Guides for pastry chefs and bakers
Reliable knowledge for pastry chefs and bakers, written by the owners of a craft pastry shop in Poland. Market analysis, ingredient prices, food safety rules and practical tips from running a bakery. Every article comes with its sources. Most articles describe the Polish market and Polish regulations.
Market and research
Current data on the confectionery and bakery market in Poland, analysis with sources and the results of our own surveys of pastry shop owners.
2 articles
Ingredient prices
Prices of key ingredients in Poland: butter, flour, sugar, fruit, cocoa. Charts and forecasts for pastry chefs and bakers.
3 articles
Food safety
Polish food law, GHP/GMP, HACCP, Sanepid (the Polish sanitary inspection) inspections, registering your business and delivery vehicles - practical guides.
7 articles
Guides & tips
Good practices, tricks and tips for running a pastry shop or bakery - from the experience of craft bakers.
13 articles
All articles
How to run a bakery: night shifts, wholesale, deliveries and the numbers to watch
A bakery runs to a different rhythm than a pastry shop: the night shift, regular customers, the morning route and crates that come back or do not. Eight areas you need to keep under control, and a routine for the day, week and month, from a Polish perspective.
HACCP fridge temperature log: a free PDF template and how to keep it
A free printable temperature log template: four units, two readings a day, a whole month on one page and a corrective action log. Plus the rules for keeping the log that Sanepid, the Polish sanitary inspection, checks. The template itself is in Polish.
Cream, egg, sugar and cocoa prices in Poland in 2026: what a pastry shop pays
Cream down 5%, sugar for bakeries and pastry shops down 12%, eggs back to last year's level after the Easter peak, and cocoa getting more expensive again after falling by two thirds. Polish ZSRIR and GUS data, European Commission and ICCO figures for October 2026.
HACCP in a bakery in Poland: Sanepid requirements step by step
What a bakery in Poland must have before it bakes its first loaf for sale: registration with Sanepid (the Polish sanitary inspection), premises, staff medical certificates, a HACCP plan tailored to bread, acrylamide and deliveries to shops. With the legal basis.
How to run a pastry shop: 10 areas you need to keep under control
Orders, costs, prices, ingredients, production, team, takings, break-even point, food safety and invoices. What to check in each of these areas every day, once a week and once a month, from the practice of our pastry shop in Poland.
KSeF for pastry shops and bakeries in Poland: receipts, invoices for businesses and wholesaler invoices
When pastry shops and bakeries in Poland must issue invoices in KSeF (Poland's National e-Invoicing System), what happens with receipts and invoices for receipts, how to receive invoices from wholesalers and what changes on January 1, 2027. Based only on materials from the Polish Ministry of Finance.
Cake labels in Poland: what must be on them and how to mark allergens
A packaged cake and a cake sold from the display case have different labeling obligations. What must be on the label of a pastry product under Regulation 1169/2011 and Polish rules, how to emphasize the 14 allergens, and when you need a date and a nutrition table, with the legal basis.
How many servings in a cake: a chart by diameter, tiers and weight
A 21 cm cake gives 20-24 servings, and three tiers of 16/22/28 cm give 110-120. A full servings chart for cakes from one to six tiers, converting weight into the number of guests, and how not to promise a customer more slices than the cutting will give.
Sheet cake costing: the cost of a tray, a slice and the price, step by step
What does it really cost to bake a tray of apple pie, and how much should you charge per slice? A worked example: ingredients, fixed costs, electricity, packaging, the cost of one slice and the price from the margin. Plus a trap few people remember: a baked tray weighs less than its ingredients.
HACCP in a small pastry shop without the paperwork: what you really need in Poland
HACCP makes people think of a thick binder and a fee for a “certificate”. The law requires less than you think. What exactly a small pastry shop or bakery in Poland must have, with the legal basis and practice from our own pastry shop.
The summer production schedule: weddings, heat and staff holidays all at once
Summer in a pastry shop is not the quiet season. It is weddings, christenings, First Communions and heat all at once, plus a team that also wants a holiday. How to build a schedule so nobody gets jammed.
Wedding and tiered cakes: how not to fail in peak season and in the heat
With a wedding cake, the hardest part is not the baking, it is the structure, the heat and delivering on time. How to handle tiered cakes at the peak of the season so they arrive in one piece.
Pre-orders in a pastry shop: why orders in advance are your ally
Baking “blind” is a loss you never see on an invoice. How to start taking orders in advance, so you throw away less, have cash flow from deposits and a calmer schedule.
Margins on ice cream and desserts: why “cheap to make” is misleading
A scoop of ice cream looks like a gold mine, until your first summer of bills. The real cost is not just milk and sugar, but equipment running all year and sales lasting only a few months.
How to calculate the real food cost of a cake, step by step
Food cost, margin and markup are three different things, and mixing them up is the most common mistake pastry shops make. How to calculate the real cost of a cake, what quietly eats your margin and why a recipe costed once is already out of date.
First Communion season in a Polish pastry shop: handling the rush of orders without chaos
In Poland, First Communions pile up on a few Sundays in May, and a big part of a pastry shop's yearly profit is made then. How to collect orders, calculate your capacity and not lose a single cake.
The confectionery market in Poland 2026: data, industry debt, ingredient prices and niches
How many businesses there are and what the industry is worth, how much sugar Poles eat, how indebted bakeries and pastry shops are, and what happened to cocoa and butter prices. Every number has a source, plus niches for craft pastry shops.
Why craft pastry shops in Poland are winning customers back from the chains
In-store bakeries at Lidl and Biedronka took over everyday bread in Poland, but small pastry shops are winning back cake customers. An analysis with data and examples.
Butter prices in Poland 2023-2026: analysis, trends and forecast
Why butter in Poland is more expensive than ever, what drives the price and what to expect in 2026. Data from GUS, KOWR and the European Commission.
Raspberry prices in Poland 2026: grower prices, wholesale markets, strawberries and blueberries
What Polish buying stations paid for raspberries in 2026: from 9-12 PLN/kg at the start of the season to 19.50 PLN/kg for autumn raspberries. Plus wholesale market prices, strawberries and blueberries in 2026, and what it means for pastry shop costs.
Your first Sanepid inspection in a Polish pastry shop: checklist and what to prepare
What exactly a Sanepid (Polish sanitary inspection) inspector checks, which documents you must have on your desk, the most common remarks and how to prepare. In line with the guidelines of GIS, Poland's Chief Sanitary Inspectorate.
How to register craft ice cream production with Sanepid in Poland, step by step
If you add ice cream to your pastry shop's offer in Poland, you must extend your Sanepid registration. Documents, the HZ-4 application, requirements for the machine and the premises, in line with EU and Polish rules.
Registering a food delivery vehicle with Sanepid in Poland: 2026 requirements
Do you deliver cakes and boxes in your own car in Poland? You must register it with Sanepid, the Polish sanitary inspection. Requirements, how to register and which car fridge to choose, in line with Regulation 852/2004.
10 proven ways to cut ingredient waste in a pastry shop
Ingredient waste is 6-15% of production costs in a typical pastry shop. Here are 10 proven ways to cut it in half, from the experience of PyziPyzi and other pastry shops.
How to price cakes in a pastry shop so you make money: the markup formula and a case study
Most pastry shops price by eye and earn 5-10% instead of 30%. Here is the markup formula used by craft bakers who really make money, with a worked example of a cake.