tablespoon.bakery

I am home all day again today. I feel terrible. I do not mind being sick but what I really mind is how Sandy is at the bakery all day alone doing everything herself. Including, today she is making tapas. That woman works so hard and gives so much and she NEVER ever complains.  Words do not express how thankful I am. In the meantime, just before getting sick I recorded my first vlog for the chronicles, so do enjoy!  Also, do not forget to subscribe to my YouTube Channel!! Click here for my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30hkPIGLfTA Cross your fingers for Sandy.. she is Super woman!! Thank you for reading & watching my update.. may I feel better before the morning #doeverythingwithlove    

I only lasted about two hours in the bakery this morning. Last night I started having severe pains in my stomach (symptoms of an ulcer)... I was up all night long. At 4:30 AM  I went to the bakery and thought maybe a short walk to work and some fresh air would help. Nope! As the hour passed my energy deteriorated to the point where I needed Sandy to just come and help with the breads. She did great!!! I have only spent a short time teaching her breads but she really did great. Yea they can use some work, but only watching me and never working on them, I am extremely proud of her. So, the rest of the borning news is I have been in bed all day. I only ate a little soup purée she made for me and had a tiny piece of her bread to try.. yummy!!! I am worried about tomorrow because it is tapas night and she absolutely cannot do everything herself. My issue is I have very little energy and after I am standing for five minutes I am in pain. ... In other news.. the bank approved my loan for a la...

We had a nice day today. Not as busy as a usual Sunday, but many smiles. It is really nice when we get to see many different people coming and going in the bakery. New faces, old faces (er um, repeat), and those in the middle somewhere. I did not speak about this much yesterday, but it was a very hard decision to close for three days a week starting this week. It is not what I would prefer, but I really believe that we must be smart to maximize our time, customer experience, and energy. Honestly, I would love for someone to tell me I am wrong, and we change back to 6 days a week. Keep in mind, before that advice is given, Mallorca is a special place, and by that I mean, the island thrives on tourism. The bakery is no different. We have many customers who live on the island, but we have many more who come and go. So, the thought was for the two slowest months of the year, we use the time to focus on making better quality products, concentrate our energies for the days where people will ...

It is hard to believe that as I sit and write today's blog entry, the bakery is 110 days old. As I think back in time, I can remember most of the days very easily, and the others would come back to me with a little thinking power (maybe a green juice to help). We have changed so many things in this time, and we have tried so many other things. Some worked, some did not. But, the things that remain constant are as follows: - I am always tired - I am very emotional - I work many hours trying to keep the bakery in good order - and I love the bakery, despite all the walls I must hurl myself over... a measurable amount of work, for sure... If I am being honest, and I am, some days I honestly wonder what on earth I was thinking in regards to opening a bakery. It just fell in to my hands as a thought and we went with it. I get aggravated on the days I make a lot of beautiful breads but no one buys them, but I get sad at that very same time. Some days my breads do not turn out as lovely as...

Ok, maybe that is a bit of click-bait, but we have decided for December and January to close Monday - Wednesday. These are our slowest days of the week and with the time of year, there are not many tourists so the weeks will be slow. What this means in short is there could be days where we spend more money than we make because things are slow. That is the bad news. But, it is not really bad news as every local business goes through the same thing. I can use the time to work on new technique at, streamline my work, organize the kitchen better, and yes, rest. ... The tapas tonight sold out completely. It was a south of the border theme (of sorts). I made mini flour tortillas (I think I made 104 in total). And as always, each person got six different tapa. The items were as follows: croquette with green sauce, red bean meatless ball with spicy sauce, roasted mixed vegetables in a fire roasted sauce, guacamole with a quinoa tortilla chip,  soya mix in a red sauce, and fried tofu with a tom...

We are thinking about Wednesday’s. They have historically been our slowest day no matter if it was the first week or yesterday. Sandy wants to close but for me it changes nothing as I must still work. Because of the prep work I must work on Mondays so I am still on a 7 days a week schedule. Yes I am finding some free time to come home and relax, but I do not have a single day completely free. Our business is funny at times. Some days we do really well and other days we do fine. Once in a while we are slower than normal too. This week we are not setting any records but we are on track for the very best month ever and hat continues to rise. It will take time to get to a place where we are really able to see the fruits of our labor. So we move on, to face new frontiers. And in other news. I started my first panettone last night and today I worked on round two. I am a bit nervous because it fermented nicely last night but today (even after multiple hours) I saw no action. So I am letting i...

I purposefully did not post a message about the bakery yesterday. The day was ok, not pier busy not super quiet, but in the evening something happened and more than making me angry, it hurt my feelings. Someone spit on one of the windows. It wasn’t an accidental gesture as it was not a window you walk past but instead one near the main entrance. It was also at eye level. It is clear to me an intentional act by whomever. Why would someone want to do this? What is the motivation? We do not bother anyone. We make friends with all of those who come in or even just walk by. As a result, last night I was just stuck in my mind about this and wanted time to digest it. I have many unanswered questions but unless I know who did it and can ask them, I will just have to live with it and be thankful it was not worse. I hope you have had a lovely day. #doeverythingwithlove

Somehow I forgot to post yesterday.  So today we hat about both days.. i was in the bakery at 5am and trying to do everything on my list. One small problem, I forgot to look at the list so I forgot a couple of things - it is life. By 10:30 AM yesterday we only had two brief customers and I was very stressed and nervous that we might not make 10€ for the day. Then, I went home and did some paperwork things while Sandy stayed at the bakery. She kept saying when I would ask that it was not too busy, but in the end we had a pretty good day. Not a record breaking day but a good day for sure. I am so happy that even on the bad days we are starting to have good days. I believe days like this will continue to remind me that we are getting better and building a customer base. It is key that we also have the cafe as that really sustains is. Someone comes in to buy croissants and a coffee and maybe buys two instead of one. It is the little things that mean the most. I am not sure when or if I spo...

... the five rules of Arnold Have a vision Think big Ignore the naysayers Work your ass off Give back and change the world ... i think about these rules as they really apply to most if not all situations in life where we are wanting something for ourselves. As I apply this to the bakery I believe I am covering all bases. Some days I am tired and do not work as hard as I could or should, but I think down days are normal. It is amazing how many people tell me how difficult my business is and how hard it will be to succeed. I look at those comments always in the same manner: comments from people who are too afraid of failing to be able to find their own successes. It is really true! When someone tells me I cannot do something I have a defiant switch in me that says I can, if for no other reason, to prove them wrong. So this post is dedicated to you... yes you! Are you living your dream or floating through time? If you want to live your dream, embrace the fears and do not wait ... I know I...

Today the bakery is closed. We worked extremely hard this week as mentioned yesterday. So we are using today as a day to clean the house and the bakery and I will start doing prep work for the weekend. Also today, I have just finished spending time preparing some documents for the bank. We want to get a lease for the laminating machine, instead of me buying one with my personal savings. So, I had to provide our quarterly tax return information, along with our worksheet of income. I had no idea I would be so surprised with this information, but the month of November is already showing us nearly double the amount of daily income from August & September. We started to see the numbers going up in October and I thought maybe it was just a fluke, but now it is continuing for almost 3 weeks. THAT is not because of all the festivals. It is also not because of Tourists. We are just getting smarter and better at everything we do and it is showing when we tally up the numbers. This really mak...

Well, I had hoped today we would have doubled our very best day. Our friends Paola and Alberto were helping us all day long. But in the end we made about as much as we do on a good Thursday.  It is such a pity because there were thousands of people in Inca and many walking by all the time. So my heart sank some when when I totaled the money up. We decided to not open tomorrow. We worked so hard Monday, Tuesday, and yesterday with prepping for last night and today and we are a bit worn out mentally, so we thought it best to just take tomorrow off from working, so some cleaning and I can do some prep work.  I will also use the time to organize the kitchen and build a couple of more shelves. So, in the end, we closed at five pm. By 4, people were not coming in anymore and it was not worth being open an extra couple of hours for potentially one customer. Please keep in mind, every customer is important to us, but it would cost us more money to stay open than we would make, given what we ha...

Today was the first of two days of the festival. Turns out we thought there would be people during the day but it was actually extremely quiet. In the latter part of the day people started coming around 6pm but by 8:30 or 9 we had no customers. We are realizing more than ever that the bakery does not have a presence in the front of the building so we must get a sign. Also, we know we have to do a much better job at marketing. And, there is a tent set up directly in front of the window that shows our business and it is impossible to see we are there behind it. About the food... we sold the ensaimadas and some other things but at the same time, we did not sell many other things. I have to do better with cookies and such and also make better donuts and pastries.. I am very happy with the croissants and how the ensiamadas are coming out. Hopefully tomorrow will be an amazing day and we will reach our goal.  I spoke with Pedro (owns the cafeteria close to me) and he hunks he will me 2000€ f...

I dedicate the 100th day to croissants. I have made many changes to the recipe and tried many things. Sometimes I think I move forward and then other times I am going backwards. Well, yesterday I made a batch using the recipe from two mo this ago and they turned out really well. I do not have the inside I want still and I wish thy baked a bit better, but the customer feedback has been that they were the best to date. Two things. I stopped using agave to baste them yesterday and used sublimo. This is a vegan product from puratos and made specifically for basting pastries and croissants, etc.  I now realize I need a laminating machine as this is also a key factor to consistency. I got two quotes yesterday for machines, I asked for the smallest sizes possible since my space is the size of  stand up shower turned sideways.  The low end model is 3200€ and the best brand to buy is 5100€. I did mention these are extremely small models yes? I have looked for used ones and only found one that i...

I am not sure that is monumental, but we are almost at 100 days. Turns out we had a really good day at the bakery again yesterday. That is awesome. I also got a lot of products delivered which will be good for pastries, etc. I am also in the process of looking for a small lamination machine. Something that I can move around. I found one that is portable but weighs 80kg (176 pounds). If I have to pick it up to put on the table every week that will beat my back up for sure. So, I may try to see if there are things I can do in the kitchen to make more space. Not likely, but I will try. I also decided to not do any preparation today. It is going to be three long days starting tomorrow so I want to really relax and rest, so i ran errands for the bakery and now I am home and working on my latest tattoo design (yes, I am getting another tattoo, actually, I want to get two but we start with just one for now). Ok.. signing off since there are no monumental points to make today, just keeping up ...

As the busy season is coming to a rapid close, I am thinking about two things: one, what can I do for Wednesday and Thursday to really get the most out of the festival and make as much money as possible, and two, once the season is over, how will we sustain ourselves on the many slow days & weeks that will follow? For this week, my plan is to be a machine tomorrow, and Tuesday in preparation. I have a lot to do today so it will be difficult, but tomorrow I really want to get as far ahead as possible. Then, Wednesday the festival starts so I will get in early and work long and hard, and Thursday is a rinse and repeat. I see there is a chance that there will be rain on Thursday and I am hoping that notion goes away. It is the single biggest festival day of the year for all of Mallorca. I want, I need, I hope, for an AMAZING AMAZING day!!! Long term, I have a few ideas... First, I think one week this month we should close to rest and just get away from the business. Maybe take a short...

Today I started a new recipe for croissants. I think this is number 7. Honestly, I have no idea what I am doing wrong. The lamination tonight was really well done. I took my time with every single step and went extra slow to make sure I was covering all bases.  But, five minutes ago I cut two open to see the results and still, the insides make me very unhappy.  Honestly I want to give up, but I know I cannot. I am not sure these pictures do justice to the lamination... While I was at it, I decided to play with the natural food coloring I got and made some a purplish pink color. After the bake even they did not look so lovely. So, tomorrow I have to bake these and sell them, knowing I am not happy about it. But, there is nothing I can do to solve this problem, at least right now... I have nothing more to say about this right now.. I am not smiling.... ty for reading <3 #doeverythingwithlove

I am not sure what the purpose of this blog is, to be honest... I thought, it was a good way to talk about the daily growth of the business. To talk about the struggles, the good, the bad, and yes, quite often, the ugly. But, maybe that is old, and boring. Honestly, I would love to talk about sunny skies and great sales, but neither would be true. I think what is important for me is to share what it is really like to live and breathe in this world I have created so that others can learn from my many mistakes, and maybe get something good from the few things I do well. I dedicate this post to telling you some of the bad, and some of the good, so let us dive in: The bad... - fighting... Sandy and I fight a lot. We fight more than is healthy and some times we are not so nice during these battles. We are actually not speaking as I write this post. Under this, I know we love each other very much, or I am certain we would both have said enough many times ago. - the money is never certain... ...

Today was much slower than anticipated or hoped for. I made donuts last night and baked the prepared croissants masa. Plus I made six ensaimadas. This morning was a faced paced baking schedule.... Here is the exact run-down: - white breads (baguettes, pan loafs, cinnamon raisin loaf, and rolls for sandwiches - integral (baguettes, and pan loafs) - centeno/rye bread (they turned out beautiful but did not sell) - croissants - ham and cheese croissants from yesterday's croissants - cookies (4 different jam cookies and chocolate chip) - ensaimadas Then I went shopping, came to the apartment to walk Reina and then back to the bakery. In the afternoon I prepared a special croissant masa as I think Toni is coming tomorrow (its 50/50). I also prepped ensaimadas for tomorrow.  I then did a complete scrub down of the kitchen. I moved everything out and really cleaned, including the oven. I usually scrub that about once a week, but I thought it was a good time to do again.  I then ran some mo...

I thought that today would be an easy day, not too much to do, and just some prep. But, it turned in to a 13-14 hour day, with lots of prep. I made a lot of masa for ensaimadas, and croissants. I also did some bread prep for tomorrow. And I went to Palma for a vegan ham and some cheese. These will go in the croissants. I hope tomorrow is a busy day, today we made 26 euros and that is just sad! Maybe Wednesday is not a day to be open... but I do not like being closed Monday, working Tuesday, then closing Wednesday. I do not know... suggestions? Ok.. short and sweet.. thank you for reading today's post #doeverythingwithlove

... ok, that title is a bit if click bait.. there was no play today, just work... I made breads and ensaimadas and croissants. Then I left the bakery and came home to do a few paperwork things. After that time, I went to ikea to buy two small simple couch like things (small enough they were in boxes that fit easily in my car). Then I came back to the bakery and constructed them.  It was a great idea Sandy had and I am excited to now have them. They are not the most comfortable, but they are relaxing. Tonight I only formed some croissants for tomorrow. I was really tired and since tomorrow is Wednesday, I decided to not push it much. So today was only a 13 hour day, feels like I cheated someone hahahaha... Next Wednesday and Thursday are the last of the festivals for the year, but also the biggest. In fact, it is the biggest in all of Mallorca. So, we will have a LOT of work to do on Monday and Tuesday to prep, making lots of foods that are savory and sweet. I will use this time to try ...

Even though we are closed today, I wanted to post a short message. Today completes three months the bakery has been open. About 45 full marathons run, and 45 half marathons :)

Today was a great day at the bakery.  We sold out of just about everything we baked except cookies. THAT was lovely. We also made a lot more money than we have ever made on a Sunday.  That is also good news. And, many people sat at our tables.... With that said, this was possible because it is a festival. I wish every Sunday could be like this and every single day for that matter, but I know it is not possible. So, I will take them while I can for sure <3 Not much more to talk about on that topic ... There are still many many problems as a result of the many hours worked by both of us, and the fighting only gets worse, never better. Now, I feel there is resentment on both sides about stupid things that do not matter, and no matter how many times we start over, it happens again and again. The good news is I am now able to recognize when my mood shifts and I do my best to just say nothing at all to avoid further problems. In an hour or two I completely forget about it and move on and ...

I got to the bakery a bit late today, around 6. I was exhausted from the previous two days of work and just dragging to get there and work. I managed to get many things done and we sold all of the bread again except two gluten free breads. So I felt pretty good about that. Also a woman with her family stopped me leaving the bakery a bit disappointed because I was out of integral bread. She said it tastes amazing and her daughter loved it!!! But during the day I became aware of something about myself that I did not like. I was short and irritated easily and finding myself angry when it just was not necessary. I am almost certain it was because of how tired I have been. That means I am still not smart enough about the work I am doing in the kitchen! so we closed at two today and did not reopen later. Maybe it cost us some money but we are so tired that it was better to be closed and lose a little bit of money than to be open and fighting. Tonight when Sandy and I were talking she asked m...

I am not sure what I did right this morning but I had all the breads and croissants baked by 8:30 more or less. I was at the bakery at 5:00am so I am sure that helped. Also, doing a slow bulk ferment using the sourdough starter also helped me in the morning. Once I was done my baking I immediately started on tonight’s tapas.  I had to run to the stores a few times but I would guess I spent the better part of 8 hours making six tapas. In part this is because today was all sushi. I forgot how much I love making Japanese food and while I am no expert it makes me wish at times I did open a vegan sushi house. But I love bread too much to turn my back on it.. sandy said some months ago we should do sushi one night a week.  If the bakery were closed two days a week I would consider this. I had the idea of Sushi-Sunday... pick up only for takeaway. But who knows !?!!? for tonight I made Gyoza (I made the wraps yesterday to let the dough rest - my only bread), cauliflower tempura, three differe...

I do not know what to say about today. It seemed like a slow day at the office but in the end we did well with customers. We sold all of the breads and many of the desserts. I went home not feeling well around 11am. I was up since three and had a terrible headache that was not going away. So I tried to get some rest. In the evening I went back to the bakery to do prep for tomorrow morning and for tapas. Given tapas is sushi night I wanted to make sure I am making some simple foods but foods that will taste nice and have some Japanese flair to them with a touch of flour where possible :) Not all of my posts will be monumental and this is no exception. Thank you very much for reading today’s entry. ❤️ #doeverythingwithlove