No formal education is required. Although there are no formal education requirements to become a baker, some candidates attend a technical or culinary school. Programs generally last from 1 to 2 years and cover nutrition, food safety, and basic math.
To enter these programs, candidates may be required to have a high school diploma or equivalent. Most bakers learn their skills through long-term on-the-job training, typically lasting 1 to 3 years.
Some employers may provide apprenticeship programs for aspiring bakers. Bakers in specialty bakery shops and grocery stores often start as apprentices or trainees and learn the basics of baking, icing, and decorating. They usually study topics such as nutrition, sanitation procedures, and basic baking.
Some participate in correspondence study and may work toward a certificate in baking. Some bakers learn their skills through work experience related to baking. For example, they may start as a baker's assistant and progress into a full-fledged baker as they learn baking techniques. Certification is voluntary and shows that a baker has the skills and knowledge to work at a retail baking establishment.
The Retail Bakers of America offers certification in four levels of competence, with a focus on several topics, including baking sanitation, management, retail sales, and staff training. Those who wish to become certified must satisfy a combination of education and experience requirements before taking an exam.
The education and experience requirements vary by the level of certification desired. For example, a Certified Journey Baker requires no education but must have at least 1 year of work experience. A Certified Baker must have 4 years of work experience and 30 hours of sanitation coursework, and a Certified Master Baker must have 8 years of work experience, 30 hours of sanitation coursework, and 30 hours of professional development education.
Communication skills. Bakers, especially retail bakers, must have good communication skills in order to deal effectively with customers. Detail oriented. Bakers must closely monitor their products in the oven to keep them from burning.
They also should have an eye for detail because many pastries and cakes require intricate decorations. Math skills. Bakers must possess basic math skills, especially knowledge of fractions, in order to precisely mix recipes, weigh ingredients, or adjust mixes. Physical stamina. Bakers stand on their feet for extended periods while they prepare dough, monitor baking, or package baked goods.
Physical strength. Bakers should be able to lift and carry heavy bags of flour and other ingredients, which may weigh up to 50 pounds.
The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. Grocery stores and restaurants, sell freshly baked goods throughout the day. Employment of bakers is projected to grow 5 percent over the next ten years, faster than the average for all occupations. Population and income growth are expected to result in greater demand for specialty baked goods, such as cupcakes, pies, and cakes, from grocery stores, retail bakeries, and restaurants.
However, employment of bakers in food manufacturing may be limited as these facilities increasingly use automated machines and equipment to mass-produce baked goods.
Job opportunities are expected to be good because of the need to replace workers who leave the occupation every year. Chefs and head cooks oversee the daily food preparation at restaurants and other places where food is served.
Commercial bakers, also called production bakers, work in manufacturing facilities that produce breads, pastries, and other baked products. In these facilities, bakers use high-volume mixing machines, ovens, and other equipment, which may be automated, to mass-produce standardized baked goods. They carefully follow instructions for production schedules and recipes. Retail bakers work primarily in grocery stores and specialty shops, including bakeries. In these settings, they produce smaller quantities of baked goods for people to eat in the shop or for sale as specialty baked goods.
Retail bakers may take orders from customers, prepare baked products to order, and occasionally serve customers. Although the quantities prepared and sold in these stores are often small, they usually come in a wide variety of flavors and sizes.
Most retail bakers are also responsible for cleaning their work area and equipment and unloading supplies. Some retail bakers own bakery shops where they make and sell breads, pastries, pies, and other baked goods. In addition to preparing the baked goods and overseeing the entire baking process, they are also responsible for hiring, training, and supervising their staff.
They must budget for and order supplies, set prices, and decide how much to produce each day. The work can be stressful because bakers follow time-sensitive baking procedures and often work under strict deadlines. For example, bakers must follow daily production schedules to bake products in sufficient quantities while maintaining consistent quality. In manufacturing facilities, they often work with other production workers, such as helpers and maintenance staff, so that equipment is cleaned and ready.
Bakers are exposed to high temperatures when working around hot ovens. They stand for hours at a time while observing the baking process, making the dough, or cleaning the baking equipment.
Bakeries, especially large manufacturing facilities, are filled with potential dangers such as hot ovens, mixing machines, and dough cutters. Bakers must take precautions to avoid injury. Although their work is generally safe, bakers may endure back strains caused by lifting or moving heavy bags of flour or other products.
Other common risks include cuts, scrapes, and burns. To reduce these risks, bakers often wear back supports, aprons, and gloves. Grocery stores and restaurants sell freshly baked goods throughout the day. As a result, bakers are often scheduled to work shifts during early mornings, late evenings, weekends, and holidays. Bakers who work in commercial bakeries that bake continuously may have to work late evenings and weekends.
Long-term on-the-job training is the most common path to gain the skills necessary to become a baker. Some bakers start their careers through an apprenticeship program or by attending a technical or culinary school. No formal education is required. Although there are no formal education requirements to become a baker, some candidates attend a technical or culinary school.
Programs generally last from 1 to 2 years and cover nutrition, food safety, and basic math. To enter these programs, candidates may be required to have a high school diploma or equivalent. Most bakers learn their skills through long-term on-the-job training, typically lasting 1 to 3 years.
Some employers may provide apprenticeship programs for aspiring bakers. Bakers in specialty bakery shops and grocery stores often start as apprentices or trainees and learn the basics of baking, icing, and decorating. They usually study topics such as nutrition, sanitation procedures, and basic baking.
Some participate in correspondence study and may work toward a certificate in baking. Some bakers learn their skills through work experience related to baking. Certification is voluntary and shows that a baker has the skills and knowledge to work at a retail baking establishment.
The Retail Bakers of America offers certification in four levels of competence, with a focus on several topics, including baking sanitation, management, retail sales, and staff training. Those who wish to become certified must satisfy a combination of education and experience requirements before taking an exam.
The education and experience requirements vary by the level of certification desired. For example, a Certified Journey Baker requires no education but must have at least 1 year of work experience. A Certified Baker must have 4 years of work experience and 30 hours of sanitation coursework, and a Certified Master Baker must have 8 years of work experience, 30 hours of sanitation coursework, and 30 hours of professional development education.
Communication skills. Bakers, especially retail bakers, must have good communication skills in order to deal effectively with customers. Detail oriented. Dorothy makes a point never to be late. And she isn't late today, either, as she enters through the side entrance to the bakery at a cool AM.
She picks her apron off its hook and slides her feet into the ugly, but ergonomic, clogs that bakers use. With seventeen-hour-long shifts, Dorothy junked the stilettos pretty early on in her baking career. Dressed and raring to go, Dorothy checks her name on the bakery's task list. It's the wee hours of the morning, so the list is geared towards producing all the fresh baked goods patrons are going to want with their morning lattes, cappuccinos, and other fancy drinks that Dorothy can barely afford on her baker's salary.
Generally, that means cinnamon rolls, croissants, and Danishes, in addition to the artisanal breads like Italian Rosemary and Kalamata Olive that are staples at a bakery like Yeast of Eden.
The first thing on Dorothy's list is to prepare the croissant dough. Though Yeast of Eden is a relatively small operation, it sometimes seems to Dorothy that she spends her entire life around dough. She kneads it, smells it, touches it, tastes it. And when she's really bored, she even talks to it. She and dough have had some really great conversations over the years. However, with only a couple hours before the bakery opens for the day, Dorothy doesn't have time to talk to her BFF, dough, today.
Instead, she heads to the huge industrial fridge to grab her other friend, milk. It needs to be heated until it's warm, but there's no need to use the microwave. The oven has been going for a while now, and it's approximately a bazillion degrees in the kitchen. It should take just a few minutes for the milk to be warm.
In a bakery, there's no such thing as a free moment to wait around for something to finish, not when there are dozens and dozens of cinnamon rolls to be prepped—and not when Donald is watching her every move, just waiting to pounce on the briefest of brief moments of inactivity.
Sometimes Dorothy thinks Donald faults her for not having an extra three sets of hands. In the meantime, she heads back to the main kitchen area in order to begin the dough for the baguettes. For most other people, dough is just an unfinished product. Dorothy, however, knows that dough is the make-or-break, be-all and end-all of any bakery.
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