04/13/2020
I recently had a customer ask me what the difference is between a certified, licensed commercial bakery and a home baker. As many of you know I have been both. I got my start as a home baker. It is more in the sanitation side. I mean let’s face it there are home bakers making some delicious and beautiful treats.
Let’s start in the kitchen. Most homes have a double sink. A commercial kitchen is required to have 5. One for hand washing, one
for mop and surface cleansing water disposal, one dedicated for washing dishes, one dedicated to rinsing dishes and one dedicated to sanitizing dishes. At first I thought this was crazy!!! It is not, especially now. The hand sink must have a clock with a second hand so you can wash your hands the correct amount of time. You must also have paper towels to dry your hands with and turn off the faucets. You don’t want your dirty mop water dumped down the dish sink. All that dirty, germ filled water going where your dishes are washed...no way! I bet you don’t think twice about it at home, but really think about what is in mop water....gross! Now, on to washing dishes. You can pre rinse in your mop sink but that is it!!! Then into hot soapy water. Not the old put some soap on a dish cloth and wash with running water but submerged and wash so all areas of the dish, pan, what ever, is cleaned. Can you submerge all of your pans in a kitchen sink? Is it deep enough? After a good wash it goes in to a deep sink of rinse water. Then it goes into a sink of sanitizer. The item must be completely submerged for 90 seconds. Why the sanitation solution you ask? The highest setting on an in-home water heater is 150 degrees, which is a serious burn hazard, but, to use hot water to sanitize it must reach a temperature of 185 degrees making it impossible to use hot water in an in home setting. You must also test your sanitation water to make sure you have the mix correct. That’s the first thing the board of health does, they walk in and take your test strips that are at the sink and check it. Whether used or not it also must be changed every four hours. After this process, all items must AIR DRY! Absolutely, positively, no drying with a dish towel. Dish towels harbor bacteria and germs. In a pinch, you may use a paper towel to dry. You must also have a bucket with correctly mixed, food safe sanitation water for wiping counters. Believe me, it gets checked too. Tomorrow I will go over the refrigerator and foods storage differences. As a home baker I would use the dish washer but now I know that was not hot enough. Have you ever washed your hands in the same sink you wash dishes in? It is ok if you are providing for your family but when you are providing for someone else, you must hold yourself to a much higher standard. As a home baker I thought I was doing it right, but now I see the difference and so glad I made the change.
