How to open your own Bread Bakery

Bread is a staple in every home and that will always be in demand. In fact, the average consumption of bread per person is 3 slices a day! If the average family in South Africa has around 4 members(do the Math!), that is almost an entire loaf of bread for every 4 people. Every single household almost on the daily will buy bread or bread products(rolls, buns, pastries ), thus giving a bread bakery a high potential for being a profitable business.

We put together a simple guide on how to get your bread baking business started:

1. Research

Before even thinking about starting your own bakery, it is important to conduct research first to see if it is a viable option to open a bread bakery. Research will help you find the best possible location for you, also research existing bread bakeries(potential competition), people in the area(potential customers), find out more about suppliers for the ingredients needed for your business. Extensive research will ensure that you find the cheapest ingredients and products needed.

2. Planning

Clear planning is essential to be a successful entrepreneur. It is important to know the goals of your business, what your short & long term goals are, your potential risks & challenges, budget & funds, and a step-by-step plan of how you will execute everything.

3. Location

From your research and planning, you will need a space that is best suited for the smooth running of your bakery. Find a place with high foot traffic to attract more retail customers. The size of your operating space depends entirely on your production capacity and how much or how large your equipment will be.

4. Equipment

The key to a good bakery is consistency. Every loaf of bread or finished bread product needs to taste, feel and look the same. Commercial bakery equipment is utilized for uniformity and desired consistency in finished products. At Caterquip, we have a range of specialized bakery equipment from small to large business start-ups. Our experienced salesteam will guide you on choosing the best equipment in terms of practicality and size, best suited to your business plan and production requirements. These are the basic equipment items that you may need to start your bread bakery with:

-Deck Oven

This is a large oven with one or more shelves or decks. The size of the oven you choose depends on how many loaves of bread or rolls you want to produce at a time. Deck ovens are ideal for baking bread and bread products as the flat surface retains and conducts heat to produce a crispy finish.

-Dough Mixer

Bread dough in large quantities is dense and requires strong, durable mixers to mix and knead the dough.

-Proofer

Proofing is the most important step in bread making. All yeast products require the process of 'proofing' where the yeast ferments and expands the dough, resulting in the signature soft texture in bread. Remember that under-proofing or over-proofing your dough may result in an unusable batch of bread! A proofer is a piece of equipment that controls the temperature and humidity during the proofing process, ensuring an even and consistent result every time.

Dough moulder and divider

Large volumes of dough will require the help of a dough divider and moulder. A divider divides your large batch of dough into smaller pieces with the exact same weight and round it to perfection. A dough moulder shapes and forms your dough into its desired shape before proofing. These machines are perfect for large scale bread production and ensure consistent quality with the finished product.

-Bread Slicer

A bread slicer makes it easy to slice your loaves of bread into equal slices with less wastage and more consistency in sizes of slices.

-Stainless Steel Tables, Work Tops and Shelves

A commercial bakery requires working spaces and shelves for ingredient storage. Stainless steel is durable, easy to maintain and used for upholding food production health standards.

-Stainless Steel Sinks

Bread-making is a messy process and requires effective clean up every day before and after production. Large sinks are needed to wash up large pieces of equipment and utensils.

5. Staff

Baking is a science and you will need to hire an experienced baker to produce good quality and consistent products, as well as staff for day to day activities. If you are starting small, you may hire as your business grows.

6.General

It is important to note that you educate yourself and your staff on food health and safety regulations. Strict rules and protocols need to be in place to avoid food contamination and hazards. These safety measures will be addressed through staff uniform, and the cleanliness and upkeep of the kitchen (baking) area. With adequate marketing, advertising and research, a bread bakery can prove to be a successful business to run.

Growth in the food industry has remained steady over a number of years, and opening a bakery can be an investment to consider. Whether you operate as a retail bakery or want to build your own brand of products, investing in a bakery is something worth considering as an aspiring or experienced entrepreneur.