How to Kill a KitchenAid Mixer...

I knew that I was putting quite a strain on my KitchenAid 600 mixer by doing so much bagel dough every week, but I finally killed mine.  With no time to get it fixed, I got a backup mixer.  Which, straight out of the box, couldn't handle the dough like the other mixer did for months.  So back it went to the store (it really couldn't handle dough at all, not good) and now I'm looking at a true commercial mixer, which will probably set me back a grand.

In the near future I'll be trying a new flavor suggested by a friend, Lime Basil.  More on that after the experiment, which will be after I get that mixer upgrade (hopefully before Thursday so I can bake this Friday).

Weekend update...

This weekend I introduced the new apricot bagels, which sold well.  A dreary morning and KU graduation made for a slower morning than usual, but it picked up later.  

I'm always astounded when people tell me that they got to market earlier so they could get to my booth while there was a greater selection of flavors.  I sure wouldn't get up early on the weekend if I wasn't working, so I appreciate it when people actually make that effort.  

Just so anyone who actually visits this blog knows, I won't be at market on Memorial Day weekend due to out of town travel, but I will be there the week after.

Weekend report...

This was a very good weekend.  Since I sold out so fast last weekend, this time I upped production to 16 dozen, which is where I maxed out last year at peak season.  I sold out at 10:30am, half an hour before market close.  I think I need to up the baking by another dozen or so.

On Thursday I received delivery of my oven upgrade, a GE 3 rack convection oven and a single rack regular oven above it.  After a little tweaking, I was able to get the cook time the same in both ovens so I am able to cook 2 dozen bagels at once. This is a vast improvement over my 1 dozen at a time baking in the old oven, and I don't have to rotate pans because of the convection.  This also means that I can get my vast amounts of baking done earlier in the day rather than being up all evening trying to get all the bagels baked.

On a side note, I baked my first batch of madeleines tonight.  They are a lemon cookie baked in pans that give them a shell shape, they have a spongy inside with a delightful taste.  I highly recommend trying them out.

First Day of Market for me...

Today was the first day that I worked the Farmer's Market this year.  I determined how many bagels to bring by looking at last year's records, but between regular customers and beautiful weather I sold out in 2 hours.  Next week I'll bring many more.

I'm looking at upgrading my home oven to speed up my baking.  I've heard many things about convection ovens, on Monday I'll be looking at all the local appliance stores to see what they have available.

Market begins...

Today was the first of 3 "pre-season" markets, before the May 2nd official opening day.  I'm unfortunately booked for the first couple pre-markets, but will be there in 2 weeks.

New flavors, upcoming Market...

Some more tinkering has lead to the creation of two flavors that will occasionally get rotated in, walnut spice and basil onion.  The rosemary onion also got approval from the taste testers, so it will be appearing in April.  

The wonderful success from last year's Lawrence Farmers Market has lead me to hope for some improvements for the baking process for this year.  This includes both replacing my home oven with a convection oven so I can bake more bagels faster, and the eventual purchase of a larger mixer (which although large at 8 quarts, is still tiny by industrial standards).  Not only are these shiny objects that make the kitchen look more impressive, but they would hopefully cut down on the time I spend in the kitchen on Friday to bring you the bagel goodness on Saturday.  

New flavor in the works...

I'm working on a new flavor, rosemary onion.  So far the taste tests have received good reviews, now it's a matter of seeing if it's better with garlic or should remain as is.

Only about a month and a half until the opening of the Lawrence Farmer's Market.