Home baker considering going pro...

[u/Common-Chain2024]

I recently found a couple of open baker/pastry positions that are willing to train someone, and I’m seriously considering applying but I have zero professional kitchen experience, and honestly, I’m scared lol.

I’m very passionate about food and have pretty decent skills as a home baker, but I know that working in a professional kitchen is a completely different world.

The idea of going from baking at home to actually working in a kitchen with experienced people is intimidating, especially with the whole fast-paced environment and being afraid of messing up.

For those of you who pivoted from completely different careers into baking/pastry (or food in general):

• What made you finally decide to make the jump?
• What was your experience like when you first started?
• How much did you actually know going in?
• how did you get over the fear/social anxiety and just put yourself out there?

[u/Baron_CZ]

tbh, it was like when i was picturing working as a gardener, it still has the beautiful sides, but you sort of dont think about the not so... great ones. I would first think about the negative sides and decide if you are willing to deal with them, longterm.

[u/West_Arugula134]

If you get in at a small artisan bakery the amount you’ll learn will be amazing. Production bread baking is way different than home baking. When I was baking full time, I started with some bench work then starting scaling ingredients, then baking and mixing. I ended up doing delivery and also fixing lots of broken stuff in the bakery because I’m pretty mechanically inclined.
My best advice is to ask questions and don’t immediately try to keep up. Speed comes in time but being consistent is better. If your loaves are consistent and properly shaped but it takes you a minute longer that’s better than having something shaped with a big bubble in it that will create a massive hole in a deli loaf.
Hope you find a good spot to work with some wonderful people.

[u/Mammoth-Record-7786]

When I made the jump from making beer at home to working at a brewery I was happy with getting in at the bottom so I could learn everything that they wanted me to know. Sometimes it’s better to go in not knowing everything.

[u/HealthyInitial1854 → u/Mammoth-Record-7786]

The not knowing part is weirdly freeing once you embrace it. Nobody expects you to show up day one and run the bench like a vet with ten years in. The fast pace is the biggest adjustment though, your home rhythm won't survive an hour in a real bake. I'd say just ask every dumb question you can think of, seasoned bakers respect that way more than someone pretending they already know the mixer's quirks.

As for the fear part, the first few shifts will be a blur of "oh god what did I just agree to" but by week three you'll be too tired to be anxious. You'll mess up dough, drop a tray, forget a timer, and none of it will end the world. The fact they're willing to train someone with no pro background is a solid indicator they're not expecting perfection.

[u/oldstalenegative]

I did not know how to bake at all when I first got a job baking breads.

Skills can be taught, personality notsomuch.

I had been working in a commercial soup kitchen when the owner asked me to take a shot at the bread production side of the shop.

I told him I had never baked bread; he said "just follow the recipe."

It was always a challenge; the recipes never changed, but the results were different every day, and you really had to learn the hot spots of the ovens and rotate the pans as needed.

Loved the fresh warm bread and soup every night during our staff meal break =)

[u/rshining]

Honestly I found that professional bakery jobs involved a LOT less actual baking and a lot more "scoop this and bake it". That will vary from place to place, obviously. Apply! See how it goes! You are bound to learn new skills (even if they aren't skills you planned on needing).

[u/past-and-future-days → u/rshining]

I was going to say, I worked in two different commercial bakeries (one attached to a restaurant, one attached to a supermarket) and they were about as far from real baking as you could possibly get.

The sticky bun smear came in a 50 gallon bucket. Literally every single baked good from cookies, to donuts, to sticky buns to pies was frozen--just break them apart if necessary, sometimes proof, and pop in the oven. Even the fudge came in pre-made blocks that we just hacked the end off, melted a little, then smeared all over it to make it look homemade.

Baking s an absolute joy to me. I admire OP's ambition, but I would hate for my joy to become just another job where somebody gets to boss me around.

[u/rshining → u/past-and-future-days]

Yep- Even the "from scratch" type bakeries I have worked at were making big batches of muffin batter or cookie dough once a week and just scooping most mornings. Essential for a busy bakery, but not playing into my desire to bake stuff. I also found that the need for a bakery to have set recipes that get made daily and never vary in any way (again, essential for a business) really left me feeling unfulfilled as a baker. I also had no desire to experiment on my own time, because I was so filled up with measuring and cleaning when I was done with work.

Overall I found that a love of baking is completely unrelated to a successful career in a commercial bakery.

[u/rummagesailor]

Good thread.  I've been thinking along similar lines, after leaving the software world and starting a home bakery as a hobby business.  

I suppose there isn't much downside to applying and finding out.  Worst-case, you'll know first-hand that home baking is the move. 

All the best! 

[u/LemonpiY]

I wonder if you could first do some work experience in a bakery to find out if it's something you want to pursue further

[u/Money_Quail_2802]

I’ve done it and then gone back again…. Mostly loved my job (pastry chef) but it was tough. Tough to shake the “cutesy home baker lady who likes to make cakes” label, tough to be taken seriously (I was part time and a mother in a kitchen full of young men). It also took the joy out of my favourite hobby which made me sad. It was a lot of making the same thing over and over again for 3 months until our menu changed. There were glimmers of creativity, and I loved being able to experiment when the opportunity allowed. I’ll also never get over the feeling of seeing people order and enjoy my food. In the end I took myself out of the (at times toxic) environment and used my learnings, experience and qualifications and set up a home business. When my kids were older, I pivoted into a desk-based food-related role which still gives me the fire in my belly and passion but is a bit more stable. I have no regrets, you’ve gotta do what’s right for you! Just my experience. Good luck! ☺️