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Baker's Mistakes


chefpeon

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Ok gang.....here's a hypothetical question for you all....well, not really hypothetical because it

happened (and happens everywhere), but I want to know all of your views and opinions on this.

I have my own view, but I'd really like to hear others.

Ok, so the situation is:

You make a signature product that is really popular and one of your best selling items. In my case, it's a wholesome muffin called a "Morning Glory". I make huge batches of the batter and bake off to order. The batter doesn't last long since we sell so many of them....I make it about twice a week.

Sales have skyrocketed and I finally get an assistant to help me since I got so buried. Of course the assistant my boss hired isn't really a baker. Yay! Well, he is, but he's only done bagels and bread.

He's as new to what I do as someone from off the street. I walk him through the Morning Glory procedure 'cause it's pretty hard to mess up a muffin batter. You just throw stuff in the bowl and mix, more or less. Well, wouldn't you know, he messed up the batter. The muffins I threw in the oven the next morning baked up really pale and weird. I cut one up and bit into it. Kind rubbery-ish and not as sweet as normal. I figured that he mismeasured the sugar, or perhaps used white flour instead of whole wheat. Anyway, the muffin wasn't up to my standards, and I felt we shouldn't sell it. It was edible, but not really enjoyable to me. Dry rubbery-ish muffins are just no fun. I showed my boss (who is also not a baker) the mutant muffin. He tried it too. Then he tried a muffin I had baked off from the rest of the good batter. He agreed that the mutant muffin wasn't as good as the regular muffin, but you could only tell the difference if you tasted them side-by-side....that was his opinion of course. I felt that the mutant muffin was unsellable crap. But I admit, I have anal-retentive perfectionist standards. But, since he IS the boss, it was his call. He chose to use the mutant muffin batter and hope that our wholesale customers didn't complain. He just didn't want to have to throw all that batter away......after all, it's like throwing money down the drain.

But.

I personally think that since our customers buy our stuff based on how it's supposed to be, we

shouldn't be palming off substandard product to them. What if they complain and pull their account from us? That costs money too.......much more than throwing away an expensive batter.

If I were the owner, I would have thrown the batter away and made a new batch. I feel I owe

it to my clients.

What would you do?

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Put them in bags (3 or 4 per bag), marked them as "day-old" and reduced the price by 50%. That way, I would still recover the costs and if the regular customers thought they weren't up to scratch, they would assume it was the "day old" and not a bad batch.

He who distinguishes the true savor of his food can never be a glutton; he who does not cannot be otherwise. --- Henry David Thoreau
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Put them in bags (3 or 4 per bag), marked them as "day-old" and reduced the price by 50%. That way, I would still recover the costs and if the regular customers thought they weren't up to scratch, they would assume it was the "day old" and not a bad batch.

If I were in retail, that would be an excellent idea!

But unfortunately, it's wholesale, so I don't have that option....... :sad:

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Ok gang.....here's a hypothetical question for you all....well, not really hypothetical because it

happened (and happens everywhere), but I want to know all of your views and opinions on this.

I have my own view, but I'd really like to hear others.

Ok, so the situation is:

You make a signature product that is really popular and one of your best selling items. In my case, it's a wholesome muffin called a "Morning Glory". I make huge batches of the batter and bake off to order. The batter doesn't last long since we sell so many of them....I make it about twice a week.

Sales have skyrocketed and I finally get an assistant to help me since I got so buried. Of course the assistant my boss hired isn't really a baker. Yay! Well, he is, but he's only done bagels and bread.

He's as new to what I do as someone from off the street. I walk him through the Morning Glory procedure 'cause it's pretty hard to mess up a muffin batter. You just throw stuff in the bowl and mix, more or less. Well, wouldn't you know, he messed up the batter. The muffins I threw in the oven the next morning baked up really pale and weird. I cut one up and bit into it. Kind rubbery-ish and not as sweet as normal. I figured that he mismeasured the sugar, or perhaps used white flour instead of whole wheat. Anyway, the muffin wasn't up to my standards, and I felt we shouldn't sell it. It was edible, but not really enjoyable to me. Dry rubbery-ish muffins are just no fun. I showed my boss (who is also not a baker) the mutant muffin. He tried it too. Then he tried a muffin I had baked off from the rest of the good batter. He agreed that the mutant muffin wasn't as good as the regular muffin, but you could only tell the difference if you tasted them side-by-side....that was his opinion of course. I felt that the mutant muffin was unsellable crap. But I admit, I have anal-retentive perfectionist standards. But, since he IS the boss, it was his call. He chose to use the mutant muffin batter and hope that our wholesale customers didn't complain. He just didn't want to have to throw all that batter away......after all, it's like throwing money down the drain.

But.

I personally think that since our customers buy our stuff based on how it's supposed to be, we

shouldn't be palming off substandard product to them. What if they complain and pull their account from us? That costs money too.......much more than throwing away an expensive batter.

If I were the owner, I would have thrown the batter away and made a new batch. I feel I owe

it to my clients.

What would you do?

I would have thrown the batter out. If you have return clientele who know this product, they will become suspicious if they see something that isn't what it should be.

But I would also change the name of the muffin. If this is a signature product, it should have an original name. Morning Glory is used everywhere, especially in muffins, and new customers may associate it with a morning glory muffin from somewhere else that isn't as good as yours . :sad: ( just my opinion )

Jason

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I would unequivocally say to throw out all the batter. And dock your assistant's pay. Okay, I'm joking about the last part, but how many test batches did he successfully make before putting together the bad batch?

I agree completely with your assessment about putting out sub-standard product.

Baker of "impaired" cakes...
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Hi there. I've been lurking for quite a while and this is my first post. (I was going to post on another thread then this caught my eye on the way there!)

I would remake the batter and produce the correct muffins for your clients because you can't give them a substandard mutant muffin....like everyone else said your reputation is more valuable than a batch of batter.

I would not, however, throw out the mutant batter just yet. Fiddle with it first and see if you can come up with something palatable, but don't waste too much time on it either. If you happen across a half decent new muffin you can call them Seredipity Muffins or something, and you might have a new favourite. :o) Regardless, I'd still make the new guy stand in the corner.

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I agree with Sugarella. I wouldn't have used the muffins as is - but I would have tried to use the batter in another way - throw in a bunch of blueberries or something to make them different.

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Well, I'm the dissenter. If it was only one batch, I don't think that's enough for people to start closing accounts with you. However with a second and third 'off' batch then you'd be running into the possibility of some more serious feedback issues.

I would possibly disguise the mutants with a drizzle or a glaze or something. Maybe a shot of sweetened cream cheese y'know on top or stuck down in the middle. Maybe something like that. I mean maybe they can't keep them refrigerated, but lots of people keep cream cheese stuff at room temp, not that I'm saying it's ok, I'm just trying to give you some ideas. Maybe brush the top with honey and stick 'em in some chopped nuts, toasted coconut...stuff like that maybe. Plant a bit of icing and then a pretty pecan half.

Like maybe Morning Glory2 or something. Maybe, Had a Bad Morning...Glory!

Smile at the new guy like Ed McMann's bringing him a check but tell him you're gonna have to hurt him if he screws up again :laugh: That you don't really want to but...

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I know im young, but what I think im best at is fixing problems like this. I mean its muffin batter, you said it yourself Anne, just throw the ingredients together. If the batter lasts 2 weeks, ( which is a decent amoutn of time), is there no way to imcorporate the "mutant" with a correct batch to hide the flaw? If so make a triple batch and incorporate. Apparently they are rising correctly, they just taste and look a little odd. So find out what the fualt maker did wrong, and replace the necesary ingredients. trial an error. Basically what sugarella is saying. I wouldnt serve them with my fingers cross, but I sure as hell wouldnt throw them away. Maybe the batter is similar to something else that can be made from it?

I'm sure if you give it some though, theres a way to make yourself happy, the boss, the customers and maybe boost the respect (even if your already highly respected) of your peers.

Dean Anthony Anderson

"If all you have to eat is an egg, you had better know how to cook it properly" ~ Herve This

Pastry Chef: One If By Land Two If By Sea

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i feel the same way kit does...toss it ...and let me add my voice to the others as well..this batch last you two weeks right?,,thats two weeks worth of time where there is way too much chance of just throwing your good reputation out the door and once done..hard to get back..and as you said your boss isnt a baker either...and have him sayig that nobdoy would notice IF it wasnt a side by side comparison..sorry to say..your boss is just full of crap...anybody who has purchased that muffin on a long term basis IS going to notice..a first time customer might not but a repeat one will ..and word can spread pretty fast when something is not good but can take a long time for it to spread when it is...

i would not take the chance..so the boss loses a little bit of money...it gets figured into the costs anyway..a certain amount of loss is expected in any part of the food industry..cut th eloss..make a new batch...reprimand the new assistant..stand over him or her if you have to the first few times the batches are being made if you have to..but dont damage your reputaion and that of the bakery simply because the newbie could not get it right..

thats just my thought

a recipe is merely a suggestion

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I would also change the name of the muffin. If this is a signature product, it should have an original name. Morning Glory is used everywhere, especially in muffins, and new customers may associate it with a morning glory muffin from somewhere else that isn't as good as yours .  ( just my opinion )

Well, the muffin IS a classic Morning Glory Muffin.....it just has a few tweaks. Instead of nuts, like pecans or walnuts, we use sunflower seeds. And right before baking, I stick two granny smith apple slices in the middles of each one. It's like a nice moist apple surprise in the center....sort of like the chocolate part in a Tootsie Pop.... :rolleyes: If I were to change the name however, I'd probably do something like "Glorious Morning Muffins" or wait! Maybe "I Don't Do Mornings" Muffin? :raz:

how many test batches did he successfully make before putting together the bad batch?

He had successfully made one batch of muffin batter the previous week. It sure surprised me that he screwed up the SECOND time......the FIRST time I can understand! From looking at and tasting the muffin, my best guesses were that either A) didn't put enough brown sugar in the batter, or B) used white flour instead of whole wheat. When I quizzed him, he of course said he didn't know what he could have done wrong, and he was sure he used the right flour. So that didn't help me much....

  Fiddle with it first and see if you can come up with something palatable, but don't waste too much time on it either. If you happen across a half decent new muffin you can call them Seredipity Muffins or something, and you might have a new favourite.

That could be a good idea, but it could backfire on me too. Adding more ingredients to it would increase the food cost, and I'd have to put it back on the mixer. If I put it back on the mixer, and there IS white flour in it, I would be working the gluten in the flour even more, resulting in an even rubberier muffin. BOING! :raz: So if I ended up with a rubberier muffin, with say, added raspberries in it in my attempt to make it more palatable, then throwing it away would be even costlier.....

I would possibly disguise the mutants with a drizzle or a glaze or something. Maybe a shot of sweetened cream cheese y'know on top or stuck down in the middle. Maybe something like that. I mean maybe they can't keep them refrigerated, but lots of people keep cream cheese stuff at room temp, not that I'm saying it's ok, I'm just trying to give you some ideas. Maybe brush the top with honey and stick 'em in some chopped nuts, toasted coconut...stuff like that maybe. Plant a bit of icing and then a pretty pecan half.

Those are great solutions if you're baking at home. When you have clients that buy a product based on what it already IS, then when you give them something that looks in any way different, they will question it, and most likely complain. Even if what you did to it is an "improvement", they may not feel that way. Also, if I stuck cream cheese or a pecan half on it this time, and they actually liked it, they may come to expect it. They'll say, "Why no pecans this time?" Hard to explain (without telling the truth). I'm honest to a fault. I'd say trying to make a bad muffin look pretty.....is like.....puttin' lipstick on a pig...... :raz:

If the batter lasts 2 weeks, ( which is a decent amoutn of time), is there no way to imcorporate the "mutant" with a correct batch to hide the flaw? If so make a triple batch and incorporate.

Hey wow.....I never thought of that. Given the condition of the batter and the muffin, it would have been easily hidden had I incorporated it into a good batch. I'll keep that in mind next time!

As "luck" would have it, we flew through that mutant batch in one day.....if it had hung around longer, I could have done that!

I just felt "sick" baking up all those pale weird muffins for all our big accounts last Friday. I could hardly bear to look at them as they were coming out of the oven. I was waiting all day for phone calls from clients....."What the hell is this piece of rubber you just delivered??!!!" Ugh. Luckily, I never got a phone call. After Mr. Boss Man got back from deliveries, he did say the customers questioned the look of the muffins, but accepted them anyway. He told me he lied to them and said we were experimenting with a lower baking temperature....... :shock: Argh.

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Could you possibly cook them off and give them to a local shelter or food pantry? At least this way it wouldn't be a total waste.  I understand not wanting to sell inferior product, but something good could be done with it.

greenbean is probably right, if it is, in fact, edible. there are probably lots of people who would appreciate these not-quite-perfect muffins, although I would feel guilty giving them something that I wouldn't eat. Only you can make that call, Annie.

But I stand by my original post in that I would not sell them to my customers.

kit

"I'm bringing pastry back"

Weebl

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Could you possibly cook them off and give them to a local shelter or food pantry? At least this way it wouldn't be a total waste.  I understand not wanting to sell inferior product, but something good could be done with it.

I think this is a wonderful idea. :smile:

Shelley: Would you like some pie?

Gordon: MASSIVE, MASSIVE QUANTITIES AND A GLASS OF WATER, SWEETHEART. MY SOCKS ARE ON FIRE.

Twin Peaks

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After Mr. Boss Man got back from deliveries, he did say the customers questioned the look of the muffins, but accepted them anyway. He told me he lied to them and said we were experimenting with a lower baking temperature.......  Argh.

Clever. Even though hes not a "baker", the reason being the boss, hes probably not a moron either.

Dean Anthony Anderson

"If all you have to eat is an egg, you had better know how to cook it properly" ~ Herve This

Pastry Chef: One If By Land Two If By Sea

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I think baking them all off and giving them to a shelter is a great idea too! The muffins were totally "edible".....but to me, just not enjoyable. And like ladyyoung said, when customers buy something for a while, the definitely NOTICE if their favorite muffin is different. I know I would.

I personally am of the same thinking as a lot of you......if I were the boss, NO WAY would I give my customers those muffins! I take pride in my work too much. It's everything to me. :smile:

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Clever.  Even though hes not a "baker", the reason being the boss, hes probably not a moron either.

hey just because one is the boss ..it does not preclude him or her from being a moron.....my thought is..if you are the boss and you just cant accpet a loss and are willing to sell a substandard product and lie to exisiting customers in the process....well that comes in line with being a moron AND a liar..but thats just my thought

a recipe is merely a suggestion

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Clever. Even though hes not a "baker", the reason being the boss, hes probably not a moron either.

Well, I wouldn't call him a moron.....he's a sweet guy. I kinda wish he weren't so sweet so I

could give him a good tongue lashing. I believe that by deciding to pass off the substandard

muffins to our customers, it's underhanded and dishonest. I understand that when you're in

an ownership position, (and you're not a baker), that dollar signs mean a lot more than recipe

measurements. He felt he made the right decision financially, I suppose.

But I see the "fallout" as being more long term. Customers DEPEND on a consistent product.

A bakery's reputation is extremely important....especially in a small town like mine! It may

not be immediately visible, but you do lose sales on substandard product somewhere down

the line.

For instance, what if someone bought that muffin for the first time, having never tried it before,

and it was one of the "bad" muffins? They would think to themselves, "Ewww...I'm never buying

that again." And there's one sale lost. Next time they're in the store with a friend. The friend

picks up the muffin, and the original purchaser says, "No, don't buy that muffin, they're terrible."

There goes another sale. Then that friend tells another, and another......and there you go.

Word of mouth is a double edged sword.....and you never want to end up on the bad edge!!!!

That's how I see it.

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I completely agree that the 'off' muffins shouldn't have been sold in place of the good ones.

But I also understand the boss not wanting to toss the whole batch. As I said earlier, I would have tried to use the bad-batch in another way - or chiantiglace's suggestion was great. Since you mentioned that this is not a retail operation, but a wholesale place you may not have the option to 'try to use it up in another way'.

I know that I won't sell something that isn't up to par. If it's not the way it should be, it gets turned into something else. I have a bustub in the freezer for rum balls. Any cake scraps or extras get tossed in there - and voila there's my base. (I have no idea why rum balls are such big sellers, but they are - so it's a win-win).

It's easy to say that the boss should have tossed the batch - but he's the one who sees the bottom line. The baking business isn't all about profits - you need to save what you can.

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(I have no idea why rum balls are such big sellers, but they are - so it's a win-win).

Boy, ain't that the truth. When I was green and fresh out of pastry school, and I discovered what

rum balls "really" were, I never ate one again. :raz:

:biggrin:

That's true for many places. Let me assure you though, that my bucket full of goodies that I use to make them is full of good stuff only. Unfortunately, we can sell so many of them that I sometimes have to take packages of cookies and grind them up because I don't have any 'garbage' to use.

I promise, you can eat one of mine! :wink:

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Could you possibly cook them off and give them to a local shelter or food pantry? At least this way it wouldn't be a total waste.  I understand not wanting to sell inferior product, but something good could be done with it.

"And while you're at it, why don't you bring along some chicken skins and lobster shells."

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