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A customer told me my sourdough crust was too dark, took me 3 bakes to get it right
I've been baking sourdough for about 4 years now, always chasing that deep mahogany crust you see in the fancy bakeries. Last month at the farmers market in Portland, this older lady bought a loaf and came back the next week just to tell me it was burnt. Not charred, not rustic, just flat out burnt in her opinion. I was honestly a little offended at first, but then I realized she was eating it like toast with butter and jam, and the dark crust was overpowering everything. So I dropped my oven temp by 25 degrees and pulled the loaves out about 10 minutes earlier than my usual timer. The crust is lighter now, more golden brown, and the inside stays just as soft. I still miss that dark color, but my sales actually went up this week, so maybe she was onto something. Has anyone else adjusted their bake based on one customer's taste, even when it went against the style you were going for?
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ryanm6028d ago
Is this really worth three whole bakes and a full menu change over one customer's comment? I mean, you sold to maybe a dozen people that day, and one lady had a specific way she eats her bread. You could just tell her to use a lighter toast setting or maybe buy a different loaf next time. Now you're chasing some middle ground that probably isn't what your regulars liked in the first place. Sales going up this week could just be a random thing, not some proof she was right. Dark crust is a style, a signature, and you basically erased it because one person complained once. If you keep bending over backwards for every random comment, you'll end up baking plain white sandwich bread by the end of summer.
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