The Beginings

Well, I decided that I was going to try to journal or blog about the adventures of trying to start a bakery.

No not one of those commercial places, but an old fashion one, like when I was a kid, full of pastries, breads, cookies, all made right there in the little bakery. A place that is welcoming, and warm, full of goodies.

Now at this point in my life it is a bit late to be thinking of a career change, but to be honest, all my life I have baked, got a knack for it I suppose. I am happiest when I am creating in the kitchen. (Yes I love to cook too).

But baking, well there is just something special to that. It gives you a warm fuzzy feeling when you think of your favorite homemade chocolate chip cookie, or the memories that pop into your head when you smell the scents of vanilla and cinnamon, with nutmeg in the air.

This all started because I did a birthday cake for my son and his friend. They had an "80's" theme roller skating party, and he asked if I'd make him a Transformer Cake. So I did. Old school Optimus Prime, and for his friend I did Rainbow Bright, both icons of the 80's, and both favorite characters. Then there was the cake for the Gunny Sgt. at work that was being transferred to another unit, a sheet cake with his rank insignia on it. Then it carried on to all the birthdays in the area where I work.

So now I am trying to perfect specific things, tweak them so when you eat a slice of Dobos Torte, or my White Chocolate Cheesecake, your eyes close so you can enjoy the experience of the flavors and textures to the maximum.

One of the problems I have found is that many people devour what I make, ok you are saying that isn't a problem at all. But it really is. I want to know how is the texture, the flavor, is it tender enough, moist. I want feed back and comments, the good, the bad and the ugly.

I mean, when you bring in a 12" round and it is cut up and gone in 30 minutes, you assume one of two things, 1) it was really good or (2) they were starving and it was something to put into the empty, growling pit of a stomach to stop the hunger pains.

OK, so this is just a brief hello, and right now I have to go make biscotti, but I promise I'll be back and tell you about my adventure in pursuit of the perfect pound cake, the perfect red velvet, and more. Yes, there are tons of recipes out there on the net and in cookbooks, but trust me, just because it is on the net or in a cookbook doesn't mean it is all that good. Or even palatable. Ir I found a recipe for a pound cake, read it, sounded OK, followed the instructions to the letter, smelled heavenly baking, looked fantastic, perfect coloring, once it was cooled and sliced, the interior looked moist, tender, then the taste. OMG, it tasted like flour paste with sugar IT WAS AWFUL!!!

Cooking is a creative art, you can add a touch of this and a bit of that, and turn out mouth watering dishes.

Baking, sigh, baking, however is a science, one full of chemistry, ratios, and balances.

So can someone please explain to me how someone who hated calculus, trigonometry, algebra, and chemistry (and I do mean HATE) ends up loving doing something that is intricately tied in with ratios?

I just had another idea, I know that there are lots of us out there that have tried recipes that suck, maybe I should start a blog featuring a recipe that sucked and why I thought it sucked, and I can even include recipes people send it, make them list why I think it sucked and why they thought it sucked. Hmmm, that would be good for a few laughs.