Just saying hello - not sure how much time I'll have to post though - too busy baking :-)
Been making bread, cakes, etc. for many years, but in the past 18 months, been doing the sort of hobby microbakery thing making mostly a variety of overnight sourdoughs for a couple of local wholefoods/community shops which has been fun, but in the past month or 2, demand seems to be increasing - probably not a bad thing but who knows!
Anyone else here in a similar position?
-Gordon
Decide how crazy you want your life to be before you are too crazy too soon. By this I mean that you might benefit from deciding how much of your life's short hours you want to devote to baking for others. Two ideas: 1.) The owner of the Falls Bakery in Fergus Falls, MN, decided at the start to bake only the amount of breads and sweets that could be done if he arose at 4am. This keeps his days tolerable to him, allowing him time with his wife and kids. 2.) A local micro-baker I know sends out an e-mail to potential customers which states that on a specific day she'll be making only a certain number of loaves of a particular bread and nothing more that day. She then takes only as many orders as she's willing to fulfill at the price she quotes in the e-mail. On the day and time she's previously announced in the e-mail customers come to pick up their goods. Doing this allows her total control of how much time she devotes to baking, and prevents her baking time from getting out of hand.
Already been doing it for 18 months and I have a system that's working for me - knead, etc. at 9pm, overnight ferment of the sourdough, then up at 7am to shape, prove and bake and the breads in the shop by 9:30.
Although I got up at 6am today as I did 24 loaves (biggest lot for me so-far!) and it's all about oven space & timing, however I've a new (bigger) oven coming in the next few days that will mean I can do one "oven run" for the most part - that's been the key thing for the past month or so.
Sourdough and a long/overnight ferment is the key to it all here for me - if I were doing yeasted then yes, I would be up at silly AM!
It's at the stage where with little effort I could turn a hobby that pays for itself into a proper source of earning, (and I'm already running a few courses for those who've asked) but still not 100% sure if I want to push it that far. It's still fun!
Cheers,
-Gordon
There are quite a few of us UK bakers around TFL and plenty of help and advice from around the world. I hope you can find enough time to post about your experiences.
Happy Baking
It just sort of happened... For a long time I was baking a loaf or 2 a week, having given sourdough a go a few years back and kept it going. Worked out a way that suited me... And all was great....
We went "commercial" 4-5 years ago when a local shop asked my wife to make cupcakes for them once a week, so found out what we needed to do to legally sell stuff we make at home, crossed that hurdle, then, based on some of the partys we threw got asked to do bigger and bigger things - the occasional cream tea for weddings, buffet lunches/suppers, etc. They're a lot harder than it seems when you believe in using good quality food & ingredients. (rather than buy frozen stuff from Iceland!) it's still a hobby and fun...
Then almost 18 months ago, a new wholefoods shop opened in town - I got to know them and baked some bread and cake for them for their grand opening and they asked if I could deliver regularly. 2 loaves a day to start with, but I quickly had to buy a 2nd oven and it went up to 4 a day, then 6 ... and today I baked 24 loaves in my 2 ovens, the most ever - that was split between 2 shops though. I have a 3rd oven being delivered next week sometime and its starting to look like something a shade more than just a hobby...
One thing I have found is the high level of mis-understanding about sourdough. People come into the shop and ask if they sell sourdough - when it's pointed out that all my bread is sourdough, some of them seem somewhat surprised - I think people expect some sort of round/boule shape and that means sourdough to them without really thinking what's actually inside it ... So I'm slowly educating the local population.... (and oddly enough a few months ago when I did produce round loaves they didn't sell that well - I think because they don't slice into sandwiches as well as a long/oval shaped loaf).
My sourdoughs aren't that sour, just a pleasant, light "tang" to them. (Although I could tell you stories about some others I've tasted locally that you could virtually squeeze the vinegar out of )-: I live in an interesting part of Devon in that respect!
So now we only do the outside catering thing for people we know and I do the daily bread. Mid afternoon I sort out the starter(s) and weight up the flours, then evening (9pm ish) I mi & knead, then leave it over night until about 7am when I scale, shape and leave to prove - a mixture of hand shaped and banetons then bake & walk up the road to the shop so they have fresh bread by 9:30. It's quite low-impact and I can fit in checking my geek work/shower/breakfast in-between the proving & baking and put by other hat on by 9:30 or so (self employed geek, I work from home anyway).
I keep looking for new ideas, but don't want to commit to baking too many different types for the shops as that just confuses them, so I need breads that are recognisable without being too weird. e.g. I make spelt breads with a spelt sourdough starter, but I use a mix of about 70% white spelt to 30% wholemeal spelt because it shapes and handles better than a hairy-chested 100% wholemeal spelt loaf! Can't please everyone though - I've had complaints that the crust on my baguettes was too "sharp" and on the same day praise from someone else for making the best baguette they'd tasted with a proper crust! I've had complaints that bread baked in tins wasn't "rustic" enough and that I really shouldn't be selling white bread at all, even if it was sourdough... (I've tried with 100% wholemeal and it really doesn't sell that well!)
Enough for now - I took some photos of the breads I baked today so I could update my website - will post them when I get a chance, but they're just loaves of bread :) And my sourdough failures... Sometimes my chickens didn't even eat them...
Cheers,
-Gordon