Opening a Bakery in Ontario: The Supply Checklist

Opening a bakery or café in Ontario means juggling a lease, equipment, staff and permits, and then stocking hundreds of small items before the first customer walks in. This checklist covers the supplies most new bakeries need, so nothing is missed on opening week.

Before you order: food safety basics

Bakeries and cafés in Ontario are food premises under the Ontario Food Premises Regulation (O. Reg. 493/17). Among other things, the regulation requires at least one certified food handler or supervisor on site during operating hours. Before opening, contact your local public health unit (for example Toronto Public Health or York Region Public Health) about notification, inspection and certification, and check zoning and building requirements with your municipality. Requirements vary, so confirm the details for your location.

1. Core baking ingredients

• Flour for each product line: bread, all-purpose, pastry, 00 for pizza (see our flour guide)
• Granulated, brown and icing sugar
• Leaveners: baking powder, baking soda, yeast
• Shortening, butter alternatives and baking oils
• Salt, glucose, honey and syrups
• Premade mixes for consistent cakes, muffins and breads

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2. Chocolate, fillings and flavour

• Chocolate callets or blocks, chocolate chips and cocoa powder
• Fruit fillings, jams, glazes and fondant
• Nut pastes, nuts, dried fruit and seeds
• Vanilla and other extracts, spices

Chocolate & cocoa · Fillings & glazes · Nuts & dried fruit

3. Baking disposables

• Baking cups and muffin liners, loaf pan liners
• Parchment and wax paper, foil, cling wrap
• Disposable piping bags

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4. Packaging for sales

• Cake boxes, cupcake boxes with inserts, pie boxes
• Cake boards and drums (see our sizing guide)
• Clear dessert containers and cups for the display fridge
• Paper bags, cello bags and ribbons
• Aluminum trays and lids for catering orders

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5. Café counter

• Coffee beans or ground coffee, tea, hot chocolate
• Drink syrups for lattes and iced drinks
• Hot cups, cold cups, lids and stir sticks

Coffee & tea · Café disposables

6. Small tools

• Scrapers, spatulas, dough dockers, mixing bowls
• Pans and moulds for your core products

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How much to order for opening

For perishable ingredients, order roughly two to three weeks of expected use and reorder as real sales data comes in. For packaging and disposables, buying by the case usually lowers the cost per unit, as long as you have dry storage space. Keep a simple par-level sheet (minimum stock per item) so reordering takes minutes, not hours.