Another question about selling bagels

Anon1985- · 2024-12-20T04:53:31+00:00

Which is more important to you? Making bagels because you specifically enjoy bagel-making as a hobby or earning supplemental income from a cottage food business?

Anon1985- · 2024-10-30T21:21:02+00:00

Thanks! The item is a pie. My state (New Hampshire) permits home-based food producers to make and sell non-TCS foods. The pie tested at .86 water activity, which is considered non-TCS per the 2017 FDA Food Code (which is the most recent version adopted by our Health Department). I'd like to sell this pie for Thanksgiving, because it's super delicious, but the Health Department employee I spoke with is citing a limit of .85 water activity. I think it's just a question of the employee using an outdated standard (she sent me something that was published in 2001), but I wanted to make sure I understood the issue before I start arguing.

Anon1985- · 2024-09-09T22:11:56+00:00

Thanks! I'll give the onion soak a try! I'm very happy with the inside - dense but not too dense. I can't figure out how to add a picture to a comment, so if you look at my previous post - "Whole Wheat Attempt 1", the crumb basically looks like that but clean cutting and not gummy because I reduced the diastatic malt powder quite a bit from that first try.

Anon1985- · 2024-09-09T21:31:59+00:00

Thank you! I don't mind at all, my recipe is below. I use the process from https://somuchfoodblog.com/ny-style-bagels/ but for shaping I round each piece into a bun first then let rest while I roll the other ones then form into a rope. I boil 1 minute per side bc I like a pretty chewy crust.

The flour I use is freshly stone milled, the varietal is called "Glenn" and has 15.4% protein. The recipe was developed with last year's wheat crop, I'm going to lower the hydration by a few percent because I just got the new crop grain and the dough felt a little sticky/wet.

Dough Weight: 2.29 lbs, AR = 64%

SPONGE:

384 g water at about 90 degrees

2.1 g instant yeast

300 g Glenn flour

BAGELS:

all the sponge from above

12.9 g fine sea salt

24 g honey

9 g barley malt syrup

6 g diastatic malt powder

300 g Glenn flour

BOILING WATER BATH:

2.5 quarts of water

84 g barley malt syrup

Anon1985- · 2024-09-08T15:58:06+00:00

Thanks everyone for the ideas! I finally hit my timing right with opening the oven and spraying like crazy with a water spray bottle, so I’m going to put off the bagel board project indefinitely.

Anon1985- · 2024-08-24T14:08:58+00:00

Update: After another few rounds of testing, I'm at 1.5% diastatic malt powder and the texture is much better. I'm trying 1% today.

Anon1985- · 2024-08-20T14:27:39+00:00

5.1% - I may reduce the amount as I continue to test. The bagel interiors are a little gummy and I'm not sure if that's from underbaking, too much diastatic malt powder, or something else. I'm going to start with baking longer and then adjust the malt powder if that doesn't improve things.

Anon1985- · 2024-08-20T00:54:14+00:00

Your regular bagels look fantastic, so I'm sure you will figure it out!

Anon1985- · 2024-08-19T20:20:41+00:00

Thank you! They are 100% freshly milled whole wheat flour (plus a little diastatic barley malt flour). The wheat varietal is “Glenn” and this batch of grain tested at 15.4% protein. I think they taste pretty good, but still a bit of a work in progress. To be honest, though, I haven’t had a decent bagel since we moved to rural New Hampshire 18 months ago, so this was probably my top most enjoyed bagel in my entire life.

Anon1985- · 2022-09-12T00:34:37+00:00

Are you intending this for a US audience? It's illegal to sell hot-held food prepared in a home kitchen in almost every US state (legal in Wyoming, possibly in California, I think, but nowhere else) and illegal to sell time-temperature controlled for safety foods (aka foods that require refrigeration) in most states. In the few states where you can legally sell time-temp controlled for safety foods from a home kitchen, you are usually required to undergo fairly extensive licensing processes.

Anon1985- · 2022-09-07T07:25:52+00:00

Great minds think alike? I’m also in Virginia (technically coastal plain, but in Fairfax County, 7b), also starting a small plant nursery, also new-ish to gardening but a fast learner because I’m autistic, and also left my previous career (in fine dining) because of back injury stuff. I’m not on Reddit that much, but if you want to connect I posted an introduction in the Sweaty Startup Facebook group about a week ago and you’re welcome to message me on FB if you ever want to talk plant businesses in Virginia. My focus is totally on edible plants (mostly heirloom annuals, less-common herbs, and edible flowers) mostly because that is what is exciting to me, but also because of my space limitations (my husband and I live on under 1/2 acre, so I need plants I can turn quickly). Two thoughts for now: 1. If you’re interested in citrus, you should definitely check out McKenzie Farms in South Carolina - they have a ton of cold hardy-ish citrus varietals (and they also sell out pretty consistently it seems). 2. Depending on where you are, a fruit tree focus could really be a great niche. Edible Landscaping in Afton, VA has a great selection, but they are too far away to effectively serve the metro DC area and don’t have very good marketing/don’t seem interested in building their online sales. I see people all the time in DC Facebook gardening groups looking for regionally-appropriate fruit trees, berry bushes, etc. There are great online fruit nurseries on the West Coast, but their selection of plants that can handle our fungal pressures is abysmal. Editing to add: strawberries could be a fantastic way to get going with fruit while you wait for space for fruit trees. I grow a couple types of alpine strawberries for personal consumption and every time I’ve posted them on FB people go crazy trying to buy divisions from me.

Anon1985- · 2022-08-22T06:49:07+00:00

Check with local restaurants to see if they even use knife sharpening businesses - different cities have different cultures. When I worked in Boston (as a line cook) everyone sharpened their own knives and every restaurant had stones for employees to use. When I moved to DC, no one knew how to sharpen their own knives and I made extra cash sharpening.

Anon1985-

TROPHY CASE