The baker’s trade – What to study to work in a bakery?
Bread, in all its forms, is one of the oldest and most widespread foods in the world. The baker’s trade is a profession that requires a dose of vocation and, to master the art of flour, you must start with a solid foundation based on training and practice.
Today, the profession of baker has been regaining its prestige thanks to the trend towards craftsmanship in the bakery trade. More and more consumers value artisan products, made by hand and with raw materials of the best quality . This has given rise to a rebirth of the bakery profession, which had lost the interest of young people due to its hard hours and the inclination towards other specialties of the trade.
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Requirements. What should a good baker have?: The baker’s trade – What to study to work in a bakery?
Any master baker would agree that to become a good baker three fundamental things are necessary: having a lot of desire to learn , quality training and dedicating many hours of practice .
Working the masses is an art that is dominated in all parts of the world, in all cultures and in which we find all kinds of recipes and specialties. For this reason, a good baker must be a creative person , with skill in his hands and be in good physical shape since, being a fairly physical job, it requires spending a lot of time standing.
The industrialization of processes and advances in production have created a new trend within the bakery, the industrial bakery . In this branch of bread making, the hand of a professional is also required in those processes that machines cannot do by themselves.
Artisan bread, modern or pre-cooked, they need a qualified professional who masters all the processes to be able to produce products following safety standards and protocols, and thus obtain an optimal quality that guarantees that it is safe for human consumption.
What does a baker do?: The baker’s trade – What to study to work in a bakery?
A baker performs different actions based on his rank, his experience, and his knowledge. Its functions range from the supply of raw materials , the cleaning and preparation of the utensils and machines it uses, the preparation of the dough , the fermentation , the baking and the presentation of the final product .
In addition to breads, bakers create all kinds of bakery products such as pastries, pies, cakes and all derivatives of sweet and savory doughs.
In some cases, such as small artisan bakeries, it is the baker himself who is also in charge of selling to the public . This is where having people skills and a few commercial notions will give the professional greater success with their clients.
Types of bakery: The baker’s trade – What to study to work in a bakery?
In the bread industry there are two branches clearly differentiated by their processes and the final product: the industrial bakery and the artisan bakery . Although both types of bakery require qualified bakers, the freedom and functions that they will have in each way of producing are very different.
The industrial bakery has revolutionized the bakery production and focuses on mass production, ie bakers must master the management of automated processes, machinery and processing large amounts of product. This type of bakery is found in the production of frozen breads, pre-baked bread and industrial pastries.
The artisan bakery is one that uses traditional, manual processes and where the baker can use more improvisation and creativity when preparing the doughs, shaping them, carrying out the fermentation and baking process. Artisan bakers have their niche in the market and we find this type of artisanal elaboration in small and medium businesses.
Within the bakery, professionals must follow hygiene and safety standards to guarantee both their protection and that of consumers.
What to study to be a baker?
Having a good teacher or quality training is essential to become a professional baker, whether at the artisanal or industrial bakery level.
Taking a bakery course will help you acquire all the knowledge about the preparation of all kinds of doughs, the choice of the best raw materials, control of supplies, consumption, etc. The advantages of being trained at a training center are enormous for learning from specialized professionals with experience in the sector, having up-to- date documentation and doing internships in companies in the sector. The possibilities of immediate insertion in the labor market are much greater than when we learn in a self-taught way.
Professional opportunities of a baker
In the labor market, the professional baker profile continues to be one of the most in demand. Taking a baker course will allow you to become a qualified professional in one of the sectors with the lowest unemployment rate in Spain . In addition, a professional bakery has a very versatile profile that has many job opportunities in the sector of the bakery , the food industry , the hotel industry , the catering , crafts.
You can work for someone else or give life to your own project by opening your own business.
Bakery internships
A pilot needs hours of flight and a baker needs hours of work, with which he will gain experience, learn to understand the dough, the processes and make better products and his own creations . Therefore, in addition to a good training and a lot of motivation to learn the profession, to be a good baker you must practice, practice and practice . “A baker learns from dough.” The baker’s trade – What to study to work in a bakery?