Layout and Workflow

Zones (in flow order)

Materials should move in one direction, from goods-in to buffet, without crossing back:

[Goods in / Dry storage] → [Weighing & mixing] → [Proofing] → [Shaping/benches]
        → [Ovens / Steam / Fry] → [Cooling (blast chiller, racks)]
        → [Finishing & decorating (cold zone)] → [Cold/ambient holding] → [Buffet]
                                   ↓
                         [Dish / pot wash (shared)]

Placement tips

• Keep the cold and warm zones apart. Put the finishing/decorating table (creams, mousse, chocolate) away from the ovens and fryer, ideally near the fridges.
• Ovens under the hood. Place the combi, deck oven and fryer along one wall under the extraction hood. That makes them easier to vent and keeps the heat in one place.
• Proofer next to the shaping bench, and the shaping bench next to the ovens, so the trolley route is short.
• Flour away from the finishing area. Flour dust gets everywhere, so mix at one end and decorate at the other.
• Share with the main kitchen: dishwasher, goods-in and (for small setups) the deep fryer.
• Basement walk-ins. The walk-in cooler and freezer are in a separate basement, so place the bakery's fridge and freezer near the route to the stairs or lift, and keep a rack trolley for the daily stock run.
• Allergen separation. Keep nuts, sesame and peanuts in a labeled, dedicated storage area. Sesame and peanut are very common in Asian pastries.
• Clearance. Leave at least 1.2 m between facing benches so rack trolleys can pass, and room for oven doors to open fully.

Daily workflow (example: lunch and dinner buffet)

Time	Task
Previous afternoon	Mix doughs, make tart shells, fillings and custards. Blast chill. Load the retarder-proofer with shaped buns.
06:30–07:00	Proofer switches to warm mode automatically. Check the temperature logs. Fetch the day's frozen stock and dairy from the basement walk-ins in one trip.
07:00–10:30	Bake and steam the lunch batch. Finish cakes. Cool and decorate.
10:30–11:00	Set up the buffet desserts: cold items in the refrigerated display, warm items (bao, egg tarts) in heated holding.
11:00–14:30	Top-up batches every 30–60 min from frozen or par-baked stock. Small batches keep the buffet fresh.
14:30–16:00	Clean down. Prep for dinner and for tomorrow (doughs, fillings).
16:00–17:00	Bake the dinner batch.
17:00–21:00	Dinner top-ups. Usually one person can cover baking and refills.
Close	Discard buffet leftovers according to the egenkontroll plan. Log waste to adjust quantities.

Buffet-specific tips

• Freeze-ahead strategy. Make bao, cookie dough, tart shells and cake bases in big batches and freeze them, then bake or steam to order. This is the best way to handle unknown and changing volume.
• Small pieces. Mini sizes (bite-sized tarts, half-size bao) cut waste and let guests try more.
• Track waste. Log what's left after each service and adjust quantities weekly.
• Visual refills. Refill with fresh trays rather than topping up old ones.

Staffing

Planned: 2 bakers on 8-hour shifts, e.g. 06:00–14:30 and 12:00–20:30, overlapping over the lunch peak. See Product Ideas for a menu and weekly production plan sized for this.

For reference, at different volumes:

Tier	Staff
S	1 baker (morning), with main kitchen staff covering refills
M	2 bakers (staggered morning and afternoon shifts)
L	2–3 bakers plus a pastry lead. With only 2, rely heavily on freeze-ahead and pour-and-set items.