You need a sign that says, will take orders for middle of the week pick-up.
Without a commercial kitchen and big ovens, I can't see how you can make much more and still keep it impeccably fresh....which of course it part of the appeal.

Everything looks terrific, Nancy. I'm not surprised it's selling well. The sugar cookies don't surprise me either. So much of doing well at a farmer's market is having what the public wants as opposed to what the seller wants to bake/can, etc. Mostly everybody likes sugar cookies & they're great for the little ones.

As far as producing more - that's the tough part of a farmer's market, making enough income to justify continuing. Your new kitchen has double ovens, right? You could literally bake all day/night the day before market & then send Kim to actually sell while you got some sleep. The problem with that is the fun factor wears off quickly.

You are struggling with the reason why, as a banker, over 90% of my Mom & Pop bakery loans went belly-up. If you start baking & freezing quality is affected, even if only a bit. You might give it a try with things that freeze very well but, maybe not?

Or, make the dough ahead, freeze, & bake just before market day? There's really no good answer. Assembly line as much as possible & keep those oven productive. But still, you'll be limited.

That's why you see lots of jam/preserves, soaps, etc. at farmer's markets. They can be premade.

I'm sure enjoying your pictures.

/tricia

Congratulations! I am jealous, the "Farmers Markets" near suburban Atlanta are pathetic compared to the ones in the midwest, however we will be in Michigan the 3rd week in August and are already hoping to bring back stuff from the Farmers Market near Pontiac, or what used to be Pontiac

How do you make the crust pattern on the top of the peach pies?

Congrats on selling out! Everything looks scrumptious. Do you get to keep the same position now. The area you are in now seems to get more people. Try and stay there. NancyLouise

Those peach pies look so yummy. Well, it all looks yummy. Good for you!

Lpink, I have a tool that makes the cuts for the lattice. I can't say I have it down perfect yet, but I try.

Nancy, this should be our almost permanent spot. Booths shift as vendors drop out and new ones come in. I had asked to be moved away from the live music on the other end as soon as possible. The music really interfered with hearing customers.

Nancy, congratulations. I'm not surprised that you are having success. Everything looks wonderful.

I look forward to your market report.

~Ann

Go Nancy!

It all looks wonderful. Can the chocolate raspberry bars be made a day or 2, or even more in advance?

Those peach pies are a special treat and yours look sooo good that I now want to buy some! And I've never had them before-and I dont even like pies, ha!

Pretzel rolls, yeah, baby.

Oh, Nancy, each week will give you more info about the marketplace. Looks like fun. Beautiful landscape. Yummy treats, Old fashioned quality An all around winner.

Nancy, the peach pies look beautiful, but I'll bet they are labor intensive? Could you make a large cobbler with a top crust and maybe some struesel crumbs on top then portion out two servings in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap?

Have you considered tea breads - mini loaves of lemon bread, banana bread, applesauce walnut bread, etc. could be made mid-week and would hold well in the fridge until market day. This type of bread is usually very moist and will hold longer than yeast breads. Last year my friendship
starter breads sold well. The starter keeps the loaf very moist - you don't have to call the breads "friendship" or Amish Friendship as people who don't bake have probably not heard of them and might not understand the concept.

And have you tried mixing up your pretzel roll dough a day or two ahead and keeping it chilled until ready to bake? Are the three large loaves the asiago bread? Does one recipe produce 3 loaves that size? I'd try making four slightly smaller loaves and price them a little less.

Also, I would try making a recipe of the sugar cookies mid-week, then wrap them well with plastic wrap, put them in a zip bag or container with a lid and store them in a cool place until market day. You could make a test batch and see how they taste to you several days later. The cookies could also be frozen on the day they are made and pulled out the day before market day. Or, make the cookie dough ahead and freeze then bake the day before market day?

You are getting a feel now for what sells well for you and what your customers repeatedly buy - that's good. But think about how you can begin your baking earlier in the week and try new items that can be made ahead.

Do you have a flyer on the table offering to make special orders? When I did this I sold by the recipe - i.e. an entire recipe of yeast rolls or 4 loaves of my Amish bread recipe. I would offer the customer a slight discount for ordering the entire recipe and I would tell them how to freeze the breads. This way they could order ahead to be sure what they wanted was held (out of sight) for them.

I have some great recipes if you want those.

Teresa

Teresa, you've got me thinking ;)
The peach pies were labor intensive. I just did them because I was lucky enough to find local peaches to buy. Pears are the next seasonal fruit but I am not sure if there will be any. I just may skip them and wait for apples. I do have frozen sour cherries and some apples to work with.

We have a big Apple Fest here on Oct.12-14 and I'm possibly going to have a booth in that. Apple vendors line the sidewalk and there are many craft and food booths in the park. Now that will take some real planning!

I tried some quick breads already and will be doing more. They do keep well and I may even try making some ahead and freezing them.

I'm going to experiment with the pretzel rolls. I'll make a batch on Monday to play with. I'm thinking that they should hold on the refrigerator...then shape and boil and bake. I'm also going to try doing them through the boil, then freeze, so that all I have to do is salt and bake. Similar concept to par-barked. Do you think that would work?
There is a problem with salting and baking any further ahead than necessary...the moisture from the rolls is drawn out by the salt and the salt then melts.. grrrrr.

I've been baking the sugar cookies on Tuesday for selling on Thursday.... I could make the dough on Monday.....

Teresa, I have your recipe for the cinnamon roll dough that you posted and I plan on trying it. Any other recipes you have that would be good...just email me. They like to buy a roll that they walk around eating..

There is already one booth that is all scones...they sell well but I'm hesitant to step on toes...

Nancy

How about specializing in muffins? There's zillions of different kinds where you could feature seasonal local fruit, if you'd like.

/t

Is your pretzel roll recipe the same as it would be for a fresh pretzel? You could get more product, so more money. It would make good walking around treat Just a thought. Patty

I love reading and seeing your market experiences. I'm so glad you sold out.

I don't think you would be stepping on toes if you added one or two kinds of scones to your mix. After all, doesn't more than one vendor sell zucchini?

If you were here, I would be a good customer - baking is so not my thing!

Lee, looking forward to the next report.

Nancy, when you do the apple festival, your apple maple jam is one of my favorites and everyone who has tried it loves the stuff. I got a blue ribbon with it at the fair this year too, so it might sell well.

Everything looks delicious, so I'm not at all surprised that you sold out and I've eaten your baking so I know your customers were not disappointed either, I'm sure you'll continue to get repeat customers.

And, if you leave information about custom baking I'll bet you could get holiday orders when the farmer's market has closed, if you're interested in doing that.

I knew you'd do well, all your stuff is just so yummy.

Annie

Thanks for all the nice comments and helpful suggestions. I think that I can do more prep work ahead of time, which would help. I'll double the raspberry bars for this week for sure.

Teresa sent me some of her successful farm market recipes and I'll try some new things soon. Thank you Teresa!

Right now I'm still being very careful to use fruits that are in season here, apples will be starting soon...

Annie, I do plan on making the Maple Apple Jam, thanks for the reminder. Just waiting on good apples. My favorite won't be ready for awhile but I can try some others too.

They are predicting rain for this weeks market and I'm sure that will put a damper on sales. Guess we will see.

Nancy