2 answers
Taryn
Student
Palatine, Illinois
12
Questions
Asked
3088 views
A day in the life of a baker
I'm very interested in what a day in the life of a baker normally is, I do know bakers wake up early and can make similar foods everyday but I am wondering stuff like how they do they get their equipment cleaned or how they use the big ovens for bread.
Any more info on a bay in the life of a baker would be very nice.
#life #career #baker
Login to comment
2 answers
Natalie Pinto
Technical Program Manager
13
Answers
San Francisco, California
Updated
Natalie’s Answer
I am not a professional baker, but I worked in a bakery for a number of years and occasionally did some assistant baker work in my time there. Being a baker is really fun, especially if you're someone that likes to create things with your hands and be very engaged with your work.
Bakers show up to the bakery in the middle of the night and ended their work day in the middle of the day. At the bakery I worked at the bakers arrived around 3am and worked until 12pm or so. This is pretty typical for working in a bakery (where customers would show up in the morning for breakfast and lunch), but not so typical if you're a baker in a restaurant (where customers come in for lunch or dinner). Large, industrial bakeries will have shifts running the entire day.
A baker's daily routine kind of goes in reverse order - they start their day by finishing prep that they started the day before. They'll put finishing touches on things that have been rising for hours and start them baking. They often have a very specific order that they bake things in depending on how long they need in the oven, time to cool, time to rest, etc. Once they've made the products for that day, they do some cleaning and then they start on the prep for the following day. In the bakery I worked at that meant things like: make pie shells to put in the freezer, pre-mix the dry ingredients, do bulk grocery orders, work on the following day's custom cake orders, etc. At the end of the day they clean the entire kitchen so that they can get started quickly the following morning.
As a baker you spend a lot of time in the kitchen doing repetitive (but highly skilled) tasks and it can be very physical work. Your hands are engaged and you're standing at your prep table for the entire day. But you're also keeping your mind occupied by chatting with your fellow bakers and practicing your work.
In terms of how they get their equipment cleaned and how they use the big ovens for bread: they clean the equipment themselves and I can tell you that it can be a lot of work. Bakeries have industrial size dishwashers. A big bakery will have someone dedicated to washing things, but most bakers will end up doing it themselves at some point. And how they use the big ovens: very carefully! I definitely burned myself on one of the oven doors! That's just something that takes practice, but isn't too different from how you'd use an oven at home.
If you're interested in being a baker and want to learn more before investing in a formal culinary school program, I'd recommend finding a local bakery and get a job working the front of house (that would be at the counter, serving customers). You'll learn a ton about what daily life is like and potentially have opportunities to help out and get hands on experience.
Personally, my favorite part about working in a bakery was getting to eat the "test" bakes - all of the cookies, cakes, and brownies that were experiments and couldn't be sold!
Bakers show up to the bakery in the middle of the night and ended their work day in the middle of the day. At the bakery I worked at the bakers arrived around 3am and worked until 12pm or so. This is pretty typical for working in a bakery (where customers would show up in the morning for breakfast and lunch), but not so typical if you're a baker in a restaurant (where customers come in for lunch or dinner). Large, industrial bakeries will have shifts running the entire day.
A baker's daily routine kind of goes in reverse order - they start their day by finishing prep that they started the day before. They'll put finishing touches on things that have been rising for hours and start them baking. They often have a very specific order that they bake things in depending on how long they need in the oven, time to cool, time to rest, etc. Once they've made the products for that day, they do some cleaning and then they start on the prep for the following day. In the bakery I worked at that meant things like: make pie shells to put in the freezer, pre-mix the dry ingredients, do bulk grocery orders, work on the following day's custom cake orders, etc. At the end of the day they clean the entire kitchen so that they can get started quickly the following morning.
As a baker you spend a lot of time in the kitchen doing repetitive (but highly skilled) tasks and it can be very physical work. Your hands are engaged and you're standing at your prep table for the entire day. But you're also keeping your mind occupied by chatting with your fellow bakers and practicing your work.
In terms of how they get their equipment cleaned and how they use the big ovens for bread: they clean the equipment themselves and I can tell you that it can be a lot of work. Bakeries have industrial size dishwashers. A big bakery will have someone dedicated to washing things, but most bakers will end up doing it themselves at some point. And how they use the big ovens: very carefully! I definitely burned myself on one of the oven doors! That's just something that takes practice, but isn't too different from how you'd use an oven at home.
If you're interested in being a baker and want to learn more before investing in a formal culinary school program, I'd recommend finding a local bakery and get a job working the front of house (that would be at the counter, serving customers). You'll learn a ton about what daily life is like and potentially have opportunities to help out and get hands on experience.
Personally, my favorite part about working in a bakery was getting to eat the "test" bakes - all of the cookies, cakes, and brownies that were experiments and couldn't be sold!
Sooksun Sayprasith
Automation Engineer
7
Answers
Atlanta, Georgia
Updated
Sooksun’s Answer
First off, I am not a culinarian myself. But my niece had this same interests so I'll share my advice to her and hopefully it helps with getting some ideas going.
You can look at contacting the store managers a big box stores that have a baking department and see about doing a day with them or at least interview their bakers. At the same time, see if they have any scholarships, internships, or apprenticeships to help with school and skillups.
If you are more looking down artisan type career path, contact a small business cafe or bakery to voice your interest and see if they are open to being interviewed. If possible see about opening a pathway to a parttime job there.
I would also contact your school counselor to see if they can help find internships. Also ask if you can get elective credits for working.
Good Luck!
Contact bakeries and schedule interviews with bakers.
Contact school counselor for help with internships.
Explore internships, apprenticeships, and part-time job opportunities.
You can look at contacting the store managers a big box stores that have a baking department and see about doing a day with them or at least interview their bakers. At the same time, see if they have any scholarships, internships, or apprenticeships to help with school and skillups.
If you are more looking down artisan type career path, contact a small business cafe or bakery to voice your interest and see if they are open to being interviewed. If possible see about opening a pathway to a parttime job there.
I would also contact your school counselor to see if they can help find internships. Also ask if you can get elective credits for working.
Good Luck!
Sooksun recommends the following next steps: