On Tue, 02 Mar 2004 02:35:15 +0000, Thomas Kerscevsky wrote:

> 1. there's a big difference between baking a couple of loaves of 3
> different kinds of bread on a Saturday, and 50 loaves of 10 varieties
> every single day - PLUS dozens of donuts and the like.

This sounds great and very exciting to me (READ: one who isn't doing it).

THE GOOD: Have you looked at what your wholesaler or baking supply
house might offer? I know BakeMark offers a wide variety of frozen doughs and
mixes that would take a lot of pressure off of you until you get your
thing going full steam. How you fixed on cooler/freezer space? Anyway, one
could start an entire product line with the things they have.

THE BAD: I'm taking it that you are going to be making everything up
by hand, at least the bread? Yes, there is a big difference. Ya gotta
be fast, fast, fast. Which can only come from time, time, time.
You might be able to hire an experienced bakery worker who
could show you some stuff during their fleeting moments of sobriety.
Habla Espanol?

THE UGLY: One thing hardly mentioned is that commercial baking is really
a physical challenge, particularly when doing make-up by hand. I've
worked at two commercial bakeries (one large one small) and developed
trouble with my hands after about a year at the small one
because of the constant trauma due to the make-up and scaling. Also the
hours are a bitch given that decent bread can't be done in one 8 hour
shift. Are you married? You know you're a REAL baker when
you come home and your wife says, 'Excuse me, sir, can I help you?"

What type of equipment are you going to be using?