Blond007

Rockin' good name. Gender? (Spencer) Sorry guys, this'll have to do until I figure out those nifty little boxes everyone else has mastered. Thanks for the welcome, Jimmyo and Spencer! I've been reading for a few weeks, but haven't gotten into the whole posting bit 'til now. Female, not blond at all! I'm more on the baking side of things than cooking, but humble and willing to learn. Well, willing to learn, anyway. OK, enough distraction! On with the debate! To throw another twist into it, what about a baker who creates beautiful, intricate baked goods, and displays them in the bakery case, when they're not for sale? Sure, it's good for his ego, and impresses the customers, but they're also disappointed when they learn it's not available because it's so labor-intensive it would be impossible to produce on demand, even if they were willing to pay the outrageously high price he would have to charge (we're talking $200.00 loaves of bread here). He claims it's an expression of his art, but he doesn't have to turn down customers every day. Is showing people something they can't have inspirational, or stupid?

Help! The post I was *trying* to respond to disappeared. Forgive the interruption, I'l show myself out...

Hmmm... I'm relatively new to egullet (signed up a month or two ago) and love the lively debates. I see both sides, since (among other things) I serve as a buffer between bakers and customers. They both seem to think it's OK to have a tantrum if they don't get their way. I dunno...Miss Manners would probably say a gracious customer doesn't make unreasonable demands, and a gracious host does everything possible to accomodate his guests' wishes. I do think, however, that there's a differentiation between refusing to try something new before changing it (would the "don't salt food before you taste it" rule apply?) and having absolute rules about what you eat (allergies, kosher, vegetarian, whatever). However, as anyone in the service indutries knows, the customer is always right, and also usually dumber than a mud fence. I really only stay in this job because the bakery front has a case with a curved glass front, and I never get tired of watching people smack their heads on it! I know, I know, but if you could see it, you'd laugh too!

Mamster, I didn't see the original discussion, so maybe am being redundant (my usual state) but malts go like this: Diastatic Malt comes in powder and liquid, and is used in breads as a sweetener, to feed the yeast, and as a preservative (longer shelf life.) Non-Diastatic Malt is used in the water you boil bagels in, to give them a shiny crust. Sugar can be substituted, if necessary. Hope this helps!