/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>10887117
Got a favorite recipe?
Hardest thing you make?
Easiest thing you make?
Is fresh bread a necessity for you or are you cool with older preservative stuff

What position did you hold before? How did you become the owner?

>>10887117
Tune in next week for The Baker Pt III: Bankruptcy.

>>10887117
Nice blog post trip fag. Now go back to /reddit/

>>10887117
What do you do with your old bread once it goes stale and isn't good to sell anymore? Or are you so popular that you just sell all your bread every time?

>>10887128

>Got a favorite recipe?

I'm currently developing a ciabattini roll based around the starter for our main sourdough loaf, and it's coming out really well, so that's been a fun recipe to tinker with. Our main sourdough loaf recipe is also pretty interesting. It uses a poolish, a hard starter, and instant yeast.

>Hardest thing you make?

Probably going to end up being the ciabattini. You can hardly even sneeze around the dough without it losing all its air. We used to do a vollkornbrut about a year ago which is also a pretty challenging dough.

>Easiest thing you make?
Is fresh bread a necessity f

Our main sourdough loaf. We make so much of it and I've been doing it so long that one other baker and I can pump out ~400 loaves in the course of a 7 hour shift.

>Is fresh bread a necessity for you or are you cool with older preservative stuff

Since we bake daily we don't bother getting flour with any preservatives. The bread tends to go hard before it goes moldy, anyway.

>>10887135

I started as a delivery driver/baker's assistant and graduated to head baker about a year ago. The previous owners had family stuff going on in another state that disallowed them from investing as much time as they wanted in the business, and they wanted to own a bakery to be in the bakery, not just to do the bookkeeping for a bakery. They offered it to me at a great price and I took it.

>>10887139

I unironically created a reddit account to keep tabs on folks around town talking about the bakery and I kind of hate myself for it.

>>10887146

We're wholesale so the end retailer deals with all that.

>>10887117
How good are your chocolate chip cookies and why are chocolate chip cookies the only thing that matters in the context of nourishment?

>>10887395

We don't have any refrigeration at the bakery so we can't do pastries, really. I also have basically no experience with anything other than bread.

>>10887117
What is the local population #’s?

Thanks for making this bread-- err THREAD Mr. Bakerman

>>10887178
>I unironically created a reddit account to keep tabs on folks around town talking about the bakery and I kind of hate myself for it.

Why do you hate yourself for it?

What kind of stuff have you been reading?

What is the username?

>>10887478

200k ish in the city proper, though we deliver to a neighboring town as well.

>>10887481

I've been on and off 4chan for the last decade so I have an innate and unreasonable bias against reddit. Not much conversation yet, as I just took over a week ago and it's not a customer facing business. I'll probably go to the local newspaper for a write up in the next few weeks.

>>10887117
Im from the midwest..but your picture seems pretty hipster and wouldnt last where I am. Also probably stupid expensive...Im betting you target the no gluten audience too?

As a tip for anyone going into business, make sure you have plenty (PLENTY) of time to get all of the bureaucratic stuff in order before your opening date. Cities will take their damn sweet time to get you the licenses/paperwork that you need to actually operate, and State agencies for taxes are even worse. Things kind of came down to the wire for me because lawyers/accountants are slow as shit and I basically had to do the entire set up of the business in the last two weeks before signing the purchase agreement. I would recommend avoiding that if at all possible.

>>10887501
>200k
Aww shit, was thinking of buying a little place, but there is only 3k people, think it would be too difficult.

>>10887519
take into consideration the amount of obese people with diabetes. They aint eating none of that shit.

>>10887139
>HURRRRR I'M AN EDGY 4CHAN NIGGER

kys.

keep up the good work, OP. good to see a decent thread on /ck/ that isn't some brony shoving skittles up their dickhole

>>10887528
That’s why I will pass, shame too, it’s a rare brick oven.

>>10887513

>your picture seems pretty hipster

It's literally just a picture of bread.

>Also probably stupid expensive

Nah. We have really good local name recognition so we can upsell a bit, but we wholesale those giant white loaves for 5.50 each, and restaurants can get about 12 full sized sandwiches out of each loaf.

>Im betting you target the no gluten audience too?

Nah. For one, I haven't really done much GF baking, and I'm not particularly interested in it. Secondly, to actually call anything we make GF we would have to do it in a different facility. I have good insurance but I'm not trying to get sued by someone with Celiac's over cross contamination.

>>10887117
how do you go from employee to owner, did you buy it?

>>10887541
temptations are always covered in sin and seem to always come out bad for me.....maybe your luck is different.

That nice. Don't fuck it up and had it turn into a starbuck within the year.

>>10887519

It might be doable even in a small market. If you're willing to do all or most of the work in a bakery you can keep overhead really low, as flour costs essentially nothing. We get 50lb bags for 15 bucks each.

>>10887544

Yup. I put in a small down payment and am financing the rest thru the previous owner over three years.

>>10887543
Understand Im from the bum fuck country land, so yeah we never see that kind of bread unless we go way out of our way to find it. People here would rather buy the unhealthy white suger precut bread than pay for that. Also restaurants here would do the same because it would save them money. Im not dogging on your business, Im just saying you gotta be in a wealthy area sort of to make that business work.

>>10887552
It’s the might part that scares me. Even if I had a night guy throwing pizza in the oven, still not sure 3k isn’t a big customer base.

>>10887576

For sure. It's way too easy for even upscale restaurants to save on costs by buying baked goods through giant retailers. That's part of my sales pitch, though. "Y'all are buying meats and veggies from local producers for all your shit. Don't ruin the final product by slapping it all on 2 dollar white bread from Sysco."

>>10887581
advertising and social media is wild today....if you know how to do that and throw your name out without looking like your company is shilling itself...it may work....but only with pizza....people generally dont rave about crazy good bread on their facebook or even give reviews of bread.

>>10887581

I understand that.

>>10887568
how did you start working as a baker?
any previous culinary knowledge before you started their?

>>10887594
you would have to compete with all the local lil c's and twattery that is shit pizza

>>10887598

I lived with a bunch of hippies out in the woods for three years and learned to bake there. When I moved to the city I just baked a bunch of bread at home and brought it around to local bakeries as my resume.

How much time are you still enjoying your job now that you have to balance books, orders, and staffing?

>>10887117
What is the percentage of stuff that you don't sell at the end of the day?
What do you do with it?
How much does that eat into your profits?
I rarely buy any bakery items, because a neighbour of mine has a friend who owns a bakery.
My neighbour brings home a boot full of wonderful breads and sweets every Saturday and I get to pick up enough to last the week and that's for a family of 3, and I don't really make a dent in what she brings home.

>>10887624
damn bro....You weren't messing around

>>10887117
how do I make day old bread taste freshly baked

Good luck OP. I wish you well. I’m still playing with the numbers... (I fell in love with the 111 year old brick oven).

>>10887653

>What is the percentage of stuff that you don't sell at the end of the day?

Not very high. Doing exclusively wholesale, most of our customers have standing orders and will call in to adjust based on what they need. The only weird account is with one of the big grocery stores, and they have terms that if they don't sell it they send it back and don't pay for it. I think they end up sending back maybe 10% of their loaves on a slow week, and that retailer is maybe 15% of the business by order volume.

>How much does that eat into your profits?

Again, not much. It's worth it just to get so much bread out consistently.

>>10887669

Most whole loaves can be thrown in an oven/toaster oven at ~250 degrees for a few minutes and they'll come back to life. Keeping it wrapped in plastic wrap will also help it bounce back quickly.

>>10887674

Thanks anon.

>>10887638

I'm only a week into it so I can't say for sure. But it's alright so far. This first month is going to continue to be crazy, but once all of my vendor/customer accounts are completely set up and the initial craze is over, the business end of things shouldn't take up too much time.

>>10887117
>AMA
OMG I LOVE THESE KINDS OF THREADS! :O
How much bread do you make a day?
How much do you charge for a loaf of bread?
What kind of breads do you sell?
How many kinds of breads are there?
Do you like eating bread?
Is it true that if you sprinkle activated yeast on store bought bread it reactivates the yeast that became inert when it was baked?
Have you ever eaten raw activated dry yeast before? (I have)
How much do you make a year?
Have you ever thought about making a food truck that's just a bakery with a full sized oven in the back?
What's the name of your bakery?
Do you give the leftover stale bread to homeless people?
Did the original owner of the bakery die?
How many bakeries are there in the US?
What's the biggest bread you've ever baked?
Do you have a gluten allergy?
Have you ever eaten raw dough right before it rises? (I have)
What kind of bread is best?
Do you really need yeast to make bread or nah?
How much bread does the average person eat in a day? In a year?
If you could bake only one bread what would it be?
How much bread does it take to feed 100 people?
Have you ever burnt the bread by accident or on purpose?
How many loaves of bread would it take to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool, with water and without?
Is there any kind of bread that doesn't have carbs?
Would you ever consider putting cheese in or on the bread?
How much yeast would it take to make a loaf of bread the size of a humvee?
How many eggs do you use a day?
Have you ever thought about selling the bakery to someone else?
If you were on a desert island what 3 bread ingredients would you bring with you?
How many people eat baked goods a day?
Do you make other baked goods or just bread?
Have you ever made a bread bowl before?
How much bread would it take to feed North Korea's entire army?
How do you know when the bread is done?
Have you ever used fresh eggs instead of store bought for the bread?
Do you eat the bread you bake?
Did you go to culinary school?

>>10887576
>Im just saying you gotta be in a wealthy area sort of to make that business work.
>you have to be in a wealthy area to get bread that isn't wonderbread
this is what flyovers actually believe

>>10887794

>>10887794
Why

>>10888557
>>10888683
Autism

>>10887117
Do you like the names of lots of bread?

>>10887514
I hope your payroll tax stuff is all in order too. The penalties for screwing up payroll taxes are savage.

>>10887117
Huh, no kidding. Kind of amazing that you got hold of the place like that. Pegged you for the type who was content just doing the job itself. Good for you, OP. I hope everything goes well for you. Did the old owner leave you with many tricks, or any lessons as a new business owner? How close were you with them in general?

Nothing better than watching other people work hard:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUuKstAWof4

>>10889425
good vid

great music

>>10889406
Kill yourself

>>10887513
>literally a picture of a wall, a rack and some bread
>hipster
lol

Have you been affected by bakers lung? Never heard of it until meeting someone suffering from it a few years ago.

>>10887794
>AMA reddit thread
>OP doesn't even answer the most pertinent questions

>>10887117
Hey I wanna start being a baler but no dedicated bakery in my town is hiring inexperienced bakers/apprentices. There is an open spot at a Panera bread which ive applied for. Do you think thats a good place to start?

>>10891003
If you're gay then that's a great career choice. Once you work at 'nera 'ead you'll be a manager in no time making $7.25/hr.

>>10889494
Exposed brick triggers people used to paneling.

>>10887794
Oh my jesus fucking christ! Do you have literal Autism?

>>10887117
>AMA

>>10889295

That's really the one thing I was concerned about with all of this, but my accountant hooked me up with a local full service payroll company. They're more expensive than just doing it thru QB, but all I ever have to do is tell them how many hours everyone worked and they take care of everything else.

>>10889425

I want a dough divider so bad.

>>10889497

Not that I've noticed. I quite smoking about a month ago, actually, so my respiratory system is better than it's been in years.

>>10891003

I don't really know how similar baking at Panera is to baking at...well...actual bakeries, but it's probably more useful to have on your resume than something that's completely unrelated to baking.

>>10887794
>40 separate questions in one post
Kek

>>10891103

>>10887576
>wealthy business
Literally ever bumfuck place i have lived in kentucky has a bakery what the fuck are you on anon cooking bread is fundemental in poor communities

>>10887117
What kind of finish is on the brick wall in your pic, and does it ever get dust on the bread?

>>10891110
It's called faggot boutique

>>10891110

Just some red paint, and nah. I was kind of surprised that the Dep of Ag wasn't annoyed by all the exposed brick, though. It seems like, because they classify bakeries as low risk, as long as you're not really, really fucking things up, they don't knock you for anything.

>>10887117

I worked at a jewish deli when I was in high school. All of the cooking equipment/prep areas were blessed by a rabbi so it was kosher. One day I stayed late because the manager and I were doing a little day drinking and I ended up fucking her on the prep table. I was experiencing a little whiskey dick, so I slapped it on the table a few times to get the blood going again like they do in my favorite flicks.

Are the jews who ate at bagels prepared there now destined for a eternity of hell since they didn't eat kosher? Thank you in advance

>>10887117
Why would anybody professional visit /ck/?

>>10887117
You in NYC and are you hiring?

>>10891121
I was asking because wife just bought a Rofco B-40 and is running a micro bakery out of our apartment kitchen. We just exposed a brick wall there and that shit is crumbly. Trying to figure out just how to finish it.

>>10887117
what deserts do you sell there ?
can u post photos of everything you have
thats really cool OP good job

>>10891132
Op here, all those poor juden are going to hell

>>10887117

>AMA

plebbit LARPer

>>10891133

I'm still young and haven't kicked the old habit of visiting here, yet.

>>10891145

Nope and nope.

>>10891182

Hmm. You could stucco over it.

>>10891231

We don't do pastries. Just bread. The two in the OP are what we're mostly doing now. Currently working on a ciabattini roll too, though.

>>10887117
Do you like anime? Do you like cute anime girls?

>>10891267
why not expand into pastries?

>>10891294
Yes and yes

>>10887581
Figure out how much you need to sell a day in average and go from there. If it's a town of 3k people you'll likely be the only option aside from supermarket bread. If you are in a convenient location with a quality product for a good price you'll be the main supplier of bread to quite a few families. You could supply cafés in the area that don't bake their own stuff as well.

>>10891267
What temperatures do you bake at?
Fire or electric?

>>10887117
What state are you located in? Do you sell anything else besides bread, such as desserts or breakfast sandwiches? Congrats on your ownership and accomplishing something good like that.

>>10887117
Nothing to ask, just congrats, OP.

>>10891397

We don't have the space for it. We's need to be able to keep things cold and we don't have any refrigeration here.

>>10891677

440 for the sourdough and honey wheat. Ciabattini seem like they're enjoying 460 and dropping to 440 as they darken. We have a big ol gas oven.

How do I into bread op? I just wanna make some basic bread for my sandwich lunches throughout the week.

What are my basic ingredients I need and do I actually NEED a stand mixer

>>10894500

Buy Forkish's "Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast." It'll teach you everything you need to know to make really, really good bread at home. Forkish specifically recommends *not* using a mixer. I have some pictures of a poolish based recipe from it I'll post when I'm home.

>>10887139
how rude

>>10887117
You actually managed to make something, congrats on being better than 90% of this board

>>10891003
i think that is a really good way to start getting experience baking, and learning some of the technical aspects of it. of course they probably have strict quality control and requirements in their recipes but maybe you can move on to something a little more high level after.

>>10891132
they were going to hell anyway for being jews, and not accepting christ as their lord+savior

>>10891397
it seems like OPs bakery just makes bread. It's more of an artisan bread factory with a storefront than a bakery for the average consumer.

Do you know how to make bread pie? Could be a nice addition to your products and a way to handle leftovers in a fun way

Chinky here and I have minimal knowledge on bread but I have been to France once, why is it that other country can't make the exact bread/baguette like in France, at least in Asia, all baguette are terrible

>>10896558
Baguette is just white bread. Asians just can't into bread

>>10896674
>baguette is just white bread

>>10896558
>at least in Asia, all baguette are terrible
s-so Yakitate!! Ja-pan lied to me?? :(

>>10896558
The Viets should be able to make it. They were colonized by the French.

>>10896729
they aren't even able to cook pizzas.....

>>10897226
Pizzas aren't French.

>>10897235
Well since the Gaul (French) barbarians were subdued and colonized by the roman empire (Italians), technically pizza is french.