Bakers, chefs and their suppliers offer advice on how to meet your 2020 resolutions by making the most of ingredients and expanding charitable initiatives.

Waste not, want not

“Here are some easy ways to reduce waste in a café and bakery operation:

  • Build a good relationship with your suppliers – many do a second selection of fruit and veg, which may not look as beautiful, but will be perfectly usable and cheaper.
  • Think about the whole item and don’t peel or core anything that doesn’t need it.
  • Day-old bread actually toasts really well, so use that for toasties.
  • If there are any croissants left over from breakfast, fill them with ham and cheese, for example, and put them on the lunch menu.
  • Finally, separate food waste by plate leftovers versus prep trimmings, identifying your separate waste streams and what can be reused.”

Daisy Taylor, head chef, Rude Health Café, London

Baking for good

“If there is a charity or other organisation in your area that supports people facing a tougher time than most of us, get in touch to see if they’d like you to run a social baking session.

Some things to consider if they say yes:

  • Allow plenty of time, so that neither the bakers or the dough are rushed. If time is tight, consider smaller items such as rolls, flatbreads or breadsticks that are quicker to bake.
  • You might also weigh ingredients in advance, so the bakers have that time to mix, work and shape the dough.
  • Use domestic equipment to help people feel they can produce similar results at home – a feeling that perhaps they wouldn’t have if they had first baked with professional ovens.
  • Run a hands-on session, rather than a demonstration.
  • Keep the bread simple – all you need is three or four ingredients.”

Chris Young, coordinator, Real Bread Campaign

To find out more about starting a charitable initiative, read our latest article ’Bake well: how bakeries can give back in 2020’.

Keeping it clean

“A few minutes of a mixer not operating can have a big impact on the output of a bakery, but regular maintenance can avoid this.

Here are some tips to help get the most from your mixer:

  • Stainless steel mixers have the benefit of being quick and easy to clean.
  • Having a touchscreen control panel ensures maintenance requirements are visible to the user ahead of a failure.
  • A dust guard will prevent flour getting into the atmosphere, which can result in considerable time and effort to clean.”

Duncan MacFarlane, bakery sales director, Scobie McIntosh

For more information, read our latest mixers feature: ’Temperature: a vital part of the dough mix’.