The objective of this project is to design an open-source proofing box that is inexpensive, can be quickly built at home, that is integrated into the IoT ecosystem, and costs less than $100.
Sponsor
Matt Parkinson
Team Members
Adam Alhammadi | Brittany Kotvas | Justin Frey | Marcello Abbate | Nour Hamed | Rachel Wheeler | Terrence Saylor | | | | |
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Project Summary
Overview
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people took the time to learn new skills around their own homes; one of the more popular skills to learn was the art of breadmaking. To develop proper flavors and textures in a loaf, bakers need to ‘proof’ their doughs by letting them sit in a specific temperature and humidity. While this step in the breadmaking process may seem simple, novice bakers too often will either overproof or underproof their loaves because they lack the proper tools to control the proofing environment. In addition, current solutions either cost too much or do not provide the necessary user control for breadmaking beginners. Therefore, the PSU Learning Factory is interested in developing an open-source bread proofing box that will provide novice bakers with the tools to properly proof their loaves.
Objectives
-Design a proofing box that can be built at home, integrated into the IoT ecosystem, and costs less than $100.
-The proofing box must be easily assembled, insulated, easily cleaned, able to proof multiple loaves at once, and maintain a user-set environment with a specific temperature and humidity.
Approach
-Participate in weekly advisor and sponsor virtual meetings to gather information on breadmaking needs, discuss actionable steps, and receive feedback on completed work.
-Research and benchmark current commercial and DIY proofing solutions in the breadmaking industry to familiarize the team with the advantages and disadvantages of each design.
-Develop multiple, innovative designs through a cyclical evolution that involved brainstorming, paper sketch designs, and conceptual prototypes.
-Collect temperature and humidity data through multiple sensors and the Arduino software to understand which prototypes offer the most control over the proofing environment.
-Refine the tested prototypes to decrease the variability in temperature and humidity in the proofing box, resulting in a final design that combined aspects from multiple prototypes.
Outcomes
-The final proofing box holds the temperature within 1-degree-Farenheight of the temperature and the humidity within 2% of the user-specified inputs.
-All components are mounted to the lid of the proofing box so a variety of boxes may be used in accordance with the user’s budget.
-The flexibility of the design allows users to proof up to four banneton baskets or two jelly roll pans of dough.