Baker
This article refers to the cooking profession. For other uses, see Baker (disambiguation) A
baker is someone who primarily
bakes and sells
bread.
Cakes and similar foods may also be produced as the traditional boundaries between what is produced by a
baker as opposed to a
pastry chef have blurred in recent decades. The place where a baker works is called a
bakehouse,
bakeshop, or
bakery.
The first group of people to bake bread were ancient Egyptians, c 8000 BC.
By examining the listed contents of modern breads produced and distributed by major bakeries in the
U.S. one almost invariably sees a substantial content of
corn syrup (usually high-
fructose kind) or
honey. In olden times (colonial through about
1950) breads were less sweet and waistlines a bit tidier.
Today bakers work in varying environments both as employees and sometimes owning their own stores. Bakers can be found working in:
*
Large factories. These produce bread and related products which are then transported to numerous selling points throughout a region. These normally include
supermarkets,
convenience stores, and the like. Bakers in these environments are largely there for quality control as machines take care of much of the labour intensive aspect of the job.
*
Small Independent bakeries. These are largely family-run businesses. They may specialise in particular types of products, such as
sourdough. In Australia many such businesses are owned by members of the Vietnamese community.
*
Chain stores. Recent years has seen the rise of chain stores selling the same range of products. For example,
Bakers Delight is an Australia-wide operation well known for its range of products. Bakers in these stores bake according to a pre-determined recipe book. This can lead to frustration as some bakers do not agree with techniques used by the
franchising model.
*
Baker's yeast is a
leavening agent.
*A
baker's dozen is a group of thirteen things (an old-fashioned expression).
(See Bakers' Company for an explanation of the phrase)*
Pastry chef*
Dough*
Knead*
Baker's percentage
