It is once again Bagel Monday. It might be hard for people to understand what exactly Bagel Monday is, considering I don’t talk about it all that often (even though sometimes I do).
Bagel Monday is a way to check back in with what is going on, and start the week off right. In addition to having delicious bagels for breakfast (and sometimes lunch or snacks), Bagel Monday is a time I’ve set to have the Bagel Monday Weekly Review. Although there is an official Bagel Monday Weekly Review Procedure, I have not always been the best at following it every week. Who is invited to the Bagel Monday Weekly Review? Anyone who wants to be involved with Sour Flour. In general, we have not communicated this fact to too many people, so the meetings have usually been kept small. But for the past many months, there have been meetings at various times with Anh-Thu, Ildiko, Katie Kwan, and occasionally special guests like Roger (of Soul Cocina), or Maggie (who came on her birthday, back in January), and sometimes, just by myself.
I’ve had difficulty staying in touch with everyone, and communicating as well as I’d like to. The other difficulty has been the piling up of things to do or to plan. I’ve got piles of Bagel Monday Weekly Review notes, each of which adds certain tasks to be completed, but then rarely look back over them. Many of the items get done at some point, but things keep changing, and evolving, so priorities get shifted. So I’ve tended to resist adding things to do, thinking that the pile might just naturally happen in due time. But I realize that the system was put into place for a reason, and in order to continually get best use out of it, I should continue with the original plan, and have a Bagel Monday Weekly Review each week.
According to the Bagel Monday Weekly Review Procedure (which Ildiko helped make), we start off with a review of last weeks Bagel Monday Weekly Review Notes, but there have been none for the last few weeks, so we will just start right in with a review of each Department:
Bagel Monday
- Robin, from the Free Farm Stand came and helped with Bagel Shaping and Baking.
- We made 60 bagels, sent 15 to La Victoria, gave 10 to Robin, 7 to Drew, ate 2, and still have more unclaimed Bagels.
- We almost had a cream cheese shortage (last several weeks managed to have cream cheese, and even lox one week, but had general not had any before then), but Drew shared some. We still need a better system to insure that Bagel Monday always has cream cheese, lox, butter, and anything else we’d like.
- We are still looking for a Bagel Monday Program Coordinator. This person would generally be responsible for making Bagel Monday as effective as possible. We would like to setup Bagel Monday Bakers all over the place, but need a better system for training people. This person would also be responsible for the Bagel Monday Department Report on during the Bagel Monday Weekly Review (this section).
- We need to bring some sort of sign for Bagel Monday at La Victoria. They are now selling Sour Flour Bagels for $1, and we’d like to drive as many people there to buy the bagels.
- We also need to setup a scheduled pickup and drop-off for Bagels to 331 Cortland. Debra has asked us for this, and people want the bagels. Currently our stall is closed on Bagel Mondays, but perhaps we could get someone to staff the Bagel Booth while there are fresh bagels each Bagel Monday
- We need to deliver some bagels to Undergroundads soon (303 Sacramento Street, Third Floor). They had wanted at least once a month Bagel Monday delivery, and are going to be helping us with our overall branding and communications strategy
- Elaine suggested giving some bagels to the ALCU, who are right down the street from Undergroundads.
- We need to redevelop a good system for tracking where all the bagels are going. I’ve currently started trying to program again, but I also like paper systems. Still need to evaluate the overall purpose of tracking where the bagels are going.
- Eileen is interested in baking more bagels, so needs follow-up training
- We need to review and reorganize the list of Bagel Monday Bakers
- The bagel dough was a bit wetter than usual, but well developed. I mixed it heavily by hand, gave it 3 stretch and folds every 30 minutes or so, and then another time in the middle of the night. Because the dough was wetter, we didn’t need to let the dough relax as long after shaping, since the bagels got well sealed. The dough was almost sticking to the bench, and our fingers, but just barely not. The starter was fairly active, and we used a cup or so, along with 6L of flour (regular flour, not high-gluten), and about 2L, plus a cup, of water. Our measuring was extremely inexact.
- Even with the wetter dough, the bagels were delicious. They had a slight bit more acid than I would of preferred, and less sweetness, from the more active fermentation in the wetter dough. They were fairly light, but still had some chew.
Bread Education
- We still need to send our first email campaign to our Bread Education List (which is now at around 65, but still not completely entered).
….
Now I’m hungry again, so I’ve got to stop and get some lunch. So much has piled up, that the remaining 6 departments will probably go over the allocated time. But I will resume when I get back…
- Need to follow up with Katie Kwan, who has taken on the role of Bread Education Program Coordinator.
- Follow up with Earl about more shifts at La Victoria, as well as setting him up with people for home Bread Education
- Follow up with Jon about more shifts at La Victoria
- Laizu has been helping with shifts at La Victoria, and wants to do more, including make Challah
- Still need to get Anh-Thu a proper baking stone
- Plan SF Baker’s Party at La Victoria on June 19th. People will bring bread that they baked, or bake it at La Victoria. Also want to get people involved with supplying other food. Tiffany for butter; Roger for tasty food; Jon, from Pearls Kitchen volunteered; and there are many other people who could potentially bring stuff.
- Need to brainstorm system to become an SF Baker. Should include knowledge of starters, regular baking and practicing, and giving bread away.
- Should create calendared classes at La Victoria
- Need to get back in touch with CHOW.com about doing some CHOW Tips
- Get in touch with Rachel, from 18 Reasons, to do a class there
- Start writing articles about bread: Chemical Structure vs. Biological Activity; Different Feeding Schedules for Starters; Developing Gluten; Working with Different Hydrations.
- Need written instructions for Bagel Monday Bakers
Communal Oven
- Racks are supposed to come to La Victoria tomorrow, which will allow for more space
- Still need to get another 9′ wooden work bench
- Need more dough tubs (which can also carry bread)
- Need to get a giant burlap sack for carrying bread
- Should create a calendar of when La Victoria is currently being used, and by whom
Communications
- Been using the blog a bit more, and would like to continue, especially during time at 331 Cortland
- Need to make it easier to share photos; link to Flickr page
- Should send out another MailChimp update, explaining the upcoming workshop at the Underground Market, and saving the date for June 19th.
- Working on putting together customer database
- Need to make sure to post Bagel Monday Weekly Review Notes every week
Finance
- We are only 23 days away from our goal of selling 1000 loaves of bread, and still have 443 loaves left. We will be increasing production by quite a bit in order to reach our goal in time.
- Still need to finalize Bylaws and Buy-Out Agreement so that stock can be officially transfered. Also need to finalize Corporate Seal, and create Stock Certificates
- Need to update financial projections, and create a budgets for the next 3 months.
- Having a Board Meeting in late June to discuss strategies for raising more capital
- Robin is doing research on requirements to enter into Farmers Markets. Sam has suggested the Castro Market, and might be able to help us get in.
- The next Underground Farmers Market is coming up this Friday. We soldout 55 loaves for the last event, but had almost no sales effort. We need to plan this event; potentially Anh-Thu, Leslie, and Robin can help out. Also should think about how we might be able to combine with another vendor, such as Tiffany
- Also need to start planning for SF Street Food Festival, and Eat Real Fest in Oakland. Both events are in August, and will have thousands of potential customers
Operations
- Operations are still a bit confusing for me. There are so many things left undone, and yet so much is still happening. We still do have a project list, but it is not in regular use.
- One crucial element is figuring out how to free up my time from working at 331 Cortland. It would be too expensive to hire a cashier for the time being, but if we had more capital, or were making more bread sales, we might be able to. While I am there, and even when we do get someone else there, we need to think of how to make that time most effective.
- Production has been running smooth, but as we start to add on more shifts, and include more people, we need to make sure we have adequate space with everything that is happening at La Victoria.
- Eileen has offered to be our Volunteer Coordinator, so now we need to start to get back in contact with everyone who has offered to volunteer, and figure out the best use of everyones effort.
- Upcoming Board Meeting should help clarify where energies should be focused
Improving Baking Skills
- Now creating a fresh starter each week for Bagel Monday. Trying to figure out how to go from nothing to finished bread as quick as possible using wild yeast.
- Jaime said that there is a possibility I could get sent out to Germany to help some of his German baker friends with their websites, but also visit the bakeries. Need to try to coordinate this within a trip to Germany/France/Italy.
- Should check in about the Artisan II class at SFBI, and start to plan how I can have my 331 shifts covered.
- Need to start sharing more baking info with the Bread Education list of people so they can learn what I am working on