast thawing recipe without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the fast thawing temperature set point can be in an inclusive range of from about 45° F. to about 150° F., from about 45° F. to about 100° F., from about 70° F. to about 150° F., or from about 45° F. to about 85° F. Other thawing temperature set points can also be used, and staged thawing temperature set points (e.g., first set point, then lower set point, etc.) can also be used for a fast thawing recipe without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
             
               
                   
                 TABLE 3 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Parameter 
                 Value 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
                 Temperature Set Point (° F.) 
                 100 
               
               
                   
                 Humidity Duty Cycle (%) 
                  12 
               
               
                   
                 Humidity Period (s) 
                 350 
               
               
                   
                 Humidity on 
                 True 
               
               
                   
                 Heat on 
                 True 
               
               
                   
                 Duration (hr) 
                   1.5 
               
               
                   
                 Next Recipe 
                 Slow Thawing 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     When executing the fast thawing recipe  1205 , the controller is operative to control the temperature control system  1112  to adjust the temperature of the dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015  toward the fast thawing temperature set point. In the illustrated fast thawing recipe  1204 , the heat on parameter  1220  is set to True. Thus, the fast thawing recipe  1205  includes an indication (e.g., the True heat on parameter  1220 ) that the temperature control system  1112  is to be used to heat the dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015  during execution of the fast thawing recipe. The controller executes the fast thawing recipe  1204  using closed loop temperature control based on a temperature signal from the temperature sensor  1158  associated with the respective chamber  1014 ,  1015 . Because the heat on parameter  1220  is set to True, the controller  1024  is operative to control the heating element  1158  to heat the dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015  when the temperature of the dough preparation chamber is less than or equal to a hysteresis temperature lower than the fast thawing temperature set point (e.g., 4 degrees lower than the fast thawing temperature set point). As explained below, the duration of the fast thawing recipe instance  1205  is set so that the temperature of the dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015  fails to reach the fast thawing set point temperature before the fast thawing recipe transitions to a slacked or thawed holding stage. The refrigeration system of the temperature control system  1112  is not used until the fast thawing recipe reaches a slacked or thawed holding stage. 
     The fast thawing recipe  1205  illustrated in Table 3 also defines fast thawing humidity parameters  1214 ,  1216  according to which the controller  1024  is configured to operate the humidity control system  1110  when the fast thawing recipe is executed. In the illustrated embodiment, the fast thawing recipe defines a fast thawing humidity duty cycle of about 12% and a fast thawing humidity cycle period of about 350 seconds. For example, the fast thawing recipe can define a fast thawing humidity duty cycle in an inclusive range of from about 10% to about 20% and a fast thawing humidity cycle period in an inclusive range of from about 100 seconds to about 600 seconds. Fast thawing recipes can define still other humidity parameters without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the fast thawing recipe  1205  functions to rapidly thaw frozen dough, and automatically transitions to a second recipe stage for maintaining the dough in a slacked or thawed state. To transition the fast thawing recipe from thawing to holding, the recipe duration parameter  1224  is set to 1.5 hours and the next recipe parameter is set to “Slow Thawing.” The fast thawing recipe  1205  is, therefore, set to run for a duration (1.5 hours, though other durations, such as those in an inclusive range of from about 0.5 hours to about 4.0 hours, can be used) over which frozen dough can be at least partially thawed by operating the chamber conditioning systems  1110 ,  1112  according to the fast thawing parameters. After the fast thawing duration has elapsed, the controller  1024  is configured to automatically initiate the slow thawing recipe  1204 , which as explained above, is well-suited for maintaining dough in a slacked or thawed state. It is understood that, instead of transitioning to the slow thawing recipe  1204 , the next recipe parameter  1226  could be set to another holding recipe suitable for maintaining dough in a slacked or thawed state. It will be appreciated that by the end of the heating stage of the fast thawing recipe, or at some point during the holding stage of the fast thawing recipe, the dough desirably achieves the thawed or slacked state in which the dough has an internal temperature in the inclusive range of about 25 degrees F. to about 40 degrees F., more desirably in the inclusive range of about 30 degrees F. to about 40 degrees F., and more desirably in the inclusive range of about 30 degrees F. to about 36 degrees F. (e.g., about 32 degrees F.). 
     Although the illustrated fast thawing recipe  1225  includes only a single thawing stage that transitions to a holding stage, it is expressly contemplated that in other embodiments a fast thawing recipe can include multiple thawing stages for sequentially thawing frozen dough using different chamber conditioning system parameters. For example, the fast thawing recipe can include sequential thawing stages that vary in set point temperature (e.g., stepping down in set point temperature with each successive stage, stepping up in set point temperature with each successive stage, etc.) and/or humidity duty cycle (e.g., stepping down in humidity duty cycle with each successive stage, stepping up in humidity duty cycle with each successive stage, etc.). 
     As shown in Table 4 below, the dough conditioning recipe  1206  is configured to condition dough in one of the dough preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015  so that the dough transitions from the slacked or thawed state to a conditioned state in which the dough is ready for proofing. Desirably, the dough in the conditioned state has an internal temperature in the inclusive range of about 40° F. to about 60° F., from about 40° F. to about 55° F., or from about 40° F. to about 50° F. (e.g., about 50 degrees F.). In one embodiment, when the controller  1024  executes the conditioning recipe  1206 , the controller uses heating provided by a heating element  1154 ,  1155  to adjust the temperature of a selected dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015  toward a conditioning temperature set point. In the illustrated embodiment, the conditioning temperature set point parameter  1212  is 65° F. The conditioning temperature set point for a conditioning recipe can be in an inclusive range of from about 55° F. to about 75° F., or from about 45° F. to about 80° F. Still other conditioning temperature set points can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
             
               
                   
                 TABLE 4 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Parameter 
                 Value 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
                 Temperature Set Point (° F.) 
                 65 
               
               
                   
                 Humidity Duty Cycle (%) 
                 15 
               
               
                   
                 Humidity Period (s) 
                 350  
               
               
                   
                 Humidity on 
                 True 
               
               
                   
                 Heat on 
                 True 
               
               
                   
                 Duration (hr) 
                  0.5 
               
               
                   
                 Next Recipe 
                 Conditioned Holding 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     When executing the conditioning recipe  1206 , the controller  1024  is operative to control the temperature control system  1112  to adjust the temperature of the dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015  toward the conditioning temperature set point. In the illustrated fast thawing recipe  1204 , during an initial heating stage, the heat on parameter  1220  is set to True. Thus, the conditioning recipe  1206  includes an indication (e.g., the True heat on parameter  1220 ) that the temperature control system  1112  is to be used to heat the dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015  during execution of the conditioning recipe. The controller  1024  executes the conditioning recipe  1206  using closed loop temperature control based on a temperature signal from the temperature sensor  1158  associated with the respective chamber  1014 ,  1015 . Because the heat on parameter  1220  is set to True, the controller  1024  is operative to control the heating element  1158  to heat the dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015  when the temperature of the dough preparation chamber is less than or equal to a hysteresis temperature lower than the conditioning temperature set point (e.g., four degrees F. lower than the conditioning temperature set point). As explained below, the duration of the conditioning recipe instance  1205  is set so that the temperature of the dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015  fails to reach the conditioning temperature set point before the conditioning recipe transitions to a holding recipe. The refrigeration system of the temperature control system  1112  is not used until the conditioning recipe  1206  reaches a holding stage. 
     The conditioning recipe  1206  shown in Table 4 also defines conditioning humidity parameters  1214 ,  1216  according to which the controller  1024  is configured to operate the humidity control system  1110  when the conditioning recipe is executed. In the illustrated embodiment, the conditioning recipe defines a conditioning humidity duty cycle of about 15% and a conditioning humidity cycle period of about 350 seconds. Thus, the conditioning humidity duty cycle may be greater than the thawing humidity duty cycle to provide more moisture during dough conditioning than dough thawing. The conditioning recipe can define a conditioning humidity duty cycle in an inclusive range of from about 10% to about 20% and a conditioning humidity cycle period in an inclusive range of from about 100 seconds to about 600 seconds. Conditioning recipes can define still other humidity parameters without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the conditioning recipe  1206  functions to transition slacked or thawed dough to the conditioned state and hold the dough in the conditioned state. For transitioning to a conditioned holding function, the recipe duration parameter  1224  is set to 0.5 hours and the next recipe parameter is set to Conditioned Holding. The conditioning recipe  1206  is, therefore, set to run for a duration (0.5 hours, though other durations, such as those in an inclusive range of from about 0.25 hours to about 3.0 hours, may also be used in other embodiments) at which slacked or thawed dough can be conditioned by operating the chamber conditioning systems  1110 ,  1112  according to the listed parameters. After the conditioning duration has elapsed, the controller  1024  is configured to automatically initiate the conditioned holding recipe  1208 , which as explained below is well-suited for maintaining dough in a conditioned state. 
     As shown in Table 5 below, the conditioned holding recipe  1208  is configured to hold dough in the conditioned state in one of the preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015  for an extended period. In one embodiment, when the controller  1024  executes the conditioned holding recipe  1206 , the controller uses ambient heating and refrigeration provided by the temperature control system  1112  to adjust the temperature of a selected dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015  toward a conditioned holding temperature set point. In the illustrated embodiment, the conditioned holding temperature set point parameter  1212  is less than the conditioning temperature set point parameter shown in Table 4. More specifically, the conditioned holding temperature set point is about 50° F. The conditioned holding temperature set point defined in the control instructions of a conditioned holding recipe can be in an inclusive range of from about 40° F. to about 60° F., from about 40° F. to about 55° F., or from about 40° F. to about 50° F. Still other holding temperature set points can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
             
               
                   
                 TABLE 5 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Parameter 
                 Value 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
                 Temperature Set Point (° F.) 
                 50 
               
               
                   
                 Humidity Duty Cycle (%) 
                 15 
               
               
                   
                 Humidity Period (s) 
                 350  
               
               
                   
                 Humidity on 
                 True 
               
               
                   
                 Heat on 
                 False 
               
               
                   
                 Duration (hr) 
                  4 
               
               
                   
                 Next Recipe 
                 Alarm 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     When executing the conditioned holding recipe  1208  (which may also be referred to as a retarding recipe), the controller  1024  is operative to control the temperature control system  1112  to adjust the temperature of the dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015  toward the conditioned holding temperature set point. In the illustrated conditioned holding recipe  1208 , the heat on parameter  1220  is set to False. Thus, the conditioned holding recipe  1208  includes an indication (e.g., the False heat on parameter  1220 ) that the temperature control system  1112  is not to be used to heat the dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015  during execution of the conditioned holding recipe. The controller  1024  executes the conditioned holding recipe  1208  using closed loop temperature control based on a temperature signal from the temperature sensor  1158  associated with the respective chamber  1014 ,  1015 . Because the heat on parameter is set to False, the controller  1024  is operative to control the temperature control system  1112  so that ambient heating (and not an active heating system) heats the dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015  when the temperature of the dough preparation chamber is lower than the conditioned holding temperature set point. When the temperature in the dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015  is greater than or equal to a hysteresis temperature higher than the conditioned holding temperature set point (e.g., four degrees higher than the conditioned holding temperature set point), the controller is operative to control the refrigeration system of the temperature control system  1112  to cool the dough preparation chamber. 
     The conditioned holding recipe  1208  shown in Table 5 also defines conditioned holding humidity parameters  1214 ,  1216  at which the controller  1024  is configured to operate the humidity control system  1110  when the conditioned holding recipe is executed. In the illustrated embodiment, the conditioned holding recipe defines a conditioned holding humidity duty cycle of about 15% and a conditioned holding humidity cycle period of about 350 seconds. Thus, the conditioned holding humidity control parameters are the same as the conditioning humidity parameters. The conditioned holding recipe can define a conditioned holding humidity duty cycle in an inclusive range of from about 10% to about 20% and a conditioned holding humidity cycle period in an inclusive range of from about 100 seconds to about 600 seconds. Conditioned holding recipes can define still other humidity parameters without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the conditioned holding recipe  1208  functions to maintain the dough in the conditioned state for an extended period of time after execution of the conditioning recipe  1206 . It will be appreciated that holding the dough in the conditioned state according to the conditioned holding recipe assists in enhancing the flavor of the baked bread because the extended holding period delays (retards) fermentation of yeast in the dough. The recipe duration parameter  1224  is set to 4 hours, and the next recipe parameter is set to Alarm. The conditioned holding recipe  1208  is, therefore, set to run for a duration over which dough can be maintained in the conditioned state according to the parameters of the recipe. After the duration has elapsed, the controller  1024  is configured to provide an alarm signal (e.g., an audio and/or visual indication) to the user through the user interface indicating that the dough should be removed because it has been maintained in a conditioned state for a maximum duration. The controller  1024  is configured to continue operating the chamber conditioning systems  1110 ,  1112  according to the holding parameters, even after providing the alarm. It will be understood that the dough can achieve the desired temperature of the conditioned state during the heating stage of the conditioning recipe or during the holding stage of the conditioning recipe. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 45 and 46 , the user interface  1022  is configured to generate a plurality of screens  1300 ,  1302  (e.g., displayed on a touch sensitive display) that provide an output to the user representing a dough preparation characteristic of each of the dough preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015  and provide a control input that allows a user to selectively execute the dough preparation recipes in either chamber.  FIG. 45  illustrates an exemplary overview screen  1300 , which provides a visual output of information about the operational characteristics of each of the left and right dough preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015 . It will be understood that the user interface  1010  could also comprise a speaker or other sound generating device for audibly providing output information (e.g., alarm indications, etc.) to the user. The overview screen  1300  includes a left chamber section  1304  for providing output information about the left dough preparation chamber  1014  and a right chamber section  1305  for providing output information about the right dough preparation chamber  1015 . Output information about first and second dough preparation chambers could be arranged differently and/or on other screens without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the overview screen  1300  includes chamber condition display indicators  1312  for each of the left and right chambers  1014 ,  1015 . More specifically, the illustrated screen  1300  includes a temperature indicator  1312 A that indicates the current temperature of the respective chamber  1014 ,  1015  and a humidity indicator  1312 B that indicates the current relative humidity of the chamber. Other chamber condition indicators may also be displayed in other embodiments. The controller  1024  receives output signals representative of chamber temperature and relative humidity from the temperature sensors  1158  and humidity sensors  1182  (if supplied) associated with each dough preparation chamber  1014 ,  1015  and provides the output signals to the user interface  1022 . The user interface displays the temperature and relative humidity information in the output signals in the indicators  1312 A,  1312 B in each chamber section  1304 ,  1305 . 
     Each of the chamber sections  1304 ,  1305  also includes recipe indicators  1314  that indicate the recipe that is currently being executed in the respective chamber  1014 ,  1015 . The recipe indicators  1314  include a current recipe indicator  1314 A, which identifies the recipe that is currently being executed in the respective chamber  1014 ,  1015 . A recipe status indicator  1314 B is also displayed in each section  1304 ,  1305  to provide a visual summary of the status of the recipe being executed in the respective chamber  1014 ,  1015 . For example, for a multi-stage recipe, the status indicator  1314 B may include an indication of which stage is currently being executed. Alarm information indicating that the maximum duration for the current recipe has elapsed may also be provided in the recipe status indicator  1314 B. The recipe status indicator  1314 B may also include an indication of any actions a user is permitted or not permitted to take based on the current status of the recipes. The illustrated overview section  1300  further provides a time remaining indicator  1314 C, which provides an indication of the time remaining until the recipe reaches its maximum duration. In other embodiments, the recipe information indicators may also include a stage time indicator that provides information about the time remaining until the recipe automatically switches to another stage. 
     In addition to the informational indicators  1312 ,  1314 , each chamber display section  1304 ,  1305  in the illustrated overview screen  1300  includes a selection actuator  1316  for executing a new recipe in the respective chamber  1014 ,  1015 . In the illustrated embodiment, each selection actuator  1316  is a touch-sensitive icon or button on the touchscreen display. Other types of selection actuators can be provided without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     When the user actuates the selection actuator  1316 , the user interface  1022  navigates to a control actuator screen  1302 . The control actuator screen  1302  displays a plurality of recipe selection actuators  1322 ,  1324 ,  1325 ,  1326 , which function as control actuators operative to receive a user input selecting one of the dough preparation recipes  1202 ,  1204 ,  1205 ,  1206  for execution. The control actuator screen  1302  also displays a chamber indicator  1330 , which identifies the chamber  1014 ,  1015  that was selected using the selection actuator  1316  to navigate to the control actuator screen. When a user actuates a recipe selection actuator  1322 ,  1324 ,  1325 ,  1326 , the controller  1024  executes the respective recipe  1202 ,  1204 ,  1205 ,  1206  in the chamber  1014 ,  1015  indicated in the chamber identifier indicator  1330 . 
     From the control actuator screen  1302 , the user can select any of the dough preparation recipes  1202 ,  1204 ,  1205 ,  1206  for execution in the respective chamber  1014 ,  1015  by touching the display at the location of the respective selection actuators  1322 ,  1324 ,  1325 ,  1326 . In the illustrated embodiment, the control actuator screen  1302  “collapses” multiple recipes into multi-stage recipes having a single selection actuator. So even though the conditioning recipe  1306  automatically transitions to the conditioned holding recipe  1308 , the control actuator screen displays a single conditioning recipe control actuator  1326 . Likewise, even though the fast thawing recipe  1205  automatically transitions to the slow thawing recipe  1204  after the fast thawing duration, the control actuator screen displays the fast thawing recipe as a single control actuator  1324 . When the user actuates the hold frozen actuator  1322 , the slow thaw icon  1324 , the fast thaw icon  1325 , or the condition icon  1326  the controller  1024  executes the respective recipes  1202 ,  1204 ,  1205 ,  1206 ,  1208  in the manner described above. Thus, the controller  1024  operatively connects the control actuators  1322 ,  1324 ,  1325 ,  1326  displayed in the control actuator screen  1302  to the chamber conditioning systems  1110 ,  1112  for executing the respective recipes  1202 ,  1204 ,  1205 ,  1206 ,  1208  based on control inputs provided by the user. 
     Although the illustrated embodiment uses the control actuator screen  1302  to provide touch-selectable control actuators for selectively actuating the recipes, it will be understood that other types of control actuators may also be used. For example, instead of graphical icons displayed on a touchscreen device, actuators may be provided in the form of buttons, switches, knobs, and/or microphones (for voice actuation) without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     One exemplary method of using the dough preparation apparatus will now be described. It will be understood that, although the description references the left and right chambers  1014 ,  1015  in a specific sequence, either of the chambers or a single chamber may be used to perform any of the functions in the method. 
     Around the close of business of a first day at a food preparation facility, a user may access the overview display  1300  on the user interface  1022  and select, for example, the left chamber selection actuator  1316  to navigate to the left chamber control actuator screen  1302 . From the control actuator screen  1302  the user actuates the slow thawing control actuator  1324  to begin the slow thaw recipe  1204 . If dough is already present in the left chamber  1014  and the frozen holding recipe  1202  is being executed, the slow thaw immediately begins for thawing the frozen dough to a slacked or thawed state. The slow thawing recipe  1204  may be configured to automatically display an alarm indication on the overview screen  1300  if the temperature in the chamber  1014  exceeds a maximum initial thawing temperature (e.g., about 40 degrees F.) thus instructing the user to wait to place the frozen dough in the chamber. Once the temperature of the left dough preparation chamber  1014  is less than or equal to the maximum initial thawing temperature, the user places the frozen dough into the left dough preparation chamber. The chamber  1014  permits the frozen dough to thaw to a slacked or thawed state overnight and maintains the dough in the slacked or thawed state until the dough is needed. 
     Because the slow thawing recipe thaws the dough at a relatively slow rate, a minimum thawing time (e.g., about four hours) may need to pass before the dough is sufficiently slacked or thawed to proceed to the next dough preparation step. In one embodiment, the recipe state indicator  1314 B on the overview display  1300  automatically provides an indication that the dough is not ready for removal before the minimum thawing time has elapsed and/or an indication that the dough is ready for removal after the minimum thawing time has elapsed. 
     When slacked or thawed dough is needed, the dough is removed from the left dough preparation chamber  1014  and subjected to further preparation steps by the user before conditioning. Some dough can be maintained in the slacked or thawed condition in the left chamber  1014  for the maximum thawing duration defined in the slow thawing recipe  1204 . If only a portion of the dough in the chamber  1014  is needed, one of the left chamber doors  1074 A,  1074 B can be opened to remove the needed portion of the dough. The other chamber door  1074 A,  1074 B can remain closed to minimize the exposure of the dough preparation chamber  1014  to ambient air. The user can prepare the dough for conditioning by scoring, stretching, spraying (e.g., with water), and/or seasoning (e.g., with cheese, herbs, and/or spices). In particular, the user removes one or more containers of dough from the cabinet and performs these manual steps on the dough while the dough is outside the cabinet. It will be appreciated that the upper work surface of the counter  1016  is a suitable and convenient location for the user to support the dough while performing such manual steps. 
     In the meantime, the user may access the overview screen  1300  on the user interface  1022  and actuate the right chamber selection actuator  1316  to navigate to the right chamber control actuator screen  1302 . On the control actuator screen  1302  the user can actuate the dough conditioning recipe control actuator  1326  to begin the conditioning recipe  1206 . The user removes the dough from the counter  1016  and places the dough in the right dough preparation chamber  1015 , and the controller executes the dough conditioning recipe  1206 . In an initial stage, the controller  1024  executes the conditioning recipe  1206  in the right dough preparation chamber  1015  to condition the dough during the conditioning duration defined in the conditioning recipe. Then, in a second stage, the controller  1024  automatically switches to the conditioned holding recipe  1208  to hold the dough in the conditioned state until the dough is removed from the dough preparation apparatus  1010  for proofing and baking. 
     Because implementation of the conditioning recipe on the dough enhances taste of the baked bread, it may be desirable to ensure the user leaves the dough in the cabinet for a sufficient time during the conditioning recipe. For example, a minimum conditioning time (e.g., about 45 minutes) may need to pass before the dough is sufficiently conditioned to proceed to proofing. The 45 minutes includes the 30 minutes of the conditioning heating stage, and the initial 15 minutes of the conditioned holding stage. In one embodiment, the recipe state indicator  1314 B on the overview display  1300  automatically provides an indication that the dough is not ready for removal before the minimum conditioning time has elapsed and/or an indication that the dough is ready for removal after the minimum thawing time has elapsed. 
     If the available slacked or thawed dough is depleted from the left dough preparation chamber  1014  and additional slacked or thawed dough is required in a relatively short timeframe (e.g., the same day), the user may access the overview screen  1300  on the user interface  1022  and actuate the left chamber selection actuator  1316  to navigate to the left chamber control actuator screen  1302 . On the control actuator screen  1302  the user actuates the fast thaw control actuator  1325  to begin the fast thaw recipe  1205 . Because the left chamber previously executed the slow thawing recipe in this example, the chamber temperature will be below the maximum initial thawing temperature. The dough can be immediately placed in the left dough preparation chamber  1014 . If in another method of use, a fast thaw recipe is executed in a chamber that previously executed a conditioning recipe  1206  or conditioned holding recipe  1208 , a cool down period may be required before loading the dough into the chamber. The controller executes the fast thaw recipe  1205  to rapidly thaw the dough from the frozen state to a slacked or thawed state. The slacked or thawed dough may subsequently be prepared via manual steps as described above then subjected to the conditioning recipe. 
     As is now understood, the disclosed dough preparation chamber can be used to carry out various steps in a process for preparing frozen dough for being proofed. The arrangement of the dough preparation apparatus  1010  allows a user to seamlessly integrate user performed steps (e.g., using the counter  1016  as a work surface) with automated steps carried out by the controller  1024 . The user interface  1022  provides intuitive controls for executing the recipes at a pace and in a sequence that suits a user&#39;s needs. By providing two side-by-side preparation chambers  1014 ,  1015 , the dough preparation apparatus can perform multiple preparation functions at the same time, which streamlines the dough preparation workflow and provides flexibility in the event of unexpected demand for dough. The apparatus provides an integrated solution for many steps necessary for preparing dough from a frozen state to a conditioned state ready for proofing. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 47-52 , another embodiment of a dough preparation apparatus, which may be referred to as a dough preparation work station, is generally indicated at reference number  2010 . The dough preparation apparatus has a similar construction to the dough preparation apparatus  1010  described above, and like components are indicated by like reference numbers, plus  1000 . For example, the dough preparation apparatus  2010  includes a cabinet  2012  having separate left and right dough preparation chambers  2014 ,  2015  ( FIG. 48 ) that are arranged side-by-side. Other numbers of chambers (e.g., one, three, four, etc.) can be provided without departing from the scope of the present invention. The cabinet  2012  has a counter  2016  above the first and second dough preparation chambers  2014 ,  2015 . The counter  2016  has an exposed upper work surface positioned at about waist height of an average adult person when standing. As explained in further detail below, the dough preparation apparatus  2010  includes multiple chamber conditioning systems configured to independently adjust environmental conditions of the left and right dough preparation chambers  2014 ,  2015 . As will be appreciated, like the dough preparation apparatus  1010 , the dough preparation apparatus  2010  provides a multipurpose dough preparation station for user handling and automated processing of frozen dough prior to proofing. 
     To automate and precisely control various dough preparation processes, the dough preparation apparatus  2010  includes a control system  2018  that can have the same construction as the control system  1018  as shown schematically in  FIG. 42 . A user can select a recipe using a user interface  2022 , whereby a controller reads the selected recipe from a memory and executes the recipe in a selected one of the left and right chambers  2014 ,  2015  using one or more of the chamber conditioning systems. Recipes such as those discussed with respect to embodiments above can be used. For example, recipes can be configured to slowly thaw dough from a frozen state to a slacked or thawed state and maintain the dough in the slacked or thawed state for extended durations; condition dough from the slacked or thawed state to a conditioned state in which the dough is ready for proofing; hold dough in the conditioned state for a period of time; rapidly thaw dough from a frozen state to the slacked or thawed state; and/or hold dough in a frozen state prior to thawing. As will be appreciated, these exemplary recipes can be used to precisely control aspects of preparing frozen dough for subsequent proofing and baking. It will be appreciated that the dough preparation apparatus provides precise control of the thawing, conditioning, and holding environments. Baked products having improved characteristics are possible because of the consistency and precise control of the preparation environments in the chambers  2014 ,  2015 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 48 , the cabinet  2012  includes a plurality of insulated walls, some of which define portions of the left and right dough preparation chambers  2014 ,  2015 . A bottom wall  2030  extends along a width W ( FIG. 48 ) of the cabinet  2012  from a left side margin to a right side margin. The bottom wall  2030  likewise extends along a depth D ( FIG. 47 ) of the cabinet from a front edge margin to a rear edge margin. In the illustrated embodiment, the bottom wall  2030  is mounted on casters  2032  that allow the dough preparation apparatus  2010  to be rolled over a support surface S ( FIG. 48 ) such as the floor. It will be understood that the cabinet may also be supported on the floor in other ways (e.g., by fixed feet, etc.). 
     A rear insulating wall  2033  ( FIG. 48 ) extends up from adjacent a rear edge margin of the bottom wall  2030  and extends generally along the width W of the cabinet  2012 . In certain embodiments, the rear wall  2033  is formed from separate left and right rear insulating panels. The rear wall may also be formed from a single panel or more than two panels in other embodiments. As will be explained in further detail below, various components of the chamber conditioning systems are mounted on the cabinet  2012  to the rear of the rear insulating wall  2033 . The chamber conditioning systems include components that extend through the rear wall  2033 . 
     A plurality of parallel, vertically oriented walls  2034 ,  2036 ,  2038  that extend up from the bottom wall and along the depth D of the cabinet  2012  define the sides of the left and right chambers  2014 ,  2015 . A left side wall  2034  extends up from adjacent the left side edge margin of the bottom wall  2030  and a right side wall  2036  extends up from adjacent the right side edge margin. A partition wall  2038  ( FIG. 52 ) oriented generally parallel to the left and right side walls  2034 ,  2036  extends up from the bottom wall  2030  at a location spaced apart between the left and right side walls. In the illustrated embodiment, the partition wall  2038  is positioned at about a midpoint along the width W of the cabinet  2012 , but it may also be located at other positions (e.g. at about a one-quarter point along the width of the cabinet or at about a one-third point along the width of the cabinet, etc.) or omitted (i.e., one chamber) without departing from the scope of the invention. The partition wall  2038  divides the interior of the cabinet between the left and right dough preparation chambers  2014 ,  2015 , such that the left dough preparation chamber extends between the left side wall  2034  and the partition wall and the right dough preparation chamber extends between the partition wall and the right side wall  2036 . 
     Desirably, each of the bottom wall  2030 , the rear wall  2033 , the left side wall  2034 , the right side wall  2036 , and the partition wall  2038  are formed from a thermally insulating material such as an encapsulated, rigid foam. Thus, the left and right dough preparation chambers  2014 ,  2015  may be thermally separated or isolated from one another and the ambient environment. As explained below, the thermal or environmental separation of the two chambers  2014 ,  2015  allows the chamber conditioning systems to control the environmental conditions of each chamber separately. If desired, the two chambers  2014 ,  2015  can be used at the same time to carry out different dough preparation recipes or the same recipe. 
     The counter  2016  is desirably positioned on the cabinet  2012  at an elevation at which a user may rest dough or containers (e.g., pans) of dough when handling the dough before, after, and/or during dough preparation recipes carried out by the apparatus  2010  or in conducting other dough preparation work. In the illustrated embodiment, the top surface of the counter  2016  is spaced apart from the support surface S by a height H ( FIG. 48 ). The height H may, for example, be in an inclusive range of from about 30 inches to about 50 inches, and more desirably in an inclusive range from about 32 inches to about 40 inches. Part or all of the counter  2016  may also be used as a temporary or permanent storage shelf for supporting various items, such as countertop food preparation appliances, food storage containers, food processing implements, etc. In the illustrated embodiment, the counter  2016  forms the top wall of the cabinet  2012 . The illustrated counter  2016  comprises an insulating material to environmentally isolate the dough preparation chambers  2014 ,  2015  from the ambient environment. In other embodiments, the counter may be positioned above an insulating top wall of the chambers  2014 ,  2015  such that the counter need not be insulated. Desirably, the exterior surfaces of the cabinet  2012  (and the other surfaces of the cabinet) are formed by a hard and durable material (e.g., sheet metal) to withstand the rigors of frequent use. The dough preparation apparatus  2010  also includes an over-shelf  2040  and associated components having the same features as described above with respect to the over-shelf  1040 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 48 , the cabinet  2012  includes a front frame  2060  at the front end portions of the counter  2016  and the bottom, left side, right side, and partition walls  2030 ,  2034 ,  2036 ,  2038  of the cabinet. The front frame  2060  defines a left opening providing access to the left dough preparation chamber  2014 , and defines a right opening providing access to the right dough preparation chamber  2015 . In the illustrated embodiment, first and second left chamber doors  2074 A,  2074 B are mounted on the cabinet to selectively cover the left opening  2064  and first and second right chamber doors  2075 A,  2075 B are mounted on the cabinet to selectively cover the right opening  2065 . The first and second left chamber doors  2074 A,  2074 B are pivotably mounted on the front frame  2060  of the cabinet  2012  on opposite sides of the left chamber opening  2065  for pivoting between a closed position ( FIG. 47 ) and an open position ( FIG. 48 ). The first and second right chamber doors  2075 A,  2075 B are likewise pivotably mounted on the front frame  2060  on opposite sides of the right chamber opening  2065  for pivoting movement between a closed position and an open position. Each door  2074 A,  2074 B,  2075 A,  2075 B includes a gasket or other seal for sealingly engaging the front frame  2060  to environmentally seal the respective chamber from the ambient environment. The doors  2074 A,  2074 B,  2075 A,  2075 B may be constructed, for example, from a material that provides insulation between the left and right dough preparation chambers  2014 ,  2015  and the ambient environment (e.g., encapsulated foam, glass, etc.). 
     The dough preparation apparatus  2010  may be constructed so that containers (e.g., trays or forms, etc.) containing dough may be loaded or unloaded from either of the left and right dough preparation chambers  2014 ,  2015  when one of the respective doors  2074 A,  2074 B,  2075 A,  2075 B is open. In the illustrated embodiment, first and second pairs of chamber racks  2084 A,  2084 B  2085 A,  2085 B are positioned in each of the left and right dough preparation chambers  2014 ,  2015  in a side-by-side arrangement. In the illustrated embodiment, the first left chamber rack  2084 A is positioned in the left side portion of the left dough preparation chamber  2014 , in general alignment with the first left chamber door  2075 A along the width W of the cabinet  2012 ; and the second left chamber rack  2084 B is positioned in the right side portion of the left dough preparation chamber  2014 , in general alignment with the second left chamber door  2075 B along the width W of the cabinet  2012 . Similarly, the first right chamber rack  2085 A is positioned in the left side portion of the right dough preparation chamber  2015 , in general alignment with the first left chamber door  2075 A along the width W of the cabinet  2012 ; and the second right chamber rack  2085 B is positioned in the right side portion of the right dough preparation chamber  2015 , in general alignment with the second right chamber door  2075 B along the width W of the cabinet  2012 . 
     Each rack  2084 A,  2084 B  2085 A,  2085 B includes a plurality of guide rails  2086  extending laterally from rack support walls  2088 . The guide rails  2086  of each rack  2084 A,  2084 B,  2085 A,  2085 B are vertically spaced apart from one another along the height of the respective chamber  2014 ,  2015 . Each of the illustrated guide rails  2086  is formed by a cutout (forming an air flow opening, as explained further below) of the rack wall  2088  that is folded inward to a horizontal orientation. The guide rails  2086  are arranged vertically in operative pairs. Each operative pair forms a guide for slidably guiding suitably sized and shaped containers (e.g., trays, pans, and/or forms) onto the respective racks  2084 A,  2084 B  2085 A,  2085 B and into the respective dough preparation chambers  2014 ,  2015 . Other rack configurations can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     When the second left chamber door  2074 B is open but the other chamber doors  2074 A,  2075 A,  2075 B are closed, a container containing the dough may be slid into the chamber  2014  and onto the rack  2084 B using the guide rails  2086 . Similarly, when any one of the other chamber doors  2074 A,  2075 A,  2075 B is open, a container containing the dough may slide into the respective chamber  2014 ,  2015  and onto the respective rack  2084 A,  2085 A,  2085 B using the guide rails  2086 . Accordingly, the arrangement of doors  2074 A,  2074 B,  2075 A,  2075 B and racks  2084 A,  2084 B,  2085 A,  2085 B in the illustrated embodiment allows a portion of the chamber opening  2064 ,  2065  corresponding generally to the width of the container or the width of the rack  2084 A,  2084 B (in this case, about one-half of the respective chamber opening) to be uncovered during loading and unloading of dough from the chamber  2014 ,  2015 . This helps minimize exposure of the environmentally controlled chambers  2014 ,  2015  to the ambient environment during loading and unloading. 
     Referring to  FIG. 52 , the dough preparation apparatus  2010  includes walls arranged in the interior of the cabinet  2012  for providing recirculation ducting for delivering supply air to each of the dough preparation cavities  2014 ,  2015  and exhausting return air from each of the dough preparation cavities.  FIG. 52  depicts the left dough preparation cavity  2014 , and it will be understood that the ducting arrangement in the right cavity  2015  is generally the same. As shown in  FIG. 52 , the recirculation ducting includes a supply duct having left and right upper supply duct portions  2090 A. The upper left supply duct portion  2090 A is defined by the bottom surface of the counter  2016  and an upper panel or wall  3010 A, which extends widthwise above the left side of the chamber  2014  between the racks  2084 A. The upper right supply duct portion  2090 A is defined by the bottom surface of the counter  2016  and an upper panel or wall  3010 B, which extends widthwise above the right side of the chamber  2014  between the racks  2084 B. The supply duct also includes left and right side supply duct portions  2090 B. The left side supply duct portion  2090 B extends downwardly along the left side of the chamber  2014  and is defined by the left wall  2034  and the left rack  2084 A. The right side supply duct portion  2090 B extends downwardly along the right side of the chamber  2014  and is defined by the partition wall  2038  and the right rack  2084 B. The supply duct  2090  has a left outlet  3030 A for delivering supply air to the left side of the chamber and a right outlet  3030 B for delivering supply air to the right side of the chamber. In the illustrated embodiment, the outlets each comprise a plurality of openings in the racks  2084 A,  2084 B below respective guide rails  2086 . The openings are generally rectangular and extend along the depth of the chamber, like the openings below each guide rail  1086  shown in  FIG. 35 . 
     The recirculation ducting also includes a return duct including a lower left and right return duct portion  3040 A. The lower left return duct portion  3040 A is defined by the upper surface of the bottom wall  2030  and a left lower panel or wall  3050 A. The lower right return duct portion  3040 A is defined by the upper surface of the bottom wall  2030  and a right lower panel or wall  3050 B. The return duct also includes an intermediate return duct portion  3040 B extending upwardly between the left and right portions of the chamber  2014 . The intermediate return duct portion  3040 B is defined by the right and left racks  2084 A,  2084 B. The return duct includes left and right exhaust air inlets  3054 A,  3054 B for receiving exhaust air from the left and right portions of the chamber  2014 . The exhaust air inlets  3054 A,  3054 B comprise a plurality of openings in the racks  2084 A,  2084 B under the guide rails  2086  similar to the openings forming the supply air outlets  3030 A,  3030 B. 
     A fan  2096  mounted at an upper end of the intermediate return duct portion  3040 B is configured for moving air through the recirculation ducting. As explained in further detail below, the air is conditioned in the recirculation ducting for controlling one or more environmental conditions within the respective dough preparation chamber  2014 . The fan  2096  is configured to recirculate air from the chamber  2014  back to the chamber via the return duct and the supply duct. The fan  2096  is configured to move air at a relatively low flow rate, such as in the inclusive range of 5-60 cfm or 10-40 cfm, such as about 18 cfm. The arrangement is such that the fan  2096  moves air along two recirculation flow paths, one associated with the left portion of the chamber  2014 , and the other associated with the right portion of the chamber. A wedge-shaped air divider  3060  is provided above the fan for separating the air flow into the left and right recirculation flow paths. The left recirculation flow path extends along the supply air duct over the left portion of the chamber  2014  and down the left side of the chamber. A majority of the supply air is delivered to the chamber  2014  through the supply air outlet  3030 A, but some of the supply air enters the lower left portion  3040 A of the return duct and flows under the left portion of the chamber, bypassing the chamber. Air from the chamber  2014  exhausts through the inlet  3054 A into the intermediate return duct portion  3040 B, where it converges with air from the lower left return duct portion  3040 A. The flow of air through the right side recirculation ducting and right portion of the chamber  2014  happens in a similar fashion but down the right side of the chamber and then to the left toward the intermediate portion  3040 B of the return duct, from the chamber and the lower right portion  3040 A of the return duct. Thus, the recirculation ducting defines a left counter-clockwise air flow path and a right clockwise air flow path. The loop air flow paths extend in the recirculation ducting around the respective left and right portions of the chamber  2014 . It is believed the looped air flow paths assist in providing more uniform flow of air through the left and right portions of the chamber  2014 . It will be appreciated that recirculation ducting having configurations other than described and illustrated herein can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     As mentioned above, the dough preparation apparatus  2010  includes a chamber conditioning system configured to control environmental conditions of the left and right dough preparation chambers  2014 ,  2015  independently. The illustrated dough preparation apparatus  2010  includes a temperature control system, generally indicated at  2112 , configured to independently control the temperature in each of the first and second dough preparation chambers  2014 ,  2015 . Other numbers and types of chamber conditioning systems can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. In this embodiment, a humidity control system is not provided, but a humidity control system could be provided, similar to those described above or otherwise, without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     The temperature control system  2112  comprises a multiplexed refrigeration system including a common compressor  2120 , condenser  2121 , and receiver  2122  and including separate evaporator coils  2124 ,  2125  ( FIG. 49 ) for the left and right dough preparation chambers  2014 ,  2015 . In the illustrated embodiment, the refrigeration system further includes a common accumulator  2128  upstream of the compressor  2120 , but the refrigeration system may lack an accumulator or use chamber-specific accumulators without departing from the scope of the present invention. Moreover, other types of refrigeration systems can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     Each evaporator coil  2124 ,  2125  is associated with a respective dough preparation chamber  2014 ,  2015  to provide cooling. In the illustrated embodiment, the evaporator coils  2124 ,  2125  (broadly, “cooling elements”) are positioned outside the recirculation ducting, and more particularly above the left and right upper portions  2090 A of the supply air duct, downstream from the fan  2096 . Other types of cooling elements can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. The position of the evaporator coil  2124  with respect to the recirculation ducting of the left chamber  2014  is shown in  FIG. 52 . Desirably, the evaporator coil  2124  is configured to cool substantially all of the upper surface of the left and right upper portions  2090 A of the supply air duct to provide a large surface area for cooling. Desirably, the evaporator coil  2124  is in conductive heat transfer contact with outside surfaces of the recirculation ducting. For example, a thermal mastic (e.g., heat sink compound) can be used to secure the coil  2124  to the ducting. The evaporator coil  2124  removes heat from the ducting and thus from the supply air as the air passes through the upper left and right portions  2090 A of the supply duct. It will be understood that the right evaporator coil  2125  is arranged similarly with respect to the recirculation ducting for the right chamber  2015 . 
     To provide independent control of the refrigeration of each of the left and right dough preparation chambers  2014 ,  2015 , the flow of refrigerant from the common receiver  2122  to each evaporator coil  2124 ,  2125  is independently controlled by a multiplexer, generally indicated at  2130 , as shown in  FIG. 51 . The refrigerant from the receiver  2122  travels along a single liquid line  2131  until it reaches a flow divider  2132  of the multiplexer  2130 . Subsequently, a portion of the refrigerant flows through a left chamber liquid line  2134  to the left evaporator coil  2124  and the remainder of the refrigerant flows through a right liquid line  2135  to the right evaporator coil  2125 . A first solenoid valve  2144  operatively coupled to the left liquid line  2134  controls the flow of liquid refrigerant to the left evaporator coil  2124 , and a second solenoid valve  2145  operatively coupled to the right liquid line  2135  controls the flow of liquid refrigerant to the right evaporator coil  2125 . 
     The temperature control system  2112  also includes a heating system including separate heating elements  2154 ,  2155  ( FIG. 49 ) for the left and right dough preparation chambers  2014 ,  2015 . In the illustrated embodiment, the heating elements are resistance heating coils, but other types of heating elements can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. Each heating coil  2154 ,  2155  is associated with a respective dough preparation chamber  2014 ,  2015  to provide heating. As shown in  FIG. 52 , the left heating coil  2154  is associated with the left chamber  2014 . The heating coil  2154  is positioned outside the recirculation ducting, and more particularly below the left and right lower portions of the return air duct (in the bottom wall), upstream from the fan  2096 . Desirably, the heating coil  2154  is configured to heat substantially all of the lower surface of the left and right lower portions of the return air duct to provide a large surface area for heating. Desirably, the heating coils  2154 ,  2155  are in conductive heat transfer contact with outside surfaces of the recirculation ducting. For example, heating coils  2154 ,  2155  can be part of a foil heater including layers of foil sandwiching or laminating the heating coils and applied to the outside surface of the ducting. The heating coil  2154  heats the ducting and thus the air in the lower portions  3040 A of the return duct. It will be understood that the right heating coil  2155  is arranged similarly with respect to the recirculation ducting for the right chamber  2015 . 
     To provide closed loop temperature control, the dough preparation apparatus  2010  includes at least one temperature sensor  2158  for sensing a temperature of the dough preparation chambers  2014 ,  2015 . Each temperature sensor  2158  is operatively coupled to the respective dough preparation chamber  2014 ,  2015  to provide an output signal representative of a temperature of the respective dough preparation chamber. As shown in  FIG. 52 , in the illustrated embodiment, one temperature sensor  2158  is positioned in the intermediate portion of the return air duct  3040 B for the chamber  2014 , and it will be appreciated another sensor is similarly positioned for the chamber  2015 . Temperature sensors can be provided in other locations or omitted without departing from the scope of the present invention. As explained above with respect to other embodiments, the temperature sensors can be used in closed-loop temperature control for carrying out dough preparation recipes. 
     It will be understood that other kinds of temperature control systems for controlling the temperatures of first and second dough preparation chambers independently can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, instead of using a multiplexed refrigeration system to cool the chambers, other separate refrigeration systems can be provided. Likewise, other heating systems having other numbers or types of heating elements can be used. Other variations are also possible. Moreover, it will be appreciated that the illustrated temperature control system operates as a closed-loop system, but open-loop or time-based systems (e.g., without sensors) can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. Moreover, it will be understood that other numbers and/or other types of chamber conditioning systems can be provided without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     The control system  2018  of the dough preparation apparatus  2010  including the controller (e.g., dough preparation controller), can be essentially the same as the control system  1018  described above with respect to  FIG. 42 . Moreover, the control system can be used to implement recipes as explained with respect to  FIGS. 43-46  and/or recipes described with respect to other embodiments. Moreover, the left and right chambers  2014  and  2015  can be used in the manners described above with respect to the chambers  1014  and  1015 . 
     In one example method of using the dough preparation apparatus  2010 , frozen dough is taken from a freezer and placed in a chamber  2014 ,  2015 . The dough can be left in the chamber overnight to thaw. A thawing or slacking recipe pre-programmed in the control system is executed (e.g., by actuation of an actuator on the user interface) to slowly thaw the dough and hold it in a thawed or slacked state. For example, a refrigeration set point of 34 degrees F. can be used with suitable hysteresis routine. It will be appreciated that the refrigeration system may not turn on for some time, because the frozen dough cools the chamber sufficiently to prevent the temperature sensor from indicating cooling is needed. When the employee arrives the following morning, the dough is thawed or slacked and being refrigerated according to the thawing or slacking recipe. The employee can actuate an actuator on the user interface of the controller to end the thawing or slacking recipe and begin a “prep mode” in which the heating system is operated according to a conditioning recipe at a set point of 65 degrees F. for 10 minutes, during which time the chamber may rise to 50 to 55 degrees F. After the 10 minutes, the heating system is turned off, and refrigeration begins at a set point of 50 degrees F. A suitable alarm can sound to notify the employee that the prep mode has ended and the dough is ready to be prepared. The employee can remove the dough and prepare it, such as by stretching and seasoning the dough. At this time the dough is ready for moving to an oven for proofing/baking. Alternatively, the dough can be held in the chamber at the 50 degrees F. refrigeration set point for up to 4 hours (e.g., which can be signaled to employee by the control system by a suitable audible and/or visible alarm) before moving the dough to the oven. Yeast in the dough will likely be activated when the dough reaches an internal temperature of about 36 degrees F., and the dough can be held in the preparation apparatus for only a limited amount of time after activation of the yeast. It will be appreciated that the preparation apparatus provides a controlled, consistent means of preparing dough before proofing and baking that results in better bread. 
     The Title, Field of Invention, and Background are provided to help the reader quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. They are submitted with the understanding that they will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. They are provided to introduce a selection of concepts in simplified form that are further described in the Detailed Description. The Title, Field of Invention, and Background are not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the claimed subject matter. 
     For purposes of illustration, programs and other executable program components, such as the operating system, are illustrated herein as discrete blocks. It is recognized, however, that such programs and components reside at various times in different storage components of a computing device, and are executed by a data processor(s) of the device. 
     Although described in connection with an exemplary computing system environment, embodiments of the aspects of the invention are operational with numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations. The computing system environment is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of any aspect of the invention. Moreover, the computing system environment should not be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any one or combination of components illustrated in the exemplary operating environment. Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with aspects of the invention include, but are not limited to, personal computers, server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, mobile telephones, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, distributed computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices, and the like. 
     Embodiments of the aspects of the invention may be described in the general context of data and/or processor-executable instructions, such as program modules, stored one or more tangible, non-transitory storage media and executed by one or more processors or other devices. Generally, program modules include, but are not limited to, routines, programs, objects, components, and data structures that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Aspects of the invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media including memory storage devices. 
     In operation, processors, computers and/or servers may execute the processor-executable instructions (e.g., software, firmware, and/or hardware) such as those illustrated herein to implement aspects of the invention. 
     Embodiments of the aspects of the invention may be implemented with processor-executable instructions. The processor-executable instructions may be organized into one or more processor-executable components or modules on a tangible processor readable storage medium. Aspects of the invention may be implemented with any number and organization of such components or modules. For example, aspects of the invention are not limited to the specific processor-executable instructions or the specific components or modules illustrated in the figures and described herein. Other embodiments of the aspects of the invention may include different processor-executable instructions or components having more or less functionality than illustrated and described herein. 
     The order of execution or performance of the operations in embodiments of the aspects of the invention illustrated and described herein is not essential, unless otherwise specified. That is, the operations may be performed in any order, unless otherwise specified, and embodiments of the aspects of the invention may include additional or fewer operations than those disclosed herein. For example, it is contemplated that executing or performing a particular operation before, contemporaneously with, or after another operation is within the scope of aspects of the invention. 
     When introducing elements of aspects of the invention or the embodiments thereof, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. 
     In view of the above, it will be seen that several advantages of the aspects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained. 
     Not all of the depicted components illustrated or described may be required. In addition, some implementations and embodiments may include additional components. Variations in the arrangement and type of the components may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims as set forth herein. Additional, different or fewer components may be provided and components may be combined. Alternatively or in addition, a component may be implemented by several components. 
     The above description illustrates the aspects of the invention by way of example and not by way of limitation. This description enables one skilled in the art to make and use the aspects of the invention, and describes several embodiments, adaptations, variations, alternatives and uses of the aspects of the invention, including what is presently believed to be the best mode of carrying out the aspects of the invention. Additionally, it is to be understood that the aspects of the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the description or illustrated in the drawings. The aspects of the invention are capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it will be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
     Having described aspects of the invention in detail, it will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of aspects of the invention as defined in the appended claims. It is contemplated that various changes could be made in the above constructions, products, and methods without departing from the scope of aspects of the invention. In the preceding specification, various embodiments have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto, and additional embodiments may be implemented, without departing from the broader scope of the aspects of the invention as set forth in the claims that follow. The specification and drawings are accordingly to be regarded in an illustrative rather than restrictive sense.