Hello to anyone reading this! The past few weeks I’ve been honing my baking and recipes with the new oven. It’s been a learning curve for sure since I started using the Simply Bread Oven. Although it’s been a process, I’ve had nothing but fun with this new piece of equipment!
The three-deck oven has allowed for my capacity of baking to absolutely skyrocket since getting it. Since I’m able to bake at least 12 loaves at a time, my dough prep days are quite bonkers.
Measuring out ingredients ahead of time has been vital for making sure I’m mixing on time, getting the correct amount of stretch and folds, and allowing for full bulk fermentation. Along with that, the time it takes me to pre-shape and then shape the loaves is a lot more intensive with sometimes 20+ loaves! Not to mention the baguettes and ciabatta.
Regardless, 3 weeks of intensive bakes have led to me feeling very comfortable with large batches of dough and figuring out how to adjust minute to minute, loaf to loaf. Plus, the variety that I can bake at one time has been really fun!
With this amount of bread being produced, I had to figure out how to get rid of it so I could keep practicing. Since I have a full time job, I thought, why not sell there? Sure, it was a bit odd asking coworkers for money in exchange for bread, but seeing their faces light up at the delicious looking bread made that far easier.
Taking it to two different locations at my work, I’ve had a lot of adapting and adjusting of quantities of product as well as ingredient ratios. Much like everything, not everyone likes the same thing. However, this is a good thing as it forces me to change things up and get real-time feedback from people.
I’ll be taking a week off to recuperate and figure out a solid baking schedule going forward. However, beginning in October, I plan to open my bakes up to the neighborhood.
Since beginning this adventure it’s become clear to me that people in the twin cities, particularly on the east side of St. Paul don’t have access to quality bread. Particularly sourdough bread and other baked goods. There are some absolutely quality bakeries around the twin cities, however, it has been a glaring realization that people are not used to this kind of bread.
Big Stretch Bakery aims to change that on the east side and beyond! Quality whole grain sourdough breads and baked goods can and should be available for everyone. This is real bread which can be part of a great diet for most people. Store bought bread has its pros, but long fermented sourdough is a game changer in not only taste, but in nutrition compared to store bought bread.
I’m looking forward to seeing people around me eat delicious loaves and enjoy bread like how it should be made!
Big Stretch Bakery 