Hi people! I'm so glad I found this page. I'm a Croatian student (so sorry for my English) doing case study project for my college about starting new line of unleavened bread in a healthy food business. That means I need bakery equipment which is about hardest thing for me in whole project. That's why I need you! :) What is basic equipment I need to have for making bread and what are average prices for every one of them (my budget is 200 000 euros)? What maufacturers do you suggest? Any tips are very welcome =)

Katarina

I'm looking to become a baker in a pastry shop, I asked around and they said it was light..this was in january but the busy season is approaching.. I need a full time job, not where they just need temp help during the busy season and throw you away when january comes around.

I'm around NYC.. there are a few bakeries on my block but only one is a good one. I asked during november, christmas and I know the owner pretty well and he said after the holidays it'll be better because it was too hectic. I worked for the original owner (bakery was est. 1912), original owner was the son of the founder, helped during easter but then he got rid of me after that. I was only 13 at the time.

anyways does anyone know of any openings in westchester,bronx? I tried going to RBA but it didnt have any openings.

Hi everyone. My brother and I are exploring the possibility of selling packaged bread at supermarkets but we're not sure if it would be prudent to make use of some sort of bread preservative to increase shelf life and maintain softness. The bread we will produce will be rather sweet (about 17 - 19% sugar), one with no eggs and another with quite a bit of egg yolks (about 17%). I would like to ask for some advice / ideas on this matter. I've read about calcium propionate as being a common bread preservative. Does anyone have experience using this and what are your thoughts on its effectiveness and effect on the bread's overall taste and texture? Are there other better alternatives? Also, has anyone used dough conditioners for sweet breads and breads with plenty of fat, and if so could you recommend something that might be good to increase volume and spring, and maintain softness? I am quite lost on this topic so any suggestions / advice / ideas etc. would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Hi,

Baking loaf bread for many years (about 10) and suddenly since 8 months ago I have this problem with my oatmeal loaf breads and my whole grain loaf breads.

Both breads are made with organic flour and sometimes a mixture of all purpose and bread flour but even with all one type of flour they still explode on one side.

I spoke to a professionla baker and was told to reduce my yeast from 3 oz to 1.5 oz (I'm using 8 pounds of flour in my recipe) and on my 20qt Hobarth to go 3 minutes on low and 3 minutes on high speed instead of the 8 minutes on low which I was doing.

I don't think I am doing anything different than what I was doing before other than the change in yeast and mixing times but I just can't get an evenly baked loaf bread. HELP!  

I am baking small scale for my retail store.  I have been making an oatmeal bread for months now without any problems.  I have been wanting to switch to unbleached, unenriched flour and made the plunge last week.  Made my first batch of oatmeal bread yesterday and the bread would not rise.  Repeated the process today including vital wheat gluten (I had forgotten that the day before) I had a little better results today (added more yeast) but still not happy with the results.  My loafs are very short, before I switched flour I had to really watch the bread so it wouldn't get too high, today it took forever to get to the top of the pan and would go no further.  Help!  Do I need to go back to my regular enriched unbleached flour?  I was wanting to avoid all the extra stuff they put into our flour, figured less is better.  Any advice is appreciated.  Thanks.

hi,

i was wondering if any freshloaf members have any experience with these ovens. i am looking to purchase one to start a small solo bread business.

I'm currently looking for a new job at a bakery,

I currently work in a upscale salumeria as their cook. old/current boss gets mad and slams things even near my workstation when I'm working. If I don't get it right he yells, throws things.

last friday he said I was suppose to pick up pasta and meat for the store, I didn't know he wanted me to do it because he never told me, he threw the phone at the dishwasher's sink and he missed the woman's head by a few inches, then he said he didn't care to go there and get the stuff. I left going then he calls me that the delivery guy is going to be around his area at a certain time and still wanted me to chase the delivery truck down. I just went home after that and pretended I didn't hear the phone ringing.(the place is 40 minutes from where I work) this isn't the only incident. if you don't put in the right amount of peppers in a dish he berates you two other employees got fed up and left.

this morning I came in and he didn't say anything. I started to do my job and he threw a mixing bowl in the sink, I tried to ignore it but I went on to do something else and he said he would handle it and slammed the hotel pan to the wall (It was 2ft away from him).I just took off my apron and got my keys and left. the rest of the staff just leaves at 4 on the dot in the hurry, I always wondered why when I started but now I know, they have rent and bills to pay and just can't leave after that. 

The customers don't know how he treats the staff, they all think he otherwise but one of the employees who left lives in the same town and I started getting asked "How am I treated, etc."

I already asked the bakery owner who I knew since I was 17 I wanted to start to learn pastry arts. it was during the holidays so obviously he was busy but said after the holidays he'll find somewhere to put me. he's on vacation and the bakery is closed so I'll have to wait til he gets back. I could ask a family friend who has a successful restaurant if he could help me out until I get a steady/better job.

Firt off, I apologize that this is definately a repeat topic, but I have a much wider question to ask than the many topics before, so I thought I'd give it a try.

I am currently a hotel and restaurant management undergrad student. I have another year and a half until I graduate. Recently, through my foodservice management class and some lab time in the university union's bakery, I have realized that my dream career is to own/operate my own bakery and cafe. I have been teaching myself to bake at home over the last few months through various websites(KA, The Fresh loaf, etc.) and baking books(I LOVE Peter Reinhart!). I understand the differences inherent in professional/home baking and I am well aware of the failure rate of small businesses, let alone restaurants, let alone bakeries(I am well on my way to a business degree).

My question to the professional bakers on this site is would you please give me any advice you care to give on how to start a career as a baker? I know I need professional training, but do I need to go through a full accredited culinary school, or would somewhere like SFBI professional program be sufficient? What schools/programs would you personally suggest?  And what about internships and apprenticeships? I have atleast four years before I can qualify for a government education grants and loans to attend any kind of baking school and would like to get my foot in the door asap to build up experience in the field. (In fact I need 800 hours of applicable hospitality experience in the next year before I can even get my degree). Would you suggest I beg my parents to pay for workshops and such while they're still supporting me(I know I am VERY lucky) if I can't get hired?

I have tried simply applying for any entry level positions in the few bakeries in my small college town, but in this economy they won't hire what they see on my application(very little experience in food service and college student(high turnover rate, bad attitude, etc.)). Do you have any suggestions on how to get hired in the first place? Should I ask to speak with a manager or baker directly(and waste their time)? Should I bring in an example of one of my own homebaked loaves to show I'm not entirely clueless?

Thankyou for reading my extremely long repeat post, and thankyou in advance for any advice. I would be tickled to death to get any advice at all to help me on my way, anything you care to tell me, regardless of if it relates to what I asked or not...

I live in netherlands and love sourdough. I have dreamt about opening my own bakery but don't think I will be able to make it, for a lot of reasons and money and education being two of them.

Now that I am 43, and would really love a job in a (bread) bakery offering my sourdough experience, I am curious if that's at all possible if you never got an official education. I have thought of just baking a few loaves and take them with me, them being my experience, as opposed to have things written down on paper.

I would like some input and thoughts on this matters......I realise I am not exactly young but I am not old either, plus I am very passionate about good bread which I think is a big plus........

Ok ......it isn't bad to try and follow your dreams, is it.

I'm opening a bakery and am trying to figure out what salary to pay my baker. At the start, I will be doing pastry but need someone to do the bread. This person will be responsible for 50-100 loaves a night, 6 nights a week. If production climbs above that, assistant bakers will be hired. I'm looking for someone, preferably with a culinary degree, and 2-5 years of experience. I need to start low but am very willing to increase the salary as we become profitable.

Thoughts?