If your family and friends eagerly devour your cakes, pies, rolls and cookies and you enjoy baking them as much as they enjoy eating them, you might want to consider opening your own bakery. Baking can be a profitable business if you have talent, ambition and a solid business plan. As you develop your plan, make a list of the items you need to start your bakery.
Ovens
Stoves vary considerably in quality and price. You need a high quality stove and might be able to find a used one in good condition. A small convection oven accommodates as much as five sheet pans, while a double convection oven holds twice as many pans and lets you bake at two different temperatures. If you bake artisan breads, a deck oven might be a good investment, as it has an opening for sliding the pans onto the deck.
Proof boxes
Professional bakers need a proof box where their bread and roll dough can rise at the right temperature. Proof boxes come in various sizes. For a small bakery, a mobile proof box is a good choice. It holds about 20 pans and can be moved out of the way when you’re not using it. Mobile proof boxes are generally much less expensive than built-in models.
Baking sheets and racks
You’ll need to purchase at least ten 18” x 26” baking sheets and two or more racks. Also, you’ll need round cake pans, sheet cake pans, pie pans and muffin tins.
Mixers
Mixers needed include a planetary dough mixer with 30 to 40 quart capacity, as well as a counter mixer.
Work Tables
You’ll want space to store the items you use all the time, as well as a place to work. Get the sturdiest work tables you can budget for, because they will get a lot of use. Consider your height as you choose what tables to purchase; a tall person trying to work at a too-short table will suffer back pain.
Sinks
Federal regulations require bakeries and other commercial operations to have three different sinks. You will need a three-department sink to wash, rinse and sanitize dishes that can’t go into the dishwasher, and you will also need a mop sink and a separate sink for hand washing.
Miscellaneous
Other needed items include slicers for bread, scales for weighing bulk ingredients, cake decorating tools, ingredient bins and one or more refrigerators. Don’t forget to include smaller things, such as baking utensils, oven mitts and packaging paper.
