I own and operate my own patisserie and like you I am a slave to quality and freshness. Here's what I do. I make my doughs (brioche, croissant) the night before and let them do a slow proof in the cooler overnight. I roll and shape them in the morning, then proof and bake.
I do my morning bake at 4 am. I have a very large product line which is all made from scratch and I also supply quite a few restaurants and catering companies with desserts and breads. This system works well for me. I ONLY work the night shift during Christmas (and then I basically don't go home at all other than to shower until Christmas Day) or if it gets so excruciatingly hot in the place that it is impossible to bake in the day time.
As far as muffins go....a good friend of mine told me if you portion out the raw muffin batter and then freeze them in "pellets" that they freeze and bake well. I have never tried it but I know this much the French pastry chef I studied with used to do up pails of muffin batter and then scoop and bake as needed. Sometimes that batter would last us two days or more and we never had a problem with it.
I don't make a whole lot of muffins for the shop but when I do I usually just do up only as much as I am going to need and then scoop and bake right away. I do make up big batches of cookie dough and then keep it in the cooler and scoop and bake as needed. Do this with oatcakes and pie dough as well.
I must admit...I don't get much sleep....I tend to work until 7 pm and then go home and crash so I can get up at 2:30 for a return to work. Monday is the one day when I don't have to do any baking...but I do have errands and paperwork for the shop. Ugggh....the fun of being an owner.  |