There is a contagious happiness that comes from being in the baking industry, but sincerely being a baker requires a lot of work that extends beyond the normal bakery hours, with a large amount of preparation and action that goes on behind the scenes, but it can also be intensely rewarding and creative.
If you’ve ever wondered what a typical day looks like for a baker, then read on to find out more about some of their common daily tasks and duties.
EARLY STARTS
Normally bakers work early (4 to 6 am start time) in the day until about mid-afternoon. But for me(Baby baker), baking starts from 10 pm after I’m refreshed from working as a copywriter from morning to 6 pm daily.
This is a lot of hard work but the thought of disappointing my clients keeps me awake, more so that my body system has gotten used to working at night. Funny right?😄😄 I sleep each day that I have an order at about 2 am and wake up by 6;30am to clean up my baking studio and prepare to go and serve my employer for the day.
WEIGHING AND MEASURING
As you might imagine, a large portion of my night is spent weighing and measuring ingredients for current orders. Baking is one area of cookery that requires accuracy; too much or too little of one ingredient can drastically alter bakes and cause cakes not to rise. (when I started in this industry, I saw why God made me develop a general love for mathematics and calculations in Uni)
TAKING ORDERS
Being a full-time staff in a communications agency, I had to position my cake brand (Auroracakes) in a way that I have a minimum of one or two days intervals before the delivery date, because “I cannot come and kill myself.”
Cake orders for weddings are likely to have been made months in advance, but other orders may come in at least one day before delivery, so multitasking and time management are one of the skills I have developed in 5years to stay refreshed and relevant after launching into the industry in 2018.
TESTING NEW RECIPES
One of the highlights of working in a bakery is getting creative and trying out new recipes or developing your own. For me, I will spend a lot of time tweaking recipes until I get a method I’m completely happy and thrilled with.
Being a baker is fun, especially if you’re someone that likes to create things with your hands and be very engaged with your work.
