Going Crazy...finally Licensed And First Big Order!

Business By Lcfmom2003 Updated 3 Jul 2007 , 12:35pm by jesaltuve

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Lcfmom2003 Posted 3 Jul 2007 , 2:52am
post #1 of 3

So I decided in May that I wanted to get licensed so I could finally advertise and sell my cakes and other goodies. Thought maybe I would take some stuff to the farmer's market to get some exposure. A friend who makes wonderful cookies said she'd be interested in getting licensed to, so we checked into renting space in a professional kitchen...long story short, we passed inspection on Thursday last week and baked for the first time on Friday night!!! Yeah! We were super excited to get started...had a horrible first night of baking--still baking at 10:30 that night and trouble with the oven...But, then: Sold out of everything at the market on Saturday, had tons of compliments on our goods and took a huge order for a sheet cake and breakfast items for two mornings for 120 people each day!!! We didn't do a lot of planning and now are feeling overwhelmed with our first order. AH! We figured we had to time to "get our feet wet" but we had this request almost first thing Saturday morning and felt like we couldn't turn it down.

A couple of questions: Will you please share your experiences/tips of baking in a commercial oven? There is one rack in the 2 X 2 oven and we are spending a LOT of time trying to get things to bake--nothing came out like it has when we've baked at home and everything took longer than usual. (Example--my lemon bread usually has a nice crown to it and my bread came out brown and flat on top...cookies were darker than usual and spread a lot more as well). Someone told me that commercial ovens usually only have one rack--why? And can we add another?

If anyone bakes other items, such as cinnamon rolls, muffins or coffee cakes, please share how you do your pricing.

Any tips on handling a big order and getting it all done would be appreciated!

To top it off, the person who placed the order used to own her own bakery out in Colorado, so she knows what she is doing! I asked her why she just wasn't doing the baked goods herself and she said, "Honey, I'm getting too old to do this much quantity! It's someone else's turn!" So, we are feeling a little intimidated as well! icon_smile.gif

Anyway, it is exciting to be getting started...in a town of 10,000, there is not another person offering baked goods in a bakery or order-only, as we are doing...hoping for some good business but afraid of growing too fast as we both have other jobs and kids!

Becky

2 replies
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jesaltuve Posted 3 Jul 2007 , 12:34pm
post #2 of 3

Commercial Ovens: It's a convection oven, right?Usually the problem is the fan. Lower the temp. Especially if your bread was brown and flat and the cookies spread. You can also start with your regular temp, if closer to 350 and lower after 10 min or so. (But not with cookies) And you can add more than one rack, it's always going to help distribute heat.
If when you lower temp and add racks you find you still need to adjust a bit, open the doors slightly so your fan turns off, but watch the temp so it doesn't drop too drastically. This I only say to do while you play and get a feel for the oven.

Believe it or not 300F is a good temp for cookies, 325 for the lemon and coffe cakes. You can also add a sheet wth water at the bottom of the oven for some moisture for you muffins, coffe cakes, etc.

Hope this helps!

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jesaltuve Posted 3 Jul 2007 , 12:35pm
post #3 of 3

Oh, and relax, don't worry too much. If you have faith in your recipes, all will be fine. They will love your goods!!!!

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