## 5 Conclusions  
The integration of convective and infrared drying methods (CIRD), coupled with advanced sensor technologies, offers a promising approach for optimizing food drying processes. These innovations not only enhance drying efficiency but also ensure superior product quality, aligning with the evolving demands of the food processing industry.  
CIRD model (250 W, 7 cm) achieved the most efficient drying of bread slices with the shortest drying time, highest energy efficiency, the highest initial water loss rate and the occurrence of Maillard and caramelization reactions. CIRD model (250 W, 15 cm) associated with high energy consumption but lower drying. The model that consumed the least energy per unit of water removed used a lower-powered IR lamp (150 W) placed further away from the sample (15 cm) but required the longest drying time. CIRD model (150 W, 15 cm) offers the most promising optimization pathway.  
The study's limitations include its focus on bread slices, which may limit generalizability to other foods with varying moisture contents or structures; its reliance on controlled laboratory conditions that may not reflect industrial-scale processes; and its lack of consideration for IR lamp performance variations over time or ambient condition impacts. Additionally, the lack of a quantitative evaluation of dried bread quality, multilayer drying, the sample size and thickness of the bread samples, and the feasibility of drying and processing stale bread underscores potential directions for future research to address these limitations of hybrid CIRD. Future research should explore scaling CIRD models for industrial use, including airflow rate or ambient temperature, energy cost and process integration analyses, test CIRD's effectiveness on diverse food products to confirm its versatility, develop advanced sensors for real-time drying parameter monitoring, assess long-term IR lamp performance and maintenance in industrial settings and investigate multi-stage drying processes.  
Conceptualization, N.M., A.L. and M.P.; methodology, A.L. and M.P.; software, A.L.; validation, N.M. and I.D.; formal analysis, I.D. and M.P.; investigation, A.L. and M.P.; resources, N.M. and M.P.; data curation, A.L. and M.P.; writing--original draft preparation, M.P.; writing--review and editing, A.L., N.M. and I.D.; visualization, M.P.; supervision, N.M., A.L. and I.D.; project administration, N.M., A.L., I.D. and M.P.; funding acquisition, N.M. and M.P. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
This research was funded by the Ministry of Science, Technological Development, and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia, grant number 451-03-136/2025-03/200088.  
Not applicable.  
The study includes the original contributions presented, and any further inquiries can be addressed to the corresponding author.  
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.  
The following abbreviations are used in this manuscript:  
\begin{tabular}{l l} CIRD & Convective and infra-red drying \\ IR & Infra-red drying \\ WL & Weight loss, (g) \\ WLm & Weight loss (measured), (g) \\ WLi & Weight loss (integrated), (g) \\ WLS & Water Loss Speed, (g/min) \\ t & Dehydration time, (min) \\ m & Weight of fresh bread slices, (g) \\ md & Content of dry matter in fresh bread slices, (g) \\ mHzo & Moisture content in fresh bread slices, (g) \\ E (IR) & Energy consumption of Infra-Red lamp, (kWh) \\ Eh, f, a & Energy consumption of heater, fan and arduino, (kWh) \\ EE & Energy efficiency, (kWh/kg removed water) \\ \end{tabular}