Market Day 1

   My very first farmer's market day was this past Saturday. It was quite a success for me. I came with 16 loaves and 2 dozen muffins - I sold out of all my loaves and had only a few muffins left. Among the variery was sourdough, potato oatmeal, rye, carrot raisin, banana nut, cinnamon apple crumb and lemon poppyseed. Let me say this, I bit off a little more than I could chew. Friday night was mayhem in my kitchen! I had a breakdown at about 11:30 p.m.

The Baker's Workshop

   Because this was my first bread sale, I think I wanted to show people everything I was capable of at once and made too many kinds of bread for my own good. Reflecting on lessons I learned in my kitchen Friday night, I think I'll do things differently this week.

Carrot Raisin Bread

   Lesson 1: Initially, I thought that the specialty breads would be easier to make, because for most of them I can dump all the ingredients together, mix and bake. But it turns out, these are the recipes that caused me to go into a psychosis and lose my mind late into the night. One specialty bread, fine. But 4 was insanity. There were so many different ingredients for each one. I ran myself ragged preparing all the ingredients and cleaning bowls and utensils. Mayhem! I zested 12 lemons for my lemon poppyseed muffins and thought my arm was going to fall off. I had to clean my food processor 3 times, once after carrots, cinnamon crumb and banana puree. I ended up cutting my production for specialty breads in half because I was simply defeated by midnight. From now on, I will offer one specialty bread each week and rotate my menu weekly.

Sourdough Rising

   Lesson 2: The yeast breads like sourdough are a lot less work in reality. Even though they take a few days for the knead and rise process, the time and aggravation is significantly less. AND one recipe usually make 2 or more loaves. So financially, the cost for production is less, allowing me to sell them for a bit less than the specialty breads. Originally I had them priced $2 higher.
   Lesson 3: Make less muffins. Although my sample lemon poppyseed muffins were a hit and drew people in, the jumbo muffins didn't sell that well. I made 24 and came home with 9 and actually gave a few away - 2 to my hair dresser and one to a homeless man. My friend Kim came to the market to help me and I sent her home with a box of them. So, maybe half a dozen next time.

Welcome to the market!

   My vendor space at the market was awesome. I was smack in the middle of the market set up and on a high-traffic aisle. The only bummer was there was another bread vendor (commercial bread though - not homemade) on the main entry aisle and he caught a few customers that may have otherwise bought from me. Some even said so, after they had made their purchase. They told me "Next week, we'll come here first!"
   Some remarks I got from customers after their purchase included:

   "Your bread was soooo good that I broke my diet and ate it all day," - Kelly Teale, Fresh Vintage Hair Salon, downtown Ocala.

   "The cinnamon apple crumb bread was like a 'foodgasm' in my mouth," - friend of Christina Martinez, who received the bread as a gift.

   "Here it is, the best bread in Ocala," - Sharon Bruce, a coworker who spotted my booth at the market.

  Another great thing, is that people at work have started placing orders! Friday afternoon, I announced via email to some of the ladies at the office that I would be at the market. A few suggested I bring bread into work on Fridays or Mondays to sell to the folks who couldn't make it to the market. One of them, placed an order for rosemary foccacia bread and paid in advance! I happily baked it last night and delivered it this morning :) Several people from work stopped by the market to show support and buy some bread. I appreciate that so much!

   I believe this week I will try to master the french baguette, since my last attempt was a complete bomb. If perfected, I will have it at market this weekend. Stay tuned!

Experiment Success

   We had company come to town last night and I really wanted to make her a treat. I also wanted to experiment with a good muffin recipe for the summer, something that would sell well at the farmer's market. I decided to play with my blueberry muffin recipe and tweak it for lemon poppyseed bread/muffins.
   Even though I doubled my ingredients, it still only made enough for 6 jumbo muffins. I would probably have to quadrouple it for market day. I was "winging it" as they say when it came to the amount of lemon zest and poppyseeds. I loosely followed a recommendation from a scone recipe I found. Flour, sugar, eggs, baking soda, vanilla, pinch of salt and butter. The key ingredient is sour cream, surprisingly. It keeps the muffins nice and moist inside. Great muffins should be a little sticky on top when they're done.
   I was so pleased with the way they came out, I sent four in a bakery box as a gift with my friend to take to her mom in South Florida. I consider it my first out of town delivery :) Lemon poppyseed will now be added to the menu for market day!

Bread Moments is Off the Ground!

   I have officially launched my bread business! I've started slow by becoming a vendor at a local farmer's market on the Ocala downtown square. I ordered a banner and some t-shirts with my logo and I went to Cheney Bros. to pick up some packaging supplies like bags and pastry boxes. I will be on the square hustling to sell my loaves from 8am-1pm this Saturday, and every other Saturday I'm in town from now on.
   I'm thinking of offering samples for one or two types of bread. For sale: carrot raisin, cinnamon apple crumb (possibly in muffin and loaf form), banana nut, rye, sourdough and wheat sourdough, and potato oatmeal. Hopefully I sell out! Wish me luck :)

Getting Serious

   As my bread baking progresses, I am getting closer to having a "bread business". This week alone, I made corn bread muffins (to go with some turkey chilli we made) and two loaves of potato oatmeal bread. Both came out great! I made an extra loaf of the potato bread for a friend that's in town. So far, this bread is my favorite - very moist and chewy.
    I visited the new farmer's market on the Ocala downtown square this past weekend. It was awesome! There was fresh produce, baked goods, jewelry, genuine arts and crafts, and even plants for sale. I inquired about becoming a vendor and was ecstatic to find out the vendor space fee is only $20 and includes a tent! I would just need to bring tables and chairs. And bread of coarse! I plan on starting my sales in July and will include breakfast breads like the cinnamon apple crumb, carrot raisin, chocolate chip and then some sandwich breads like rye and sourdough. So excited!
   Also, my brother, who is a talented graphic designer, is helping me design a business logo. Once I get that banged out, I'll have business cards and packaging with my logo on it :) A facebook page will be the next step! Stay tuned and look for "Bread Moments" on the downtown square on Saturdays.

Chocolate Lovers Annonymous

   Occasionally I make a double recipe and send the 2nd loaf with Ian to work. His boss' wife has been requesting something chocolate and luckily, the next recipe on my list was chocolate chip bread! If you shy away from butter, this recipe is not for you. Flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, eggs, vanilla, cocoa powder and lots of butter. A single recipe requires a stick and a half.
   Bring 3 tbls of water to a boil and add 3 tbls of cocoa powder to make a paste. Let the paste cool, add the vanilla and eggs and beat well until a liquid sauce forms. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl and add the butter (softened) and half the chocolate sauce. Beat this on speed #4 or med/high. This will incorporate a lot of air and make the batter very light and fluffy. Add the rest of the chocolate sauce and remain beating on med/high until thoroughly mixed. Fold in a 1/4 cup of chocolate chips.
   Heavily grease your loaf pan and pour the batter in to fill the pan 1/2 inch from the top. In a preheated oven at 350 degrees, place the pans on a center rack. Bake for 25 minutes and then create a tinfoil tent to cover the top of the loaf so it does not over-brown. Cook for an addition 25 minutes.
   Review: This loaf was very tasty but a little dry. It had a light consistancy, almost like cake instead of bread. I was surprised to see no oil in the ingredients lists. I think I would add a 1/3 of cup the next time I try it.