Bakery Proof

A bakery night shift does not start at the oven. It starts with the decision of which batches to set and when: dough proves on the clock, so the player manages time that is already running and cannot be rewound.

The first limit is the baking window. Outside its interval a batch either over-proofs or comes out underbaked. Putting a tray in early takes the oven from another batch; putting it in late loses the batch — proofing cannot be cancelled or slowed on command.

The second limit is the oven itself. It holds only a few trays, loading and unloading cost minutes, and a cold tray must be reheated first. An apparently empty oven is not rest but loss: idle minutes add up while a batch waits for space, and the reheat eats the very window the batch was set for.

The third is cold storage and orders. Cabinet space is finite, so spare dough is a bet: too much reserve spoils as waste, too little meets the morning short of dough. Orders come with deadlines and penalties, and whether a batch will make it is decided deep in the night, not at dawn.

The score counts delivered orders, written-off dough, oven idle minutes and shortfalls. The batch-by-batch debrief shows where proofing ran ahead of the plan and where the oven stood still because of loading.