June 22, 2019 - 11:05am
Recipes modification , and time management in shop
I was wondering about if it's possible to change some recipe numbers the percentage of that recipe? I'm asking because I don't want to change a recipe and ruin the recipe, is there a rule to work with or should I not manipulate the recipe.
I was also wondering on do you guys have any advice on time management, let's say that I want to produce burger buns and I want to produce a small amount of croissant, and make doughnuts. Is there a way to manage time or is it impossible to do so?
I'm trying to invest in a small bakery and would like to understand some stuff.
Thank you
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Orbi, as far as percentages, bakers tweak them all the time. For this a spreadsheet is your best friend. If you are able to open an Excel spreadsheet and would like to take a look at mine, let me know and I’ll send it to you.
Danny
Hey Danny
Thank you for sending back. Would love to take a look and have a general view, my concern is would it ruin the dough itself, like how further would you go above or below the percentage of each ingredient? And is there a rule to go by, or just I can try and figure for myself.
There are many reason to change the percentage of ingredients. Most often the hydration (water) is altered. For example, an all purpose dough at 75% hydration would probably feel like a 100% whole grain dough at 95% hydration. The whole grains absorb a lot more water. You might also want to change the characteristics of a bread. So, instead of 100% white flour, you may choose 80% white flour, 15% whole wheat, and 5% spelt. There are countless reasons to tweak a formula.
You really need to gain some experience before you start changing up formulas too much. Things can go wrong in a hurry. It is best, IMO, to bake a known good formula exactly as the author intended UNTIL you get it nailed down. After that, tweak away...
Search the forum and ask questions. We are here to help.
If you want my spreadsheet, send me a PM and include your email address. I'll get it out to you.
Danny
Will send you my email via PM, and thank you for your time and the information, really appreciate it.
Do you recommend any books to read?
As far as books, it depends on what you want to learn. Let us know your knowledge at this point. Do you understand baler’s percentages. Have you baked bread before? If so, what type? Are you interested and knowledgeable with sourdough? Do you bake with commercial yeast only?
Are you a new baker or experienced. We can help you no matter where you are in your baking journey.
Tell us about yourself so we can better help.
If you plan to do the baking in a bakery, you will have a lot to learn. These things can take years to learn. Im not trying to over complicate things, but there is a lot to know and bakers are a very experienced lot. I’ve been home baking for over 20 years and there is no way I would be qualified to open a bakery.
Well, I'll be honest, I know it's a hard profession and it takes years to master, you can say that I'm new to the whole baking bread experience, what lead me to this website is I want to learn and know more, where I live people lack the knowledge to understand and know bread in general, I have tried baking some types of bread like pita bread and flat breads, it got my attention as I've been looking around and I want to understand how bread works, I know about yeast types and know some stuff about what ingredients contribute in the development of bread, I understand that bread is not an easy thing to be taken slightly and it's delicate to deal with, my whole country really lacks this info and the our bakery are not well developed to have the understanding of bread, I live in the west bank in the middle east, so that is why I've been looking around to understand even more about breads.
I know it's a lot of talking but i have a lot in my mind and getting things out is sort of hard, the first thing that crossed my mind was the bakers percent note, because a lot. I also have a general idea on sourdough and would like to try and bake one myself, but you can say that I am a ask first guy, before doing anything, I love the aspect of understanding things before applying what I know, I think it give a good place to start.
You've come to the right place to learn. The forum is huge and has a great deal of information. Use the search feature and have a look around.
I recommend you pick one bread that you want to bake. Bake it until you have perfected it. Choose something that is easy so that you can succeed quickly. Success is a great motivator! If you can choose a bread, we can probably suggest a recipe/formula to get you started.
If you can apprentice at a good bakery you will learn a lot in hurry. Home bakers have the luxury of time whereas bakeries must be super efficient.
Oh, I sent the files via email. Good Luck. Bread Baking is an exciting adventure.
Danny
Glad I came here.
Will try out doing sourdough bread, as a place to start.
Also wish we had a bakery that would have the knowledge,the problem is that we lack this option, that's why I came here to learn more.
You have been very helpful and kind. Will make a good use of your information and wise words, really appreciate you replying to this thread, this what gave me a good push and motivated me.
Thank you again Danny.
Amr
Amr, before working with sourdough you probably want to start with commercial yeast. Sourdough is the more difficult of the two.
What kind of bread would you like to bake first?