Cake flour

[Mike Nolan]

I had a sample of one at the store, one was more than enough.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I brought a bunch of oreos over to Switzerland last summer and no one had any interest in any flavors other than the originals (and the double stuffed).

KAF is doing what they need to do to thrive and survive and how can anyone begrudge them that. They are continue to be a very gracious company that is generous with help and advice. But they are just becoming another Pillsbury which is not what they were. They'll probably be acquired pretty soon by a bigger food company looking to gain market share and credibility.

BRM has to compete too and I wish them luck.

The employee owned model usually starts out well but breaks down as the original employee-owners move on unless there is a good plan in place to buy out and pass on their shares.

I like BRM unbleached cake flour and the only difference I've noticed is it really needs to be sifted for cakes. I'll probably switch to one of the bleached brands.

[BakerAunt]

I did not know that about employee owned companies, Aaron. Thanks for the insight. It will be sad when/if KAF is acquired by another brand.

I understand the need to focus on the bottom line for both KAF and BRM. However, KAF seems much less focused now on serious home bakers--a change that started when they removed the Baking Circle site. The focus is on the professional (understandable) and the occasional baker. I am part of their Bakers Rewards Plus, but these days, I only buy certain items from them that I cannot get anywhere else. The one advantage of the Bakers Plus membership is that I don't have to wait for a special--then try to buy enough at that time--to make free shipping work.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 5 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 5 months ago by BakerAunt.

[Mike Nolan]

One of the reasons for employee-ownership plans is to try to prevent a sale to a large corporation, as it complicates the process. That has downsides, too.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Mike, absolutely right. When I joined Microsoft it was mostly employee owned through stock options. That gave many employees an "ownership" mentality in how we thought about the company and how we used company resources. I believe Bill G and his leadership team controlled over 50% of the company stock. So without most of the employees and the leaders it would have been impossible for a larger company to take us over.

But over the years as the company stopped splitting every 18 months and people stopped becoming millionaires in short order the tone of the company changed and newer, senior managers treated long time employees differently because of the distortion of stock options. It led to many internal problems long before people started reading about Microsoft problems in the press.

[Mike Nolan]

Years ago one of the professors at UNL went to work at Apple. They gave him a block of stock in part so that he was worth more than his secretary.

When our younger son moved to SF to work at Youtube, he got some Google stock options, a portion of which vests every month. I gather not all new hires get them, though.

Our older son is currently with a company that (I think) is still pre-IPO and maybe eventually he'll cash in on that. The last time he changed jobs (a year ago) he had offers from Oracle, Disney and Slack.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Speaking of secretaries my dad was writing a will for one who had worked at Sears for 50 and had ancient stock certificates. She had no idea how much she was worth until my dad told her.

I don't know how Google works. I have friends who have gone there but I'm not sure if they received options or not.

Slack really intrigues me. They've made an IM that is fun and that people like to use. I saw an article that I have to re-find that said they started out as a game.

[Mike Nolan]

I hope she sold her Sears stock before Lampert bankrupted the company!

[aaronatthedoublef]

Oh yes. This was some time in the 80s!Dad was conservative so he probably advised her to sell it and bank the profits.

[Mike Nolan]

My older son has been recruited by Google at least twice, once he didn't get past the phone interview stage and the second time they flew him out for a day of on-site interviews, but declined to offer him a position.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Been there myself. I know the feeling.

It is harder and harder to find jobs. Resume folks tell me not to put anything on my resume prior to 2000. So what was I doing between college and then? And I can't lie or erase 16 years of my life.

[BakerAunt]

I just learned that Bob's Red Mill is also discontinuing its Ivory Wheat flour--white whole wheat flour. I liked the taste better than KAF's white whole wheat, so I'm sorry to see it happen. According to an answer on the BRM website, the Ivory Wheat was not selling well.

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