New Baker, New Business
I have been baking for 51 yrs. but I have only been baking Artisan bread for about 3 or 4 months. I have been through a lot of life changes the past 2 yrs. and with encouragement of frIends and family I decided to have a small bread business per the Alabama Cottage food law. I already have all my local and state license my first farmer's market is tomorrow. Gez, I feel so unorganized and rattled at this moment.
I tried to look up some type of ti,e management schedule to help me get on track but everything seems to either be going wrong or not working out at all.
I am a newbie to this site and posting I have read many posts. I have 3 upcoming markets this weeks any suggestions on how I can get on a scheduled time regime for baking and all other? I am open for suggestions and constructive criticism. TIA.
Possible places to start:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/search/node/farmers%20markets
Thanks, I can be an airhead sometimes...lol. I did not even think to search in case of a possible posting on that.
Hi Linda. It looks like you and I have a lot in common because I am in just about the same scenario as you. After about as many years of baking (badly in my case), and after entering semi-retirement, I have decided to commit to a new venture in artisan bread baking. I am solely committed to baguettes at this point and have spent the past 7 months, 3 times a week, perfecting this combination of art and craft.
Of all the time I have spent, adjusting and adapting formulas, managing and learning new equipment, and perfecting techniques, my biggest challenge has been scheduling. Trying to negotiate a time schedule with various preferments, bulk ferments, and proofing times has had me on the losing side of the equation far too many times. At this point I think I can say that I'm beginning to feel better about delivering a quality product and getting a full night's sleep.
My "ah -ha" moment was when I succumbed to the fact that bread dough is a living thing, and thus has to be managed as such. No matter how much science I applied to the process, the dough was going to develop in its own good time. I learned to spend less time looking at the clock, instead learning the sight, smell and feel of a developing dough.
Of course there are things that we all do to try and coerce the dough into following our time schedules, like temperature and humidity stabilization methods, feeding our starters on regular schedules, and retarding the dough to slow things down. Even with the most practice and the best techniques, we still have to accept that some of this art/craft endevour is out of our control.
I too have been under a lot of pressure to get my product to market and I am very near turning loose the ecommerce page of my website. With that said, I have baked over 1,000 baguettes since last March, all in the effort of bringing a superior product to market. A failed reputation is very hard to recover.
All the best in your new venture.
Jim
Sounds like we do have a few similarities. I definitely pray I don't get a failed reputation as those that know me I am a perfectionist in my baking to the point I feel it's a curse. lol. If I make a mistake it's so far at home and I don't quit until I master the solution.
Thing that may be one problem for me is with the cottage food law I don't have a commercial kitchen and I may be trying to make too many different types of breads for my time frame. I don't want to do just 1 type as yourself. At least with some quick breads and cookies I make I can make at least a day or 2 in advance but no more. I also think for now to stick with the small-medium size breads that way I can bake more at once than using the dutch oven where as I can only do 2 at once but it is larger which means I charge more but again not as productive.
I try to clean as I go so I don't get behind. I was getting up at 5 am I normally get up at 6am. Make me up a schedule of what I will be baking, when, how long, etc. as well as scheduling my preferments, proofing, baking, etc.
I just backed out of this week markets and will wait until next week this is one time being sick is paying off. I can't believe I am saying this but I feel I will be better prepared. Besides I did not get my license approval until Tues. night last week and I was hesitant to do much in advance.
Linda
I would rec. you get about 4-6 good recipes and plan on making only one or two types a week and maybe only on Monday and Tuesday and again on Thursday and Friday. Invite neighbors in to sample and they should spread the word about you and your product. With these limited choices and spread-out dates you won't feel so pressured and you will be able to put more passion and accuracy into the product. Don't do a baguette. People will always compare a baguette to one they had somewhere where they claim was the best and none will ever measure up...you don't want that sort of problem.
This information is great I honestly did not think of it like this. I was thinking of doing a baguette but will rethink that. Makes sense to make breads that people can get easily. I like being different so having a few yet different breads that over time can bring in more people. Thanks!
As someone who just finished my first year of farmers market let me share what I found for me.
I am not baking at home but have use of a commerical kitchen and equipment. I can not imagine trying to bake any kind of numbers at home. For me the time it would take to produce the numbers I wandted would not be worth the money made at the market. if you are just wanting to have a outlet for you breads and are not worried about the return of time spent vs money made then it will be differnt for you. I made three kinds of muffins and 4 to 5 differnt breads every week and built a loyal following who are asking where can we get you product now that the market is over. That to me was a good feeling to have people want your product. This year was a testing time for me to see if I wanted to do more in the area with a bakery cafe. So I was going to stick it out even if it was slower then I wanted. Best of luck and I hope this helped.
Thanks Gary, I don't have access to a commercial kitchen and you are so right on being limited on how much you can bake. I do have a large gas grill outside I plan to use as well as my oven. If I get good enough I will up grade to a full size double oven then see what possibilities may come later.