Posted by Karen Upright on February 07, 1998 at 23:32:24:
In Reply to: Re: Chemical Leavenings posted by Gerard on February 07, 1998 at 18:27:09:
:
: >>my customers love them>>
: famous last words!
: I discontinued muffins in spite of winning write ups in Boston newspapers, boston magazine and Boston access
: tourist guide. I decided they were crap and critics don't know crap.
: They were also hard work,even though I only made the batter once a week, 7 X 1 1/2 gals in plastic buckets..one each day.
>>We make one batch of 6 dz. mini muffins every morning. Any leftovers are bread pudding fodder. Remember, economies of scale here, I only have 24 seats.
: ( I told you they were crap).
: We used uns marg, water with powdered milk , pasteurized egg, sugar flour and BP.
: I think the milk is the acid.
>> You don't need an acid to react baking powder, only baking soda.>>
: I guarantee you couldn't make a crappier product, 2 years later I still hear " but they were so good".
: Muffins are actually expensive , food cost wise, compared to the average baked product.
: Giving them away has to hurt. ... you costed them lately?
: I replaced muffins with scones, much quicker to make, no molds to prepare...cheaper ingredients wise too.
: Gerard
We use about two mini muffins per customer at lunch time, plus we sell some from the counter. I figure it's not much more expensive than bread, considering our miniature tins amount to about 1/4 muffin each -- 1/2 muffin per customer. Overripe bananas are .19 per pound. Not a bad deal. Also make orange (and I'm in the citrus state). I do use butter, though.
I don't think I could change it at this point if I wanted to (and it's enough of a gimmick I don't think I want to). Just figure the cost into the price of lunch, as you would with bread, or scones, and you're there. Don't have much of a breakage problem, unmold them right out of the oven, just use *lots* of pan spray (OK, I know that costs money, too, I'm not a total idiot.)
Still, something special that makes a customer choose my cafe over thousands of restaurants they could choose for lunch... I'll take whatever small