Conveyer Oven? | The Fresh Loaf

I remember reading something of Hamelman's (not sure if it was from Bread, but it was Hamelman) where he mentions putting loaves "onto the conveyer".

This conveyer is an oven, right? Are they ever used in artisan bakeries? Are smaller ones available or are they just for huge commercial bakeries, like this monster:

He may be referring to the couche type conveyers that some bakeries use to load massive deck ovens.

I saw one of those in a Ciril Hitz video. I want one if that's what it is.

If it is an oven, I wonder how they deal with steam. Does a door open then close to keep the steam/heat in, etc.?

I have no practical experience, but some doors are spring loaded and are pushed down with a peel to load the bread. The commercial ovens usually have a built in steam generator far superior to what we can do in a home oven. They push a button and steam is injected into the oven.

Like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb0lljsKk80#t=160s

Would love to have an oven like this for my house.

I'll put it on the wish list.

Ah, you just brought back memories of "catching pans" as they dropped off the belts at the Little Miss Sunbeam bread plant during the summer night shifts of my college days. Things were "semi-automated" back then. Big, hot metal pans. They were violating the union contract by having a "girl" do it. It was a man's job but in the middle of the night no one much cared. Millions of Whopper rolls coming down the conveyor belt to the slicers. The horrors of being held over to help the ladies of the donut shift. I was very bad at donut catching and sorting. I was Lucille Ball in the chocolate factory.