Hi, I would be very interested in responses to this thread as I know someone who is thinking about producing bread, and who already had access to a large kitchen.  Kroha

every time i see a thread like this i can't help of thinking of the drunk bunch of guys in a bowling aly and one drunk says ot the other  " you know if we buy this bowling aly we can bowl for free"

there is a lot involved in what you want to do and if you have the knowleg of production baking i do not know

but i do know this if a small oven can bake say 3 pans of bread with say 4 breads on each thats 12 breads and they take say 45 minutes to one hour thats max an 120 loves in a 10 our time period

you will need a steam injected oven or an oven that has the fittings to connect to a low pressure boiler.

so unless you want to be putting pans or peeling 12 breads in the oven every hour mixing every hour and proofing every hour

be ready to pay 20,000.00 to 30,000.00 for the deck oven or rotating oven you need. YES thats 5 zeros and thats only the oven there is still the mixer molders proffers sheters rounders ,ect.   if you pick the deck oven start practising with a 20 foot long peel

http://www.bestovens.com/

Most of the equipment can be purchased for much less used. The only business that has a higher failure rate than bakeries are restaurants.Keep an eye on craigslist and watch for auctions of failing restaurants in your area.

I have toyed with the idea of opening a bakery for several years but I always remember "Just because you are a great cook, doesn't mean you know how to run a business"

Cristi, Mark Sinclair of The Back Home Bakery has been there and done that.

Reading through the recent blogs on his internship program may be helpful to you.

Better yet, why not volunteer to spend a week with him at his bakery?

And the economics just don't make sense, or at least not in a way we are confident about.

I think your farmer's market idea isn't a bad one, and may scratch the itch enough for you. We've been doing ours out of a home kitchen (we do a mix about like you propose: SD, baguettes, wheat, rye, and a mostly white artisan loaf). We found you can do it out of a home kitchen, but the workload is nasty. We can do about 80 loaves in a day if we're smart about it, but it is a ton of work, and some of the mixing happens the day before. A good mixer and adequate oven space are absolutely essential.

It is important to source ingredients cheaply to keep the margin decent.

In the end, for us, we're just not confident the market is there. People love our stuff, we have loyal customers, but even at an event where people aren't going out of their way to find us, the sales are pretty erratic, and locally, I don't think there is the market for us as a destination. Beyond that, doing it small, our costs are negligable, but when looking at how many loaves we'd have to sell to offset rent, it seems overly risky. You're market may vary

I, too, have considered taking the plunge.  Here in Florida, governmental regulations make it exceedingly difficult to run a bakery from home.  I became an unpaid 'apprenti boulanger' for a couple of months at a local bakery and learned a lot of valuable information.  The most important lesson is that these sort of operations are called 'Mom and Pop' for a reason.  A small shop (bakery or other) simply does not generate enough revenue to pay for help and still provide for any profit.  The hours are long and hard and the rewards are few, but folks still do it.  The bakery in which I participated had passed through several absentee owners before finally closing its doors.  I cannot speak of other businesses, but most small bakeries are there because the proretor is passionate about fine bread.  Sadly, you soon determine that the money is in pastries and specially decorated cakes.  The equipment for a modest shop (mixer, oven, and various tools) represents a hefty investment.  If you are prepared to maintain your enthusiasm for bread, you might make a go of it, but remember that there is a reason that there is so much used equipment on the market.  Good luck to you.   I have decided to remain amateur and give away most of my breads to friends and fellow worshipers.  For what it's worth, the old barter system still works.  Forgive the ramble, it's what I do.

One calculation that I noticed was off maybe was $2880 for a helper???? huh!  $18.00 an hour for a helper...that's calculating 160 hours a month/40 hour work week.  There are plenty of people who will work for $9.00/$10.00 an hour.  As difficult as the bakery sounds....a resteraunt can be even more daunting.  People who make it in the food business understand the food business.  They understand it is like a marriage.  ...a lot of commitment.  If i were going to start a home business, I would beg to apprentice at the "The Back Home Bakery" mentioned  on the website...You would realize immediately your equipment requirements, and  the commitment necessary to run a small business.  Then you would know if it was for you. 

Hi,

We have a biscotti business and I have found a lot of sites with info for shelf life of goods to measuring tables.  I suggest you google them and save the most important ones. We started at home also and it took awhile, it was hard work and you have to have a lot of resolve. You also make sure that you fulfill all legal requirements such as a state license and health permit and insurance as many companies won't work with you without these things. Moving from hobby to business requires a very different mentality. Having passion for baking and running a business changes the way you approach this.  

I have removed my original post to this question because I was notified that it was considered spam.  If that is the case, I truly am sorry, that was not my intention.

Regards,

Patricia Turo