The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

High Hopes in Tennessee

jproaster's picture
jproaster

High Hopes in Tennessee

Hello folks.  I own a small coffeehouse/roastery with the potential for some good breakfast and lunch.  I have so much to learn about food; so here I am.  I'd like to learn about bread for my pleasure and my business.  I've wanted to learn for quite some time, but always had something else to occupy my time.  So, I've finally modified some space at my shop to create a workplace for dough working, machinery placement, etc.  Of course I'll be learning other baked goods too.  But I would like to figure out how to make breads for panini, soup, salad and who knows what else.  I'm open.  

So I'm just saying hi from Tennessee.

john

To be more clear:   I have a kitchen where I cook easy breakfast and lunch.  I don't have a hood for cooking meats.  I do have an older 1/2 sheet Blodgett oven and I have a cabinet proofer.  I've been buying tools (though my KA mixer is too small) for some time.  My intention is to fill my own bakery case, which is not even six foot wide with baked goods and to have daily breads for panini, soups, salads, etc.  I've been reading Peter Reinhart's TBBA to get a good start.  My desire is get wisdom from folks about how to use my oven, proofer, how to understand room temps, humidity, mixing, etc.

I will be posting in other areas as I get set to start breads this week.

Thanks.

LindyD's picture
LindyD

You might find the thread "hobby to business" helpful, noted here

You probably should contact your health department first to determine what equipment is going to be required in your bakery to avoid possible unpleasant (and expensive) surprises down the line.  

Good luck in your venture.

 

jproaster's picture
jproaster

Thanks for the link Lindy.  I've been in business for almost six years and know my local health dept inspectors.  Thanks for the heads up nonetheless.

 

john

Doc Tracy's picture
Doc Tracy

Any chance you could take a short class? Like from the SFBI or King Arthur? Also, I highly recommend the book Bread by Jeffrey Hammelman. It has so much about baking on every level and the recipes are scaled so that you can use them at a commercial level as well.

jproaster's picture
jproaster

Doc,

Will definitely look into the book.  The class is probably out of the question for now.  It just so happens that a friend of mine, (who studied in France and worked in an artisan bakery while in college) will be helping me get started.  I wouldn't mind a class though; there's nothing like good instruction.

I hope to be sharing some experiences over the next week.  I have to replace the products (frozen) from my food supplier with fresh made real, real soon.

Thanks again Doc.

John

hanseata's picture
hanseata

Hi, John, good luck with your venture, adding home made breads to your coffeehouse. I'm sure your customers will appreciate that very much!

If you use the recipes from TBBA - my favorites are the "Pain a l'Ancienne" and the "Pane Semolina", here's a tip: you don't need to spray the oven walls with water in addition to pouring boiling water into the steam pan. The steam pan is sufficient (I asked Peter Reinhart about that, when I noticed that he doesn't mention the spraying in "Whole Grain Breads" anymore).

 

jproaster's picture
jproaster

Hanseata,

Thank you for your encouragement.  I believe strongly that my patrons would love fresh baked breads too. 

To be honest though, I still don't have a handle on how much this will really cost me to provide fresh bread.  I've spent the last month or so remodeling a small room, which is still partially houses frozen and non-frozen stock.  I did the work with a friend and on the cheap to boot.  So I have my workspace ready.  If I still have a weakness for bread, it's that I don't have a multi-loaf mixer yet.  But at least overhead, oven, proofer and most other smallwares are covered.

So, at least at the present, (til I have more understanding about the commercial requirements) I will be learning how bread works.  And I know my friends at the shop will love that too.

john