Controls every store should follow
- Use the oldest frozen kolaches first.
- Keep raw pieces covered, in one layer, with space between them. Do not stack or compress the dough.
- If older dough is surface-dry, use only a light water mist. Water cannot repair compressed or damaged dough.
- Fully preheat the oven before loading.
- Proof to visible expansion—not time alone. The dough should be clearly larger, soft, and puffy.
- Apply an even egg wash after proofing.
- Bake in one layer. Rotate trays when the oven colors unevenly.
- Pull at an even golden-brown finish with cooked sides and bottom.
- Do not sell pale/hard, compressed, dirty, misshapen, or burned product.
Equipment safety: stop and escalate if an oven has a strong or persistent gas smell, unusual noise, temperature overshoot, or abnormal controls. Do not bake around a suspected equipment fault.
DAL-01
~60 minproof, then verify visible expansion
300°Ffully preheated oven
20–23 minbake; begin checking early
- Proof large kolaches for approximately 60 minutes, extending if still tight or undersized.
- Apply egg wash evenly.
- Bake at 300°F for 20–23 minutes.
- Pull when evenly golden brown.
Dallas control warning: confirm every available heat control before loading. A prior combination of 450°F plus a high secondary setting burned product in about 10 minutes.
GRV-01
57+ minproof; continue until visibly expanded
325°Fnewest measured setting
~21 mintotal bake time
- Recorded test: refrigerator at 5:40 a.m.; proofed until 6:37 a.m.
- Apply egg wash and load into a fully preheated 325°F oven.
- At 5 minutes, move top tray down, bottom tray up, and reverse left/right orientation.
- Recorded pull time: 6:58 a.m., about 21 minutes total.
Next correction: Salana reported the batch was still not large enough. Keep the newest bake calibration, but proof past 57 minutes when necessary until the dough reaches the visible size endpoint.
ARL-01 · CRL-01 · FTW-01 · NRH-01 · SAG-01
No complete measured store-specific test was found for these five ovens. Keep each store’s currently trained method. Do not copy Dallas or Grapevine settings without a controlled test.
Record one complete test at each store
- product size/type and frozen or refrigerated starting state
- proof start/end times, proofer setting, and pre-egg-wash photo
- oven model/type and every heat-control setting
- confirmation that preheating finished
- bake start/end time, rack position, and rotation time/direction
- finished-product and cut-open interior photos
- size, softness, top color, bottom color, leakage, and pass/fail notes
Current decision
Dallas has a usable documented baseline. Grapevine has a usable oven calibration, but its proofing endpoint still needs validation. The remaining stores require measured equipment tests before a store-specific instruction card is issued.