It’s one thing to binge-watch episodes of the Great British Bake-Off and be the recognized champion of every local bake sale.
It’s quite another thing to decide that you want to turn your love of baking into a career.
Are you thinking about making the leap?
Whether you’re an amateur baker who wants to go pro, or a total novice who’s just testing the waters, here’s what it takes to become a professional baker.
Table of Contents
A viennoiserie created by Escoffier student Danny N.
Five Steps to Becoming a Baker
So you’re wondering how to become a baker? Here’s a step-by-step process that has worked for many.
Get Your High School Diploma or Equivalent
There are no formal education requirements to becoming a baker. But if you plan to go to baking school, you’ll need to be at least 16 years old and have your high school diploma or equivalent first.
Learn the Baking Basics at Baking & Pastry School
All bakers have to start at the beginning. In baking and pastry school, you can start by getting introduced to baking fundamentals, which you can then build on for the rest of your career. This education can prepare students for their first jobs in the industry.
Baking is a scientific art, combining chemistry with design to create something both delicious and beautiful. Baking school teaches students not only how to bake a loaf of bread, but why flour, salt, water, and yeast turn into bread when heat is applied.
The Difference Between a Baker and a Pastry Chef
Baking and pastry are often taught together, but the job of a pastry chef is not necessarily the same as that of a baker.
Pastry chefs are usually responsible for desserts of all types, like custards, ice cream, French pastries, chocolates, and more. They could work in a bakery or in the pastry department in a restaurant.
Bakers specializes in baked goods like bread, pies, rolls, cakes, pastries, donuts, and buns. They generally don’t venture out into plated desserts. Bakers may work in bakeries or restaurants, especially if they serve breakfast or homemade bread.
“The knowledge from Escoffier has given me the skills and confidence not only in my baking, but to take my baking and creations to the next level.”*
Trista Besecker, Online Baking and Pastry Graduate
We’ll discuss what else you can learn in baking and pastry school a little later in this article.
Get Your First Baking Job or Apprenticeship
After completing your baking program, it’s time to head out into the workforce. At Escoffier, all graduates must complete one or two industry externships before they receive their degrees or diplomas. So for our students, that first job could be part of their education experience. In fact, for some students externships have turned into full-time employment.
Bakeries don’t always have consistent job titles, but many entry-level positions fall under the umbrella of baker’s assistant or associate. These jobs usually include anything necessary to make the baker’s job easier, like stocking ingredients, cleaning, kneading dough, preparing fillings, and possibly helping customers. They may also make fillings and icings for cookies and cakes, and do some of the more basic baking.
Your first job in a bakery is where you can start to discover what the life of a baker is really like.
Consider Bakery Certifications
While they’re not a requirement for becoming a successful baker, some of the best in the industry choose to pursue additional certifications as they progress through their careers.
Respected industry group Retail Bakers of America (RBA) offers prestigious certifications to bakers who have enough experience and can prove their baking skills through rigorous practical exams. These titles may increase your earning potential, as they prove that you continue to improve your craft and are committed to growth and learning.
Certified Journey Baker or Certified Journey Decorator
These introductory certifications are for those early in their careers who assist in the production of baked goods for commercial bakeries. They must have at least 2,000 hours of experience, or a combination of experience and education.
Certified Baker or Certified Decorator
These more advanced certifications are for those who are further into their careers and have a higher degree of responsibility in the bakery. They must have at least 4 years of experience or a Journey certification plus 3 years of experience.
Certified Master Baker
This is the highest level of bakery certification from the RBA, and it’s for expert bakers who also manage the output of others. This certification has extensive education requirements, plus 10 years of experience or a Certified Baker designation and 3 years of additional experience.
All of these certifications also have associated tests. Escoffier Chef Instructor and Certified Master Baker Colette Christian recalls her two-day exam. “It’s 16 hours of baking,” she said, “with the judge literally standing right over you. It’s not like you present them with four Danishes. You present 32 Danish pastries, and they weigh every single one of them. And you can’t be off, everything has to be perfect.”
“I pursued certifications because I always wanted to be taken seriously and to have a credible voice. I didn’t want to be deniable.”*Colette Christian, Escoffier Chef Instructor and Certified Master Baker
Practice and Improve Over Time
The journey doesn’t end once you’ve become a baker! There’s a whole world of baking styles out there, and there’s always more to learn.
Bakers spend years honing their skills, reaching higher levels of consistency and excellence over time. It’s not enough to make one perfect batch of macarons. You must be able to make batch after batch after batch, all uniform in flavor, shape, and size.
Baking is an exercise in consistency, and it takes time to get it right.
What Can You Learn in Baking & Pastry School?
Different programs include different courses, but here are some of the skills you may learn in baking school at Escoffier.
Cooking programs typically start with safety and sanitation so students can avoid any cross-contamination or food-borne illness. The curriculum may cover the concept of mise en place, keeping workstations clean and organized, and prepping all ingredients and tools before they’re needed.
Baking math is another important skill, so bakers can accurately convert recipes to smaller or larger yields as needed. They may explore multiple methods for making and mixing doughs, and prepare custards, dessert sauces, and pâte à choux.
Plus, they can dive into the foundations of bread, exploring the right temperature for starters, pre-ferments, and various doughs for a variety of breads and rolls.
“Since much of baking is really chemistry, our Chef Instructors look at the finished product’s texture, structure, and especially the crumb, to make sure the ingredients were measured correctly and the products baked at the ideal temperatures and time. While flavor is important, it’s the most subjective part of baking. And ultimately, if the ‘chemistry’ of the baked product is off, so will be the flavor.”*Anne Lanute, Escoffier Baking and Pastry Arts Executive Chef
Advanced Baking
Building on the basics, students may then move on to more advanced pastry skills. They can practice cake design and decorating, working on fine piping and icing decorations. They can be introduced to new trends in desserts and plating to keep their dishes looking modern and fresh.
They could branch out into confiserie as well. These additional dessert staples like chocolate, sugar confections, fruit desserts, and frozen desserts may come up in future careers.
Foodservice & Business
Beyond the baking, there’s more to cover to help you become a well-rounded baker. Proper menu planning can help to create a profitable, attractive menu, while cost control helps future bakers to properly price their baked goods accounting for food costs, labor costs, and inventory management.
Coursework in business planning, management, and business ethics can help students to become leaders in their future bakeries.
“My excellent baking education and the empowering and supportive chef educators in my program are ultimately what have given me the confidence to reach for the next level. My teachers encouraged me to create the opportunities I could not otherwise find. I am so grateful for my education at Escoffier and all the doors it has opened for this next chapter of my life.”*Monica Paredes, Austin Baking and Pastry Arts Graduate
What Qualifications Do You Need to Become a Baker?
Like all of the culinary arts, there are no industry-wide requirements to become a baker. Some individual bakeries may require a baking and pastry education. Others will only hire those with a certain amount of experience.
In any new position, there is an element of training, so you can learn the recipes and procedures unique to that employer. But bringing universal skills – like food safety and sanitation, baking math, the foundations of bread, and frosting/piping – with you to the job can make you a more attractive candidate.
A degree or diploma from baking & pastry school doesn’t exclude you from an applicant pool, but it has the potential to really benefit you.
How Long Does It Take to Become a Baker?
Everyone’s path to the role of baker will look a little different. Some find that it can take several years to get out of the “apprentice” or assistant stage and into the position of a baker.
By attending a baking and pastry program, it’s possible to reduce the amount of time necessary to take that next step. After all, baking school graduates may already be equipped with sanitation knowledge, baking math, and many other entry-level skills that those without an education have to learn on the job.
The Job Outlook for Bakers Is Good!
The market for bakers is expected to grow 10% between 2020 and 2030 according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is about on par with the national average for growth.
But there will be the need for many more bakers than that. Some existing bakers will leave the industry during those years, either due to retirement or changing careers. The U.S BLS estimates that there will be over 28,000 baker positions to be filled each year between now and 2030, between new roles and replacing those who separate from the industry.
Are You Ready to Rise to the Challenge?
The baker’s life is one of precision and attention to detail. It’s a daily dance of perfectly baked bread, evenly-sized macarons, and show-stopping cakes.
If you love to focus on tiny details—weighing the dough for each individual cookie, making temperature adjustments based on your altitude, and knowing by feel whether a dough is too dry or too sticky—then you may have the makings of a baker.
Want to find out? Contact our Admissions Department to discuss what you can learn in baking and pastry school, and get closer to checking your baking education off your list!
*Information may not reflect every student’s experience. Results and outcomes may be based on several factors, such as geographical region or previous experience.
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Whether you dream of opening a donut shop or a boulangerie, starting a bakery allows you to serve niche markets and express culinary creativity without taking on the financial burden of opening a restaurant. You can even start your bakery business from home before investing in a commercial space. While bakeries are comparatively accessible foodservice businesses, they present unique challenges. From writing a bakery business plan to getting funding and filing for permits, we walk you through each step of opening a bakery.
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Jump to a specific step of opening a bakery:
How to Start a Baking Business
Whether you’re passionate about creating decoratively frosted cakes or artisan sourdough loaves, you must create an action plan for turning your passion for baking into a business. Discover the steps of opening a bakery below.
Choose a Bakery Style
While there are many bakery business models, they all fall under one of two umbrella categories: retail and wholesale. Retail and wholesale bakeries make similar products, but they have different needs and customer bases.
Opening and Operating a Retail Bakery
Retail bakeries are the most common type of bakery; they sell baked goods and loaves of bread directly to customers. Retail bakeries come in many different forms, and they often specialize in a particular type of baked good. They require both front- and back-of-house space.
Types of Retail Bakeries
Discover the most popular retail bakery business models below:
- Bakery Cafe – This type of bakery is a combination of a bakery and cafe, and they typically sell baked goods like bread, pastries, and cookies. They also pair their baked goods with coffee and tea. Bakery cafes typically have a dining space where customers can sit and eat.
- Counter Service – While counter service bakeries have a front-of-house, most do not have a dining space. Instead, they have a counter where guests can order freshly baked goods to take home.
- Bakery Food Trucks – Rather than using a brick-and-mortar store, food truck bakeries sell their products from a mobile truck. Due to the small space, many bakery food trucks do not bake in their truck, instead opting to bake their products ahead of time in a commissary kitchen or home bakery.
- Specialty Bakeries – A specialty bakery typically focuses on one type of baked good, such as wedding cakes, cupcakes, or gluten-free items. This type of bakery can excel because they offer niche products that customers either cannot find elsewhere or that are better than the products offered at less-specialized bakeries.
- Home Bakeries – This type of bakery is becoming more common, especially because you don’t need a lot of startup capital or culinary experience to open a home bakery. Home bakeries typically market their products online and then ship them to customers. Many home bakeries are also very niche or offer twists on classic baked goods.
Opening and Operating a Wholesale Bakery
The other main type of bakery is a wholesale bakery. Rather than selling their products directly to customers, wholesale bakeries market their baked goods to businesses like grocery stores, restaurants, delis, and cafes.
Because wholesale bakeries have to meet the demands of commercial customers, they are typically larger than retail bakeries. Wholesale bakeries don’t need to have a front-of-house or a desirable, high-traffic location. However, wholesale bakeries must produce high volumes of baked goods. This requires a large space and lots of baking equipment, resulting in higher startup costs.
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Write a Bakery Business Plan
The first step in opening your new establishment should be to write a bakery business plan. The business plan is an integral part of starting a bakery business because it lays out what type of bakery you want to open, how it’s going to be structured, what sort of products you’re going to sell, marketing strategies, and financial projections. There are seven main sections to a bakery business plan:
- Executive Summary
- Company Overview and Description
- Market Analysis
- Business Offerings
- Management Plan and Ownership Structure
- Marketing and Advertising Strategy
- Financial Projections
Your business plan serves as the foundation for your business, and a strong plan can help you get funding and make the process of opening a new bakery easy.
Obtain Loans and Startup Capital
When starting a bakery, there are many costs that you’ll need to consider, such as leasing a commercial space, getting insurance, outfitting your space with equipment, hiring and training staff, stocking your kitchen, and paying for utilities. As a result, you’ll need to have a significant amount of money available to cover these costs. Additionally, it may take a few months after opening for your bakery to become profitable, so you’ll need cash on hand to cover costs for several months after opening.
If you’re wondering how to open a bakery with no money, you’ll need to take out loans. There are three common ways business owners get funding: commercial loans, business lines of credit, and small business loans.
Cost to Open a Bakery
Bakery startup costs range between $10,000 and $50,000. The vast startup cost price range reflects the diverse array of bakeries. How much money you need to start a bakery depends on its location, equipment, staffing requirements, and menu items.
Lease a Commercial Bakery Space
Once you’ve secured funding, you can start looking for a commercial space for your bakery. The type of commercial space you need depends on the type of bakery you’re opening. For example, if you’re opening a food truck bakery, you’ll need to purchase the truck and you may want to look into renting space in a commissary kitchen.
Retail bakeries will want to look for a space in a central location close to their target demographic that also has a front-of-house area. Because wholesale bakeries sell their products to businesses rather than customers, they can be located farther from the city center or populated areas.
Best Place to Open a Bakery
- Demographics
- Accessibility
- Proximity to Suppliers
- Competition
- Size and Space Requirements
- Health Regulations and Zoning
- Safety and Crime Rates
Once you’ve found a suitable location for your business, you can hire a lawyer to draw up and negotiate a lease with the landlord. To protect yourself from any potential issues when negotiating a lease, be sure to specify the length of the lease, any raises in rent that might be included, who will pay for potential renovations, and any utilities that are covered.
Obtain Bakery Licenses and Permits
The foodservice industry is heavily regulated on a federal, state, and local level, and there are some bakery licenses and permits you need to start your baking business. The types of permits you’ll need will vary depending on your location, so be sure to check your local laws and regulations to see if there are any specific laws that apply to your new business.
Order Bakery Equipment
The equipment that your bakery will need depends on what type of baked goods you will be preparing. For example, you may need specific pastry supplies to create French pastries. While the specific equipment may change depending on the size and type of your bakery, there are several purposes you need to fill:
- Dough Preparation – This includes equipment like commercial mixers, work tables for kneading, dough dividers, dough sheeters, and dough scales. You may also need holding cabinets, proofing cabinets, retarder/proofer combos, and refrigerators to prepare your dough.
- Storage – Storage is important for keeping your kitchen organized. Your bakery will require shelving and storage racks. If you’re working with bulky bags of flour and sugar, you should invest in trucks, dollies, and carts to move large bags around your kitchen.
- Baking Equipment – Convection ovens are a great all-purpose piece of bakery equipment because they provide dry heat and bake evenly. If you’re preparing a lot of artisan bread, you may want to choose a deck oven to give your products a crispy base. Wholesale bakeries may be looking for high-output ovens, such as roll-in rack ovens or revolving ovens.
- Display and Sales Equipment – Choosing the right display cases for your baked goods can help boost your sales. You can choose self-service or full-service cases, and there are refrigerated and unrefrigerated options, depending on your needs. In addition to your display cases, be sure to also choose stylish boxes and packaging for your baked goods.
- Cleaning and Warewashing Supplies – A 3-compartment sink is the centerpiece of any cleaning station. You must also order hand washing stations for your employees, disposable gloves, cleaning chemicals, sponges, scrubbers, and other essential cleaning items.
Bakery Smallwares
In addition to your large equipment, you must stock your bakery with smallwares, such as mixing bowls, storage boxes, whisks, bread knives, and aprons. We compiled a list of essential bakery equipment to ensure you don’t forget anything.
You can download the opening a bakery checklist PDF below:
Download Baker Smallwares Checklist PDF
Layout Your Bakery
After securing a location and deciding what equipment is needed to start your new bakery, you can plan your bakery kitchen organization. If your bakery has a front-of-house area, you will need to design a floor plan. Learn how to lay out your bakery kitchen and storefront below.
Commercial Bakery Kitchen Layout
Every bakery kitchen requires four sections: cleaning, storage, food preparation, and meal cooking. Bakery cafes and bakeries with a front-of-house area will also have a service station, where they deliver food to customers. The ideal bakery kitchen layout is determined by the space and the placement of water and gas lines. Organize your bakery kitchen so the four sections flow together and measure your space to make sure you have enough room for your bakery equipment before finalizing your kitchen plan.
You will want to lay out your kitchen based on the logical flow of food through the baking process. This starts with the storage area and then goes to the food preparation and meal cooking sections. Once you’ve prepared your baked goods, you can serve them to your customers, package them for display, or ship them to online customers. Finally, your dirty dishes, pots, and pans will end up at the cleaning station.
Commercial Bakery Storefront Layout
Some bakeries will have a front-of-house area where customers can browse their selection of baked goods. Optimizing your bakery floor plan for ideal product placement and customer comfort prompts purchases.
Bakery Layout
There are four main bakery layouts, each with its own unique benefits.
- Straight Bakery Floor Plan – Your bakery display cases are organized in straight lines to make it easy for customers to browse.
- Angular Bakery Floor Plan – This floor plan uses curved displays to create an upscale presentation.
- Diagonal Bakery Floor Plan – A diagonal floor plan allows customers to flow through your bakery.
- Mixed Bakery Floor Plan – Maximize your space by using a combination of all the bakery floor plans.
Hire and Train Bakery Staff
The size of your staff will depend on the scale and style of your bakery. A locally owned and operated bakery with just one location is likely to have a short chain of command. Retail bakeries must hire and train front-of-house staff to take orders and work the cash register. However, most of your bakery staff will work in the back-of-house, preparing your baked goods.
Your bakery should have at least one or two employees that have formal training or bakery experience to oversee the actual baking process. You may also want to hire unskilled workers for washing dishes, mixing ingredients, packaging products, and doing other tasks that don’t require previous experience or expertise.
Some bakeries will also need professional pastry chefs and personnel to complete delicate and specialized tasks. For example, bakeries that bake wedding cakes should look for experienced cake decorators. Bakeries that offer artisan breads should consider hiring someone who specializes in bread baking.
Market and Advertise Your Bakery
Before you open your bakery to the public, you must conduct some marketing and advertising campaigns to get the word out and create buzz. You can break your bakery marketing strategy into five general steps:
- Write a market analysis. Your market analysis is a summary of your market research, and it should go in your bakery’s business plan. It should include information such as the average income level in your area, discretionary spending among your target market, and your competitor’s prices.
- Determine how you want to advertise your business. There are many ways you can advertise your bakery and each has its benefits. If you’re in an urban area, using signs is a great and affordable option. Consider traditional advertising tactics, such as newspaper advertisements and flyers.
- Create a social media presence. Social media marketing is a great way to interact with your customers, create buzz, and advertise your grand opening and other events. Additionally, many people will look for your bakery’s website and social media accounts before deciding if they want to visit, so make sure that you have an active online presence.
Many of these tactics apply to retail bakeries, but marketing tactics differ for wholesale bakeries. Wholesale bakeries should focus on competitor analysis and research where local restaurants and grocery stores source their baked goods. Then, they can reach out and try to make a deal.
Host a Grand Opening
The final step in opening a bakery is to host your grand opening and welcome customers to your business. A successful grand opening can get your new bakery off to a good start and help generate loyal customers. You should advertise your grand opening to create interest and alert your target audience that your bakery is open for business.
One great way to get customers in your bakery for your grand opening is to offer discounts and specials. For example, you can offer discounts for the first 100 people to visit. Another option is to give customers who order a dozen cupcakes one cupcake for free. You can also offer free samples to encourage customers to make purchases and expose them to more of your products.
Do You Need a Culinary Degree to Open a Bakery?
You don’t have to have a culinary degree or a bachelor’s degree in business to own a bakery. However, having hands-on experience or academic knowledge of both the baking and business management aspects of owning a bakery will help you succeed. Having a formal education may help you attract investors and banks to garner the startup capital you need to open your bakery. Consider getting a certification from the Retail Bakers of America (RBA). The RBA certification verifies your knowledge, skills, and abilities without the hefty time and financial commitment of culinary school.
Mix and bake ingredients to produce breads, rolls, cookies, cakes, pies, pastries, or other baked goods.
Sample of reported job titles:
Baker, Cake Decorator, Dough Mixer, Mixer, Pastry Chef, Scaler
Tasks
- Analytical or scientific software — Axxya Systems Nutritionist Pro; EGS CALCMENU; SweetWARE nutraCoster Professional
- Desktop publishing software — SoftCafe MenuPro
- Electronic mail software — Email software
- Enterprise resource planning ERP software — Afcom Datasafe Computer Services FlexiBake; Sage 100 ERP; SweetWARE SmallPICS; TwinPeaks Software Visual Z-Bake;
- Internet browser software — Web browser software
- Inventory management software — SweetWARE stockCoster
- Materials requirements planning logistics and supply chain software — Enggist & Grandjean EGS F&B Control
- Office suite software — Microsoft Office software
- Presentation software — Microsoft PowerPoint
- Spreadsheet software — Microsoft Excel
- Time accounting software — ADP Enterprise eTIME
- Word processing software — Microsoft Word
Hot Technologies are requirements most frequently included across all employer job postings.
Work Activities
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
- Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
- Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
- Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
- Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Detailed Work Activities
Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed
These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Job Zone Examples
These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include orderlies, counter and rental clerks, customer service representatives, security guards, upholsterers, tellers, and dental laboratory technicians.
3 months to 1 year of preparation (4.0 to < 6.0)
Training & Credentials
Have a career path or location in mind? Visit Apprenticeship.gov
to find apprenticeship opportunities near you.
- Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Active Learning — Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Coordination — Adjusting actions in relation to others’ actions.
- Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Judgment and Decision Making — Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Time Management — Managing one’s own time and the time of others.
Knowledge
- Production and Processing — Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Food Production — Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Mathematics — Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Education
How much education does a new hire need to perform a job in this occupation? Respondents said:
- High school diploma or equivalent required
- Less than high school diploma required
- Some college, no degree required
Abilities
- Achievement — Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
- Independence — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
- Support — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Work Styles
Median wages (2021)
$14.31 hourly, $29,750 annual
Projected growth (2021-2031)
Faster than average (8% to 10%)
Projected job openings (2021-2031)
Top industries (2021)
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2021 wage data
and 2021-2031 employment projections
.
“Projected growth” represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2021-2031). “Projected job openings” represent openings due to growth and replacement.
Job Openings on the Web
State job openings
Local job openings
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Increasing numbers of consumers are seeking out healthier and more ‘artisan-style’ alternatives to their everyday favorites in the baked goods aisle. ‘Artisan-style’ simply means baked goods that you might find in your local bakery: think of seeded buns, crusty sourdough, or knotted bread rolls. The popularity of this baking style grew during successive lockdowns when many bread and cake fans either took up baking again or rediscovered a fondness for traditional goods with local ingredients. This has led forward-thinking bakeries to pivot their operations to address this need for healthier and more distinctive products.
Many bakeries, however, are not set up to deal with this kind of production. Whether it’s sourdough, veg-based, or gluten-free, the higher moisture content and lower elasticity of doughs created with more traditional processes such as sourdough – or with alternative flour such as gluten-free – can prove problematic. Thankfully, AMF Bakery Systems offers customizable, precision solutions for expanding your artisan, and health-focused product lines.
Natural ingredients, advanced solutions
‘Artisan-style’ baking is all about products made with more ‘traditional’ processes with that ‘handmade’ feel. It’s also about using simpler ingredients to create products that are overall better for you. So, you’ll need the right equipment if you want to make your products both tempting and wholesome. Scaling up this kind of specialty bread productionrequires smart, adaptable production lines. AMF Bakery Systems has been a market innovator for over 100 years, so it’s no surprise that we’ve evolved our equipment to handle even the most unusual ingredients and forms of dough.
Take our AMF horizontal mixers for instance. With their proprietary DuraBowl® mixer bowl design, they eliminate cooling leakage to ensure the optimum mixing conditions, no matter what the dough’s consistency. This is especially important for ‘artisan-style’ dough such as sourdough and wholewheat because it does not behave in the same way as standard white dough. That means you may have to adapt your process as you introduce new kinds of flour mixes. To support you in this AMF’s mixers allow you to can monitor your products at every stage of the mix with our patented Dough Guardian technology – so you can seamlessly make precise adjustments in real-time.
Proofing can also prove a challenge when it comes to more complex dough structures, such as sourdough or gluten-free, so you’ll need the precise conditions to get that signature rise and artisan crust. AMF Bakery Systems has the solution for you with our range of step, spiral, and continuous proofing systems. They’ll fit into any bakery, and our precise monitoring solutions guarantee optimal results for sourdough, gluten-free, and even veg-based doughs.
Sometimes, ‘artisan-style’ bread dough can be extremely delicate, but with AMF’s advanced bakery technology, there’s no need to worry about the dough stretching or breaking elsewhere on the production line: our advanced extrusion tech takes care of the most delicate dough types, eliminating tearing, as well as reducing the need for cleaning the instruments. The same is true for our Tromp sheeting lines – they can easily be adjusted to meet the requirements of healthier and artisan doughs such as rye, wholemeal, and sourdough, with precision monitoring and real-time adjustments possible at every stage of the process.
‘Handmade’ results at scale
To help recreate that authentic, mouth-watering crust that consumers love in ‘artisan-style’ products, the AMF Den Boer range has just the oven you need. Our direct-fired stone floor ovens, for example, are experts when it comes to producing an ‘artisanal’ finish due to the unique burner control set-up and precision monitoring technology. They also feature automatic gap detection technology, which can prevent color differences on the edges of the product and provide a stable bake even when there are incidental production stoppages.
Finally, ‘Artisan-style’ baking is all about getting that ‘handmade’ effect, so don’t forget the presentation! Our wide range of decoration equipment provides the finishing touches that make all the difference on the shelf, whether it’s water-splitting the crust with one of our DecoJet units, sprinkling on a wholesome selection of nuts and seeds with our efficient target seeders, or adding on an artisan-style glaze our liquid applicators. And with advanced topping recirculation systems available, there’s no need to worry about wasting a single seed or nut.
AMF: Holistic bakery solutions
Ensuring ‘artisan-style’ quality throughout such a complex production line is no easy task. With so many different operations going on at any one time, you need effective oversight you can count on. That’s where AMF’s Smart bakery management system – AMFConnect™ – comes in. With our next-generation system, you’ll have in-depth, real-time insights into every stage of your production line, giving you actionable information to ensure your products are consistently top-quality.
Interested? Find out more about AMF Bakery Systems’ solutions for ‘artisan-style’ bread production and book your free consultation by contacting