How do restaurants keep rolls warm?

Hi friends,

I'm looking for some tips and advice on heating and holding at temp about 300 dinner rolls for a catered dinner I'm volunteering at. Normally, warming bread is a no-brainer for me, but since the stakes are high and it's a larger quantity than I deal with at home, I was wondering if anyone had any logistical advice on how to keep bread rolls warm without drying them out.

I should have access to: ovens (convection and no-fan), a hot-box, hotel pans, sheet trays, aluminum foil, and cloth towels. I'm thinking of laying the buns out on sheet trays, warming them at 300F for about 5 minutes, then piling them in deep hotel pans and covering them either with aluminum or damp cloth towels and keeping in the hot-box until it's time to put them in baskets for service.

Advice/ tips? I don't want them to dry out, nor do I want them to get squashed or soggy. I feel a bit silly for asking about something so basic, but I appreciate any help!

Question: When I was young, I worked in many Restaurants, some helping my mother and others myself, Most places heated them in a Bun Warmer, a stainless steal drawer, specifically used to heat buns.set on a low setting, most places put a clean white, moist towel in the bottom of the drawer, placed the buns in and warmed for a 1/2 hour before serving.
I personally would NEVER use a microwave to warm them. At home I would use a casserole glass dish, a moist clean towel on bottom, and put them in oven for 1/2 hour prior to meal, on lowest setting. cover with another clean towel to serve and keep warm at the table, the casserole dish will retain heat and keep warm at the table




Answers: When I was young, I worked in many Restaurants, some helping my mother and others myself, Most places heated them in a Bun Warmer, a stainless steal drawer, specifically used to heat buns.set on a low setting, most places put a clean white, moist towel in the bottom of the drawer, placed the buns in and warmed for a 1/2 hour before serving.
I personally would NEVER use a microwave to warm them. At home I would use a casserole glass dish, a moist clean towel on bottom, and put them in oven for 1/2 hour prior to meal, on lowest setting. cover with another clean towel to serve and keep warm at the table, the casserole dish will retain heat and keep warm at the table



Surely they do!..



steam tables and warm bread boxes



Heat Lamps and Hot Racks!



They keep em' under heat lamps.



It really doesn't take long to heat up bread!
Lots of restaurants do use microwaves *shock*, but even in an oven or under a grill, heating up bread takes half a minute!

Keep in mind that in a busy restaurant, the food (especially things that are served by default like bread) will be on the go constantly...they don't just start heating it up when you sit down...if you didn't come in for dinner, somebody else would have.



I don't know what they're called, but heated metal cupboards/presses are also used. If you're wanting to serve hot bread at home for a dinner party or something, just wrap it in foil and leave it on the bottom rack of the oven while you're cooking for 15 minutes or so to heat through - this way it won't go crispy or dry out.



No not microwave - the bread would not be crisp. Restaurants have very hot ovens - far more so than domestic - so this can be done very quickly.



Baguettes are taken from the freezer to the microwave.

So you are half right.

Sorry if I've disillusioned you!

Shame isn't it - always "beware" when it says "home made" and think to yourself......aaah but which home was it made in!
You would be very surprised!!!



Some restaurants, unfortunately use the microwave (way to much) most hold the warm bread in a warm bread drawer. The drawer keeps the bread hot and a little humidity keeps it moist. Some restaurants are constantly baking small amounts of bread and or biscuits like Red Lobster does to keep it the freshest.



I am a server at a Golden Corral restaurant in middle Georgia. We serve out rolls hot because they are kept in a warming oven for us. We bring them directly to your table with plenty of honey butter. Our yeast rolls are just one of the items that keep our guests coming back . . . .



If you are wanting to know how to achieve this at home
heat your buns in the oven and when hot transfer into a preheated crockpot or slow cooker.





Enjoy warm bread throughout your entire meal with this simple trick for keeping bread warm longer!

How do restaurants keep rolls warm?

Love warm bread with your dinner? It rarely stays warm through the entire meal. And covering it with a towel just doesn’t do the trick. Though there are bread warmers in stores, create your own, inexpensive version. Simply wrap dried beans in a tea towel, then heat them in the microwave. The bundled beans sit in the bottom of your bread basket and keep your bread warm through the whole meal.

Tags: Equipment, Bread

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How do you keep rolls warm before serving?

Place warmed heat source in bread basket: If using rice or pie weights, lay them as flat as possible in their paper or foil wrapper at the bottom of the bread basket. Cover the heat source with a clean cloth napkin or dish towel. Add the rolls and then fold the corners of the fabric over the rolls to cover.

How do you keep dinner rolls warm in the oven?

How do I keep Dinner Rolls Warm? To keep dinner rolls warm for your guests or loved ones: Heat dry beans by wrapping them in a kitchen towel and microwaving until warm. Alternatively you can heat balls of foil in the oven while cooking the rolls and add those to the bottom of the basket.

Can you put rolls in a crockpot to keep warm?

The slow cooker is a brilliant way to keep rolls warm for serving or as a means for reheating the rolls the next day if you need to bake them before a big holiday. Bonus: Warming store-bought dinner rolls in the slow cooker makes them feel more like homemade.

What do restaurants use to keep food warm?

Warming ovens, or holding cabinets, are found in most professional restaurant kitchens. This type of commercial food warmer equipment plays an integral role in keeping extra food products warm until it's ready to be moved to a steam table or a customer's plate.