How to Make Money Baking Sweet Bread

The issue of starting a Small-Scale Micro Enterprise (SME) begins with an idea on what you would like to do in business. There are many ideas that could lead to good small scale business enterprises. If you are short of ideas, consider habitual practices that you have not yet considered seriously, for instance, skills gained during formal training or hobbies you enjoy working on privately. Have you ever considered taking your hobby to a serious money-making level? How lucrative could it be, to do what you derive most pleasure from? Other sources of ideas can be found in the needs within any given community. Problems can always be found where people are. So long as our stomachs remain hungry, the food industry will always flourish. In this article, we shall consider setting up a small business of making sweet bread for sale.

There is need to conduct a simple form of market research to establish the relevance of your product in the target market, how much pressure you are bound to get from your competitors and common problems you might encounter when you venture into the market. Ensure a reasonable market exists for your product prior to starting your business.

Prospective entrepreneurs need to establish all legal pre-requisites demanded by the government, such as license fees, permits, work conditions, environmental restrictions and tax compliance among others.

* Turn on the oven to warm up to 50⁰C.

* Grease all the baking cans and dust them with cooking flour.

* Dry mix all ingredients in a dry container.

* Add warm water, stir it up and knead the dough to form a fine consistency.

* Add small amount of flour until the dough is firm enough to be handled by hand without sticking too much, but not too firm lest it refuses to rise. The dough’s consistency should enable it to adapt its own shape when placed in a container.

* Put the dough inside the warm oven and allow the warmth to raise the dough’s volume to three times its original volume.

* Increase the oven’s temperature to 180⁰C for approximately 30 minutes to allow the actual baking to take place.

* Ensure the crust is a golden brown colour and the inside is well cooked by piercing the loaf with a wooden splinter or toothpick. If not well cooked, return it into the oven and bake further, until it is well cooked.

* Remove from the oven and place the loaf on a cool dry surface to cool.

* Package in slightly perforated wrappers to allow breathing and leave it to cool until tender. Your bread is now ready for consumption.

Economies of large scale production dictate that, the more loaves you bake at the same time, the more you save on your electricity bill. Kneading can be done by hand if you are baking for home consumption on a small scale. You will need a machine for large-scale production. A prototypical approach to the business is advisable in that it enables you to try out the recipe first to ensure it delivers the expected results before putting it to use.

Your products should be readily available to consumers in large, medium and small portions that suit individual pockets.

Many businessmen experience untold difficulties when trying to source initial capital with which to start their small businesses. Small-Scale Micro Enterprises do not require large amounts of money. This is attributed to their level and depth of operation. Money you have saved over a short period of time or funds raised in small community groups is often adequate. Employees can exploit their credit worthiness by sourcing small loans from their banks and other micro financial institutions as well as cooperative societies.

A small production unit for making bread will require the following equipment:

i) An oven

ii) Baking cans

iii) Mixing machines

iv). Cooling room

v) Packaging space

vi) Wrapping material

Ensure a hygienic work environment as required by licensing authorities. Below is a very simple recipe for two loaves of bread. One can experiment with types of bread by adding to the recipe their choice of fruit e.g. Raisins. Quantities can be increased as per your needs. Ingredients include:

a). Wheat Flour-250grams (Grab some coupons for wheat flour)

b). Instant Dry Baking Yeast-20grams (Grab some coupons for baking yeast)

c). Sugar-20grams

d). Salt-5grams

e). Olive oil, Fat or Liquid oil-25ml

f). Citric or Acetic Acid-3grams

g). 450 ml Warm water

NB: Avoid the use of preservative, or use only the recommended ones to elongate the shelf life of your product.

One has to consider whether to hire manpower or use one’s spare time in the business venture to avoid hiring labour, thereby wasting funds. Labour can be very costly and could use up your capital if not properly managed. A few hands may however be necessary if acquired cheaply. It all depends on the availability of funds and time at your disposal.

Market your product through your own outlet if you have one that is already established. It is always a prudent idea to visit private firms, shops, organizations, schools, super markets or secure government tenders to enable you to supply your product to consumers on a steady and continuous basis. The availability of a steady market keeps you in business. Once established, an attempt should be made to maintain the market through the provision of quality products and services, advertisement, and courtesy to customers. A pleasant marketer keeps the customer coming back. One should remember at all times that the customer is the employer. Be ready to serve a larger mass market. Take time to study your competitors and follow market updates closely to remain relevant to consumer needs and present day demands.

The investor has a responsibility of ensuring the investment grows to maturity. Initial profits should be ploughed back into the business. Good accounting or bookkeeping is of major significance towards tracing channels through which money is spent. Clear records of transactions made in any business guarantees no future errors will be repeated. Your business will begin to pick up steadily as the customer base expands. Be patient and give it time to flourish. Keep track on market response. When successful, consider elevating your idea to commercial scales of productivity. Feed the nation.

The packaging should be designed to draw attention. Designs should be according to specifications allowed by the government. Contents, ingredients and weight of your product should be listed on the wrapper. State both the manufacture and expiry dates. Remember, a well packaged product presents a good advertisement to consumers with prospects of increased sales.