The Business of Baking

A part of our mission is to make sure our students have the basic skills to succeed in the interest they wish to pursue. For the months of July and August, we have partnered with Wexford County 4H to provide a wider range of programs available to all. Follow us to see more Cooking and Baking classes in the future!

Recipes can be complicated, but remember even Martha Stewart had to learn the basics first. Once you learn how to start there are many different hobbies and even careers that are available in both the hospitality industry as well as self employment. One of the unique aspects of this baking club, is teaching students how to break down the cost of materials so they can then determine the cost and profit for selling their baked goods. Make sure to follow Cottage Food Laws whenever selling baked goods.

But today we are going to cover some quick basics from 4H Volunteer Karyln as well as show you what the students have been up to.

Karlyn with a few of the students.

ALWAYS double check your measurements and read the recipe more than once.

Know the difference between measuring cups

Dry measuring cups have a handle to make it easier to scoop, liquid measuring cups have a spout making it easier to pour.

Aways pack your brown sugar and level off your dry ingredients. (Click here for a tutorial on how to level your dry ingredients)

Mix your fat (butter, shortening) with sugar separately from dry ingredients. Creaming your fat and your sugars together will make it light and fluffy. Here is a handy guide to get you started.

Quick Breads are made immediately, yeast breads must rise. Shown bellow the students make Zucchini Bread.

After learning the basics of quick breads with Karlyn the following week the students prepared a yeast dough. They were then split into 3 teams of 2 to prepare 3 different recipes out of the dough they prepared the week before. Sesame Breadsticks, Cinnamon Rolls and Ham and Cheese purses were prepared by the kids.