Subscribing to The Skillfull Woman not only makes me smile but also lets me know that there are people out there interested in reading what I write.
If you’re new here, you can read how it all began in this article. There is a second sourdough update here, too.
It’s been over a month since I last updated you on what’s been going on in the sourdough department. And you guessed it, things have changed and grown again.
We’ve just returned from a MUCH needed week away and I’m so thankful for the break we had. It also did the world of good to my outlook on baking bread. Selling bread is a relentless practice because it depends a lot of good timing and ‘nailing it’ without the expensive equipment that helps commercial bread-makers nail it.
I have two things to share today:
1. Sourdough Business Growth
These days, two businesses order my sourdough.
A local bistro orders my bread to serve to their customers. Toasted sandwiches, breakfasts with toast, etc. It’s my sourdough on their plates and it fills me with joy … and a little bit of trepidation. Our agreement is that we will trial my sourdough and see how it is received by customers. So far, I’ve heard good things. But like with this entire journey, I’m holding it lightly. If my sourdough doesn’t work out for the owners, I’m okay with this.
Farm to Fork, a local frozen meal business is receiving a lot of orders for my sourdough. This week, I’ll be baking 20 loaves to give them as stock. Not quite sure how I’ll reach this number but hey-ho, I’ll try.
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2. Sourdough Business Changes
It’s summer and if there is one thing you need to know before baking your own sourdough, it’s that sourdough is hugely affected by temperatures. When you’re baking just for yourself, this isn’t much of an issue because you roll with it. The bread has over-proofed? So what. But when you’re selling bread, you want to nail your timing and temperatures.
Big bread factories have specialized equipment for proofing and keeping temperatures regular. But I don’t have this equipment and my profit margins are so slim that if I invested in them, I’d be paying off the loan for years and years.
Recently, I wrote a tiny bit about how much easier I’m finding it to adjust to surprise detours in life. I wrote about this in relation to growing sunflowers, and you can read it here. But the same principal applies to this scenario of warmer temperatures.
I’ve always offered fresh loaves twice a week and have recently introduced the option of sliced frozen loaves. But with warmer temperatures having arrived in full force, I’ve decided to only offer one day a week for fresh loaves and I’ll be keeping a freezer full of sliced loaves.
I still have to get my timing right with the proofing but if I botch a loaf, I just wont put it in the sales freezer, i.e. I don’t have the pressure of a customer expecting a fresh loaf at a particular time.
I may find that I need to cancel the option of fresh loaves all-together. We will see!
My sister visited us over her summer holidays and was in the kitchen with me as I baked in August. She kindly took some shots of me in the process of baking sourdough. I thought I’d share the one below, just to give some context. My baking has to happen around my family and sometimes, with a baby strapped to my front.
There are no frills and trills over here. Just good bread =)