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| My bake station |
Hier geht's zur deutschen Version dieses Posts
In a recent blog event, Steph from Kleiner Kuriositätenladen asked what our kitchen looks like behind the scenes, which cook books we use, and where we do our blogging.
Inquiring minds want to know - as my husband always says - so I will just open the door for you:
Since 5 years I am licensed to sell breads (and cupcakes) from my home. My kitchen was officially inspected, and I'm paying every year 20 bucks for the renewal of my Home Processor's License.
I am therefore legally:
I bake European breads for A&B Naturals, our our local natural food store - in summer twice, in winter once a week.
Since my breads are quite popular (modest blush!), it's more our less "baker's choice" what I want to make for them - as long as my rustic baguettes and Multigrain Pitas are also in the basket!
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| Delivery basket with baguettes, pitas and Pane Siciliano |
Of course, a baker who enjoys experimenting, needs a lot of ingredients - here you can see a small part of my flours:
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| Backstair storage for rye, wheat, spelt & Co. |
Our basement is too damp, therefore our kitchen backstairs was re-purposed for flour storage.
For larger amounts of dough I need a reliable work horse. Mine is a 20-qt Hobart, purchased from a store for used restaurant appliances. Though moaning and groaning loudly when it kneads, it handles even the stiffest multigrain doughs.
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| My Hobart mixer (20 quart) |
When not at work or digesting, my other helpers reside in the fridge:
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| Sourdough family: rye, Forkish, Tartine and whole wheat starters |
The inspiration for my breads I get from an ever-growing book collection, baking facebook friends, Fresh Loaf bakers, and other bloggers.
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| English-German bread baking books |
And if I take a break from bread baking, I do other interesting things for a change - like baking CAKES:
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| No wonder that I have to fast now and then.... |
My mobile workplace is my Mac, I carry him up and down in the house. My recipe management programs are Paprika, and BreadStorm (especially for breads).
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| And sometimes a Queen (of the Night) keeps me company! |
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| Mess or creative chaos? |
Flour on the table, pitas on the rise, freshly baked breads in the background, mixing bowls on the dishwasher, and I'm spraying baguette pans with oil - a typical baking day.
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| My kitchen is my working and living room! |
My kitchen is my working and living room. Here I bake for my customers the (immensely popular) Sunflower Ryes, for example:
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| Sunflower Rye - one of my most popular sourdough breads |
and for my family Strawberry-Rhubarb-Pie, always faithful to my credo: "Life is uncertain - eat the Dessert first!"
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| FB-friend and food journalist Kim Ode's Strawberry-Rhubarb-Pie |
Ooh, now that you've shared all your trade secrets, the local groceries are going to be flooded with Karin's Bäckerei wannabees, you may have to step up your game. Thanks for the inside tour, Karin, it's fascinating to see how you run a bakery from a household.
ReplyDeleteNo fear of that, Don, we have two local bakeries that sell mainly packaged soft sandwich breads (but have nice cookies and scones).
DeleteIn Germany with all the regulations I wouldn't have been able to make a tiny business out of my hobby, but in Maine (after proper inspection) people can sell stuff from their homes.
Thank you, that was fun. I see we have the same 'taste' in cookbooks :) May I recommend La Tartine Gourmande and Small Plates & Sweet Treats? Great books.
ReplyDeleteI tried to register for the Fresh Loaf Baker's blog and could NOT :( Your breads look great. I too bake a lot of bread and it is my favourite thing to do...nice you can bake whatever suits your fancy!
Thanks, Susan, I will check on those books - as everybody knows, one can never have enough cookbooks!
DeletePlease, do try again to register at The Fresh Loaf, sometimes they have issues with their website, but it is a nice community where I have learned a lot over the years, and a great resource.
Bread baking is really a fun thing to do! Perhaps I can interest you in joining my (still ongoing) challenge to create a bread for the "Knight with the Iron Hand". Details are here:
http://hanseata.blogspot.com/2014/06/challenge-for-fellow-bakers-bread-for.html
I assume we are sending a picture of our loaf :) My favourite loaf (4 lb) is not an original but would feed the Knight et al before going out to do battle!
DeleteI'm sure he would like the idea of a really big loaf to share with his buddies. If you send me photos (loaf and crumb shot,) and the recipe to my email address (see the challenge post), I'll be happy to include it in my round-up.
DeleteMostly impressing- the Queen of the Night; mine never flowered.....
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ninive, most of the time this Royal is an ugly, straggly plant. We "inherited" one when our daughter left for college. I tried to encourage more compact growth by cutting some branches off (without any success!), and one branch took roots. One year we had a lot of flowers, but this year only one, blooming on a night we were not at home. They are definitely iffy!
Deletemy mother had one that flowered maybe two or three times during my childhood... and now, maybe its a lack of attention on my side...
DeleteI was several times tempted to throw it away - and the cats now and then pawing at the branches doesn't do anything to enhance its beauty.
DeleteThanks for giving us a peek into your kitchen! How nice to have the freedom to bake whatever you want. You're lucky to live in Maine. Here they don't allow home based food businesses.
ReplyDeleteIn Germany they wouldn't allow that, either. Also, the bakers' guild would descend on you for not being a Bäckermeister.
DeleteI'm glad they encourage these small enterprises in Maine.
Very cool Karin!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Karen - I do enjoy my little bakery.
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