Pictures

I found some pictures of earlier projects we've done. I was so excited!! They were on Bob's phone and I had forgotten all about them. So, here are some of our work.

This was the first cake we ever did with fondant. I say we cause Bob helped so much with this. He helped me get the right proportions for the guy and his dog.

This is a football player we made for a friend to put on her son's birthday cake. Again, Bob did a lot of the work to get him to look right.

Here's a couple of pictures of one of the cakes I made for our church's nativity activity at Christmas time.

Please feel free to let me know what you think. Still working on perfecting technique but it's so much fun.

Blue and Gold Banquet

I'm back. It's been a while and I've missed baking. Odd I know, but even under a deadline, baking is relaxing for me.


I was asked to bake a cake for our Cub Scout Pack's blue and gold banquet. It's a celebration of scouting held once a year. I had no idea what design I should make so I did what I also do, I used google. Once I found an idea, I started working on how I would make it.


The design had some pieces that I was worried would be difficult to make. I've had issues with my fondant not holding it's shape. But I was able to find a great product that helped a lot. It's Gum Tex. It makes fondant stiff so it holds it shape while you work with it. What a life saver.


I think it turned out pretty good. Attached are some pictures. Tell me what you think, I'd love the feedback.

Kolaches

I received a suggestion that I should have Kolaches in my bakery. (Thank You Chuck) I had never heard of them, to be honest, I had to google them just so I knew what they were. They sounded quite good and a nice alternative to a fried donut. I searched for a recipe I thought I could use and Monday I found one.

Yesterday I got up and made a batch. I filled them with bacon, egg and cheese. They were very well received. In fact I was asked not to bring them back because people felt they had eaten too many.

Bob loved them. He asked me to make them again but this time with sausage (he's not really a bacon fan). So this morning I doubled the recipe and made them with sausage, egg and cheese and a cream cheese filling. I drizzled a powdered sugar glaze over the cream cheese ones.

I loved the Kolaches with cream cheese. Very, very good. All were again well received. I think this is definitely something I will put on the bakery menu.

Again, thanks for the suggestion Chuck. I appreciate it.

Menu - Part Two

I first want to say thank you to everyone who shared their opinions regarding the "necessary" items in a bakery.

The feedback I got made me start to ask a few more questions, so once again I am asking for help.

First question: What about cinnamon rolls, scones, biscuits or brownies? Should those be available too?

Second question: Items like cookies and cupcakes, should they be pre-packaged or sold individually? Or maybe a combination? Do you have a preference?

Menu

I'm working on creating a menu of what I'd like to sell in the bakery on a daily basis. Some things are so easy, like donuts. Definitely have to have donuts, but what else? I'm looking online for ideas, but I can see that there are no hard and fast rules. Each bakery is different.

I know that I'd like to sell bread, but haven't figured out what kinds. Some places sell certain types of breads on certain days. I like the idea, then you only make certain loaves each day.

What do you think are must have items? Things you would expect to be able to purchase if you walked into your favorite bakery. I'm kind of at a loss and would love some ideas.

New Beginnings

I watched Julie and Julia over the weekend and I became inspired. No, I'm not going to cook my way through a cookbook, but I did decide that I should blog more about baking than I have in the past.

I have a goal to open a bakery. I know that the economy is rough and that I live in a very small town but I know that it will work.

I still have many skills to work on, so I thought I would use this blog to share my success and to beg for help when I fail. Tips from others would be greatly appreciated.

One day I will be the proud owner of a bakery, but for now, it's time to perfect the craft.

"God gives us dreams a size too big so that we can grow in them." ~Author Unknown

Please join my on my journey.

I'm Back

I know it's been a long while. No excuses, just explainations. This summer has been a rough one. There were three deaths in the family in four months. Lots of travel and lots of tears.

Through these rough times, I've come to realize that I have some areas I need to focus on. I don't know how much time I have on this earth, but I'm planning on it being quite a bit more so I have some things I'd like to accomplish.

1. My pastry/bakery. My goal is to create enough business, that I have to find an actual location to run it out of. Complete with equipment and maybe an employee or two.

2. Preparedness. Over the last few weeks I've really felt impressed to get some things in order. I feel that I need to start canning and building up a food storage.

3. Power Hour. Spending time everyday focusing one hour on exercise, meditation, journal writing, scripture study and personal development. I plan to use this time to keep my blog more current.

This is just the beginning of my list. I'll post more as they come to me.

"Life's up and downs provide windows of opportunity to determine your values and goals. Think of using all obstacles as stepping stones to build the life you want." ~Marsha Sinetar