The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Sinclair's Bakery - first year

mcs's picture
mcs

Sinclair's Bakery - first year

Hello Everybody,
This week marked the one year anniversary of Sinclair's Bakery here in Belgrade, MT.  I thought I would commemorate the event with a picture-post reviewing some of the more significant events of the year.  If you're interested in some of the business specifics of how things evolved this past year, ask away and I'll answer here.  Enjoy.  :)

-Mark
PS, for a more frequently updated view of the bakery and events, check out the bakery FB page here

 

February/March/April 2013: picking up the new trailer, from the outside looking in, garnishing pastries for a film festival, the winter market (April was also the month that I made this Potato Rolls Video)

 

May/June 2013:  experimenting with sausage filled pastries, croissant dough layers, meat filled buns, trailer at the Livingston market

 

July/August 2013:  buckwheat flax/rye loaves, pains au chocolat, Big Sky market, getting ready for the next market

 

September/October 2013:  Apfelstrudels, making the Brioche video, pan ryes, small rustic white

 

November/December 2013:  casadielles, brioche/getting ready for the brioche workshop

 

January/February 2014:  croissants, cheese danish, baguette video, baguettes

 

Just in case you're saying, "Mark, I hope you took some time to do some fun stuff..." here you go: 
Hoku & I relaxing, ice skating at sunset, playing music at a Valentine's Day open mic night :)

Wingnut's picture
Wingnut

Congratulations Mark! Love your rig and your products. If we go the Montana this year I will be looking you up for some treats. 

Living the dream!

Cheers,

Wingnut

mcs's picture
mcs

Well, I hope you can make it.  If you do, be sure to identify yourself as "Wingnut from TFL" so I know who I'm talking to :)

-Mark

Wingnut's picture
Wingnut

Will do mate. We usually fish the Gallatin on our way to Absarokee MT.

I also follow your FB page.

Cheers,

Wingnut

mcs's picture
mcs

Alright then.  Cheers.

-Mark

redif2003's picture
redif2003

Congrats my talented friend. I was pleased to realize that we share the love for Ukuleles as well. Are you on the ukuleleunderground forum too?

- Amir

 

mcs's picture
mcs

Thanks Amir.  No I'm not on that uke forum yet, but I will be soon.  Here's a link to our local uke group, if you're interested.

-Mark

LindyD's picture
LindyD

Well done, Mark.  Well done.

Wishing you many more years of success and happiness.

Lindy

mcs's picture
mcs

Thanks for the well wishes Lindy!

-Mark

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

What a wonderful retrospective in photos.You have done a magnificent job with your relocation . Your baking looks simply divine. If I ever get to MT you are the first stop  !  We will be eating our way across Europe for 2 1/2 months  on our bicycles  this Summer and I am looking forward to lots of breads and pastries. I can't imagine any would be better than what you are producing.  Happy Birthday. Caroline

mcs's picture
mcs

Thank you for the kind words Caroline!  It sounds like you've got a great trip planned for this summer.  Perhaps you can make a photo essay here on TFL of the bakeries you stop at and a little bit about them?  Anyway, hopefully someday you two will get out here to Montana to stop in.

-Mark

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

My plan is to keep a journal and take lots of pics as I have on my other rides. This is the first that my husband has been able to go on so hopefully we will have 2x as  many pictures !! We will be in the Netherlands for 3 weeks at the end of the trip ,we used to live there in the 80's. They do  sausage and meat stuffed pastries similar to yours. I will definitely get pics and a review for you :)  Enjoy the coming Spring. c

mcs's picture
mcs

Yes, I got the idea for the pastries filled with meat from the Dutch pastries and the sausage filled snacks that they sell everywhere in New Zealand.  Long, long ago when I spent some time on the south island of NZ, those sausage treats and DB were my main subsistence :)

-Mark

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

Your bakery is a unique one, fitting for such finely crafted baked goods.  Hard to believe another year has gone by the wayside.  Well done and

Happy Baking

mcs's picture
mcs

Yup, another year has gone by the wayside.  Thanks for the compliments and of course for being a part of the TFL community here.

-Mark

dablues's picture
dablues

you had your bakery where I live in Georgia.  Would be buying all the time!  Congratulations!!!

mcs's picture
mcs

Thanks for practically almost being a customer!  :)

-Mark

SteveB's picture
SteveB

Mark,

It is said that the first year of a new business is the hardest.  Congratulations on reaching your one year milestone!  May you have many happy years of baking and seeing the joy you create on your customer's faces!

P.S. - I thought you might enjoy one of my favorite ukulele videos:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLgJ7pk0X-s

- SteveB

www.breadcetera.com

mcs's picture
mcs

Thanks for the kind words and also for the video link.  Who could ask for more, great music that happens to be from one of my favorite movies ever!

-Mark

clazar123's picture
clazar123

You are a talented man, Mark! Baking and music-both need an artists touch! I love the videos you make-I learn so much from just watching you. Thank you for them!

SteveB-great video! Thanks!

mcs's picture
mcs

Yes, ukuleles like other musical instruments (and bread too) are only limited by the the person playing them!  Thanks for the compliments and I'm happy you enjoy the videos.

-Mark

Mebake's picture
Mebake

Wow, its been a year already!? Look at you :) 

How neatly you've arranged your photos chronologically! You missed the potato soft rolls. I baked your recipe and blogged about it here and my family members fell in love with it. Thanks! Note To self: i have to sell those at the Arts and crafts market. 

Happy first anniversary , Mark! We are all happy for you. And keep those videos coming , please.

Khalid

mcs's picture
mcs

Just for you  - Well, I didn't add a potato rolls photo up there in the OP, but I DID add a link in the Feb/March/April section for the video.   :)  I must have missed your blog post on the potato rolls, but I will check it out.  Yes, you'll have to try those at your market, some people prefer a soft bread over a crusty one, or at least do for certain occasions.

Thanks for the kind words!

-Mark

Wild-Yeast's picture
Wild-Yeast

Hi Mark,

You made the one year Mark! I've been wondering what's been going on with the "Adventures of Mark Sinclair and his Mobile Bakery".  Glad you tuned in and laid to rest any anxiety we might have had on your behalf..., 

From the looks of it you've adjusted to local market conditions and more importantly to what sells to local taste's -  all while preserving high quality standards to maintain the brand.

You may want to add juggling to your mike night ukulele performance - seems you're already good at it.

Congratulations with hopes for many, many more...,

Wild-Yeast   

mcs's picture
mcs

...although my juggling skills are not exactly up-to-par  :)  As far as the business goes, I tried not to rush things too much in the beginning, and stuck to what I do best.  Fortunately the customers are very supportive here and know a great product when they have one.  Word spread quickly and soon enough the reputation was pretty solidified around the area.  Because I'm neurotically-obsessive about consistency and quality, the customer base grew (and is growing). 

Anyway, thanks for the support and congrats!

-Mark

proth5's picture
proth5

Congratulations. I can see that you've changed up some of your product - but some classics endure.

Believe it or not, I am learning to juggle (with three objects - not life priorities) so may have some skills I could actually teach you.

And I am working on streamlining pretzel technique -  I'm not slacking on that...

Take care!

(Raggedy Baker) Pat

 

mcs's picture
mcs

Thanks.  Yes, a couple of new additions to the line and a some tweaking to the recipes and techniques too. 

OK, my juggling (actual juggling) skills are pretty rudimentary so I definitely have room for improvement there.

Keep working on the pretzel streamlining, no rest for the weary.  It would be a nice thing to add to the line-up for certain special events, don't you think?

Take care to you too!

-Mark

Dan001's picture
Dan001

WOW Mark.

This is awsome. Can I get more info on the interior design/layout and equipement inside your trailer. I am tryly jealous right now.

I remember that you mentionned that most of your baking is done in a convection oven as oppose to deck oven. I am assuming that is what you have in there.

How long is this trailer... Looks like a 20 to 24 foot long ?

 

Dan in Montreal

 

 

mcs's picture
mcs

Here's a link to some photos on my bakery FB page.   If you sort through there, there are lots of the initial stages of the process and interior photos too.

I've got only convection ovens (2 run on propane, one is electric).  The trailer is 8'6" x 24', not including the tongue.  It weighs about 10,000 pounds and I use a 3/4 ton pickup to pull it.  When it's parked indoors like it is now, I have it plugged into a 220V outlet on a 50A breaker.   All of the essentials are on one sub-panel in the trailer, the non-essentials (air conditioner, one of the gas ovens, outdoor GFCI...) are on another 50A sub-panel that I don't need while I'm plugged in.  I also have a 20K watt Cummins diesel generator for when I'm not hooked up.  Absolutely essential stuff like emergency lights and running water are powered by two batteries that are charged by a solar panel on the roof.

Anyway, if you have any other questions let me know, but I think if you look at the pics, you'll get a good idea.

-Mark

Donkey_hot's picture
Donkey_hot

Hi Mark,

That Tommaso Damasco Pizza Romano looks great!  Any chance you might post a formula?

Thank you.

mcs's picture
mcs

It's not my formula, method or recipe, so I can't post it.  To be honest with you, I'd never mixed or worked with a dough like that before and I'd need more practice to make it come out as well as it did when he and I worked together.  Anyway, to give you a visual on how the dough looks and behaves, check out Massimo Bosco's YouTube channel and browse through his videos.  He mixes an 85 and 90% hydration dough that look similar to what we did here.

We used the double hydration method for mixing, with 75% of the water in the initial mix and the rest being added on speed 2 over the course of 6 minutes.

This is what the pre-shaping looked like.  When Tommaso showed me how to do it like that, my response was, "Uh.  What just happened?"  :)

The shaping is also completely different than with most other pizzas as can be seen in this video.

Anyway, there you go

-Mark

Donkey_hot's picture
Donkey_hot

Got it, thank you!

Really enjoyed his pre-shaping video... very entertaining! :)

Dan001's picture
Dan001

Hi Mark,

 

Thank you for the link.... Wow... Lot's of work went into planning and building that trailer !

 

Tks

 

Dan

Dan001's picture
Dan001

Mark,

One more question. In one of the photo of ths inside trailer i saw that you have this multiple alarm timer color coded... Do you remember where you got that from... Looked everywhere and cannot find it.

Tks

Dan

mcs's picture
mcs

This is the timer.  It's nice and loud (with adjustable volume) and also counts up once the timer goes off, so you know how long the timer has been beeping for.

-Mark

Dan001's picture
Dan001

Great thank you.

That will simplify my life dramatically especially when their is 4 things going on all at once.

:-)

Dan