Tips for creating your own personalized cookbook...

One of our old recipes...

How does Wild Oats Bakery create the recipes used for all of our products? While many of our recipes are simply the product of creative cooking inspiration and trial and error, many are also established by adding our little spin to standard recipes. In this post, we will give you the tips you need to come up with your own cookbook filled with personalized recipes...

The first tip is to scan or copy all recipes onto an 8.5 x 11" piece of paper rather than index cards. "Using a large piece of paper allows me to make notes as I am cooking and experimenting," says Rebecca Shepherd, owner of Wild Oats Bakery. "I then slip each recipe into a clear plastic sleeve (sheet protector) and save them in a binder for future use. We are forever editing recipes and fine-tuning ingredients. To this day, the bakery kitchen is still filled with binders and binders of recipes for everything from our homemade soups to our blueberry muffins."

Behind the scenes at Wild Oats Bakery...

Another thing to keep in mind is that ingredients will be different from different suppliers. To keep your recipe spot on each time, you should invest in a small kitchen scale and weigh your ingredients as opposed to focusing solely on volume measurements. You should try a recipe the first time - measuring and then weighing all the ingredients as you go. Jot down the weights on your recipe paper and if you love the final product, use the weights in future recipes. This will help to ensure a perfect product each time!

And finally, don't be afraid to experiment! Don't save your experimentation for the day of your dinner party, but instead take a day and try a few recipes. Add ingredients that you think will compliment a recipe to give it your own special spin (like adding a raspberry sauce to a chocolate dessert).

With just a few tries and a little bit of organization, you will soon have a personalized cookbook of delicious and unique recipes!