DanM

I'm bumping this thread back up. Its hamantashen time, what are you making? Thanks to the influence here, I will be making yeasted with an apple strudel style filling, yeasted with orange frangipane, apricot gingerbread, and maybe chocolate with cherry. Dan

I just had one of those adventures. I found a new grocer near my house that specializes in Caribbean produce and fish. How can I nave NOT known about this place all this time?? Finding fresh pineapple at $1 each is a definate find. Anyhow... I am unfamiliar with some of the fish and roots that they carry. I found brief descriptions for them in Oxford's guide to food and online, but any info and suggested recipes would be greatly appreciated. Fishies: Doctor Butter Jamaican Butter Parrot Goat Grunt Spot Roots: Yampi Yautia lila coco Batata Thanks! Dan

Umm thanks dude, but I am neither a masochist, nor desire the forearms of popeye. I think a mixer will be used if I ever have to make this much bread. I greatly appreciate everyone's advice. I have been thinking about it greatly and have decided to resist the pressure and temptation to open a small operation for at least one year. I will instead try to find a job in a local establishment. I need to work on my skills, see how working 40+ hours a week will effect home life, and work on the numbers more. Now the hard part... Finding a local bakery that knows what they are doing. Sadly, there are not very many around here. Dan

My computer crashed yesterday and was unable to follow up on your thoughts and questions. Why would you charge LESS for your (superior) product? ← I'm sorry for not being 100% clear on this. The local supermarket sells 24oz challahs for $3.95. The challahs I will be making will be 1lbs each at 3.50. Thats 16 cents per oz from them or 21 cents per oz from me. 1 lbs loaves make more sense to me given the quantity purchased by the average family. Yes! I plan on making 2-4 desserts available for preorder with the challahs. I will vary the offerings by season and per holiday. Birthday cakes and special even orders will be possible given the amount of time I might have that given week. Pesach is a whole other beast given that I would need a whole new set of equipment. Working for the synagogue has not been explored. I would prefer to be a separate entity to protect myself and the business from the board's influence. The facility is there, but I am also facing a $7-10k in start up capital to purchase a 20-30 qt mixer, racks, pans, pots, and other equipment. Thanks again everyone! Dan

It is a beautiful and inspiring book. However, many of the recipes call for exotic and unusual ingredients. You may find some of them at Asian markets in your area. For me it is mostly food porn since many of the recipes call for non kosher ingredients. Dan

I was figuring I would be making Challah all day Thurs and Friday. I can probably fit 4 challahs per oven every 40 minutes. If I do a best case scenario of baking ONLY challahs Thurs day Fri with 14 hours of oven time, that is maybe 150 loaves if I am really efficient and have nothing else to bake or do. Per your estimates... my ingredient costs came out to approx $70 per 1 lbs loaf with 2 or 3 loaves per customer. The local supermarket charges $3.95 per loaf and everyone thinks it is crap. So lets say $3.50 per loaf = $7-10 per customer. I can always "hire" slave labor interns from local culinary schools, but I despise the practice of free labor. Any way you slice it, it does not add up to much money. The model that makes the most sense is that this will be a preorder/catering business. A menu of available items would be sent out to members of the local synagogues 2 weeks in advance and then given 1 week to respond for their orders for the upcoming Shabbat. That will give me time to order ingredients and do any prefab. Dan

Hello everyone. In early 2007 I knew that I had to make a career change after marrying the love of my life and the related move to Milwaukee. Wifey convinced me that I was happiest when I was baking in the kitchen and should look into culinary school after we settled down and maybe one day we would open a bakery of our own. Nearly 2 years have come and gone. We have moved to Connecticut and I have completed the baking and pastry program at a mediocre culinary school. Residents of the local Jewish community that we live in have heard about me as a baker and are very excited about the potential for a kosher bakery in the community. Last week was an unofficial start to this potential project when I was asked to make desserts for several small events. My desserts were very well received and now my arm is being twisted in many directions, some not intended by nature to start the business NOW. Members of the shul's board are offering me the synagogue's kitchen to run the business out of as it is not used during the week. I also have people offering to assist me with writing a business plan, working out kosher certification, and obtaining financing or grants from the rich and retired in the community. While I am extremely flattered and rather tempted to make the dive into this, I do have several reservations on actually making this happen. 1. I have no experience in an actual bakery outside of my internship. Not that there are many quality bakeries to learn from or bakery jobs to find... 2. I have no formulas of my own and lack the experience and knowledge to develop my own. I currently bake from what I find in cookbooks. 3. My wife is in law school and shows no desire to give up her career. In fact, she plans on us to move in 2+ years after she graduates. The potential for a bakery will be taken into consideration when choosing a place to move to. 4. I don't know if the synagogue's kitchen has enough equipment capacity to make this work. They currently have a Vulcan double convection oven, two 48" ranges and a 4 door True fridge. 5. My wife and I want to start a family. I do not know what the impact of the business will have on our family life. Once we have kids, they will come before any possible business. 6.With the economy as it is and our investments greatly depreciated, I just don't know if it is worth the financial risk. I have expressed these concerns to LOML and am leaning towards not pursuing the business for a year or two and get more experience in a bakery for a year or two while I work out these issues. But my arm is being twisted more that I may be passing up on a good opportunity and not to chicken out. What are your thoughts? Dan

Thanks everyone for your thoughts on this matter. I will be contacting a rabbi who is a local kashrut expert to see if he is willing to put on a practical class on this subject. Hopefully that will resolve any remaining issues. Thanks again! Dan

In addition to many comments already listed, I will share these thoughts. I do not like it when ethic cookbooks do not include sample menus or recipe pairings. Any chef who puts in a dessert or pastry section into their book with obviously no knowledge of baking and pastry. Listing the prep and cook times, but failing to mention overnight marinades or rests. Dan

I can try making my own in the future, but would prefer to buy it pre-made in large quantities if I make an official business out of this. Thanks again for the advice. Dan

From my experience living in Milwaukee a few years back, Most of the items listed could be found at Sendik's, The Spice House, The Public Market, or a few local ethnic stores and butchers that I cannot remember the names of. Dan

I am wondering if anyone knows of a source for almond paste that is free of artificial preservatives and flavors. I reluctantly using American Almond products, but would prefer to use a brand that did not use unnecessary chemicals. Thanks, Dan

I was at Sur La Table the other day picking up a few things and saw a French made boxwood baton style rolling pin for a whopping $79.95! I decided that the $11.95 beechwood baton rolling pin is perfectly fine for my needs. http://www.surlatable.com/product/kitchenb...+20%26%2334-.do Is there REALLY a difference between the two, or is this just silly? Dan

← Thank you for the link!! I will have to read it in detail when time allows. And yes, you are right about the ethical isssue of using non cage free eggs in a business to reduce waste and the associated increase in costs. Thanks for the details on blood spots. I have never seen a cage free white egg. I guess it is one of those marketing things where people think that brown eggs equal natural. Dan

The issue comes from a biblical law prohibiting the consumption of blood. This is a do or don't type situation with no leeway. For now, I will do my best to distinguish between the two. Once, or if, this goes full bore I will need official supervision from the local kashrut agency and I will require them to show me the difference. Dan

Very simple, tax breaks and government incentives. Dan

I will be honest, I have never seen this until now. I have taken classes on kashrut and this has never been brought up. Ditto with culinary school where they taught "Blood spots bad, throw out blood spots". Given that the school's low academic standards and was more interested in profits than education, I am not surprised by this. I appreciate you posting this. The article would be more useful if it had pictures to show the difference between a protein spot and a blood spot. But it does get me in the right direction. Thanks again, Dan

While I understand that "cage free" and "free range" eggs are very loosely defined, I do feel that they are a step in the right direction. I have an ethical objection to animals being treated as machinery by being locked in cages solely for the purpose of producing eggs. The extra dollar for the "cage free" and "free range" eggs is a small price increase I am willing to take at home. However... I keep kosher and eggs with blood spots are immediately thrown out. I understand that it is harder to candle eggs with thick brown shells, but I often have 50% waste due to blood spots. Today I had to go through 10 eggs to find 4 without blood spots. I am being nudged... slightly pushed into becoming a baking caterer for the local Jewish community. In a business sense, I cannot afford that kind of loss and waste. Should I compromise on the egg issue to reduce this waste and cost issue? Your thoughts are most welcome. Dan

There is nothing wrong with inspired sushi. One of my wife and my favorite restaurants here in New Haven is Miya's Sushi. You really need to read this menu. http://www.miyassushi.com/menu.html Dan

I am interested in trying out this sort of work, but with some unique restrictions. LOML and I keep kosher and don't eat red meats. Is there a fair amount of recipes for turkey, chicken, and fish based (Ive had salmon pepperoni... delicious!) cured meats for me to explore? Thanks, Dan PS, does anyone have a source for kosher certified casings?

I have made buttercream with parve margarine, but agree with the greasy quality. I might make it with chocolate and see if it masks the flavor. Thanks, Dan

I have been asked to make a cake or two for this upcoming weekend. The catch is that it has to be parve, or dairy free. I have never found a non dairy buttercream or frosting formula that actually tastes good. Does anyone have a good recipe that they are willing to share? Thanks, Dan

My wife and I came across Denis Cotter by happy accident while cycling through Ireland. Once we got home, we immediately purchased this two (now three) cookbooks. They are a regular source for dinners, especially when we want something fancy. I was wondering if anyone else has his books and what you think about them. Dan

+1 on a Chicago style dog. The hot dog needs a poppy seed bun and is topped with sliced tomatoes, diced onion, a pickle spear, neon green relish, sport peppers and finished with yellow mustard and celery salt. Dan

I have had luck in the past using instant coffee or espresso that has been dissolved in the least amount of water possible. Espresso does give a stronger flavor. I can't give exact proportions as it varies from brand to brand. Trial and error will be your guide. Dan