BAKING 101

BAKING INTRODUCTION

BAKING IS ONE of the oldest occupations of the human

race. Since early prehistoric human beings made the
transition from nomadic hunters to settled gatherers and
farmers, grains have been the most important foods to
sustain human life, often nearly the only foods. The
profession that today includes baking artisan sourdough
breads and assembling elegant pastries and desserts began
thousands of years ago with the harvesting of wild grass
seeds and the grinding of those seeds between stones.
Today, the professions of baker and pastry chef are
growing quickly and changing rapidly. Thousands of skilled
people are needed every year. Baking offers ambitious
men and women the opportunity to find satisfying work in
an industry that is both challenging and rewarding.
HISTORY

Grains have been the most important staple

food in the human diet since prehistoric
times, so it is only a slight exaggeration to
say that baking is almost as old as the human
race.
 HISTORY

Because of the lack of cooking utensils, it is probable that

one of the earliest grain preparations was made by
toasting dry grains, pounding them to a meal with rocks,
and mixing the meal to a paste with water. Later it was
discovered that some of this paste, if laid on a hot stone
next to a fire, turned into a flatbread that was a little
more appetizing than the plain paste. Unleavened
flatbreads, such as tortillas, are still important foods in
many cultures.
HISTORY

A grain paste left to stand for a time sooner or later

collects wild yeasts and begins to ferment. This was, no
doubt, the beginning of leavened bread, although for
most of human history the presence of yeast was mostly
accidental. Eventually, people learned they could save a
small part of the dough to leaven the next day’s batch.
Not until relatively recent times, however, did bakers
learn to control yeast with any accuracy.
HISTORY

By the time of the ancient Greeks, about five or six

hundred years BCE, enclosed ovens, heated by
wood fires, were in use. People took turns baking
their breads in a large communal oven, unless they
were wealthy enough to have their own oven.
 HISTORY

Several centuries later, ancient Rome saw the first mass

production of breads, so the baking profession can be said
to have started at that time. Many of the products made
by the professional bakers contained quantities of honey
and oil, so these foods might be called pastries rather
than breads. That the primary fat available was oil placed
a limit on the kinds of pastries that could be made. Only a
solid fat such as butter enables the pastry maker to
produce the kinds of stiff doughs we are familiar with,
such as pie doughs and short pastries.
HISTORY

After the collapse of the Roman Empire, baking as a

profession almost disappeared. Not until the latter
part of the Middle Ages did baking and pastry
making begin to reappear as important professions
in the service of the nobility. Bread baking
continued to be performed by professional bakers,
not homemakers, because it required ovens that
needed almost constant tending. In much of Europe,
tending ovens and making bread dough were
separate operations.
HISTORY

It was also in the Middle Ages that bakers and pastry

chefs in France formed guilds in order to protect and
further their art. Regulations prohibited all but
certified bakers from baking bread for sale, and the
guilds had enough power to limit certification to their
own members. The guilds, as well as the
apprenticeship system, which was well developed by
the sixteenth century, also provided a way to pass the
knowledge of the baker’s trade from generation to
generation.
HISTORY

The most famous chef of the early nineteenth

century was Marie-Antoine Carême, also known as
Antonin Carême, who lived from 1784 to 1833. His
spectacular constructions of sugar and pastry
earned him great fame, and he elevated the jobs
of cook and pastry chef to respected professions.
Carême’s book, Le Pâtissier Royal, was one of the
first systematic explanations of the pastry chef’s
art.
HISTORY

Ironically, most of Carême’s career was

spent in the service of the nobility and
royalty, in an era when the products of
the bakers’ and pastry chefs’ craft were
becoming more widely available to
average citizens. Carême had little to do
with the commercial and retail aspects of
baking.
GEORGES-AUGUST ESCOFFIER

Georges-August Escoffier (1847–1935), the greatest chef of

his time, is still revered by chefs and gourmets as the
father of twentieth-century cookery. His main
contributions were: (1) the simplification of the classical
menu; (2) the systematizing of cooking methods; and (3)
the reorganization of the kitchen.
Escoffier’s books and recipes remain important reference
works for professional chefs. The basic cooking methods
and preparations we study today are based on his
principles. Escoffier’s Le guide culinaire, which is still
widely used, arranges recipes in a system based on the
main ingredient and cooking method, greatly simplifying
the more complex system handed down from Carême.
Learning classical cooking, according to Escoffier, begins
with mastering a relatively few basic procedures and
understanding essential ingredients
• Although Escoffier didn’t
work as a bread baker, he
applied the same systems to
the production of desserts
that he did to savory food.
Several of the desserts he
invented, such as peach
Melba, are still served toda
HISTORY

In ancient Egyptian, they start the first living

bread. According to the story the first leavened
bread was probably made by accident encountered
a royal baker in Egypt many years ago from around
3,000 B.C. the baker made the mixture of crushed
grain, water and sugar, then set a side. His
attention was diverted somewhere and forgot all
about the mixture. When he remembered it, the
dough (mixture) has expanded.
HISTORY

In his fright, he kneaded the dough and baked it on

the hot stones and frightfully, offered his bread to
his royal masters. The royal masters liked his bread
and so he stayed at his job. That was the accidental
birth of the leavened bread. The ancients Egyptians
later learned to control the kind of yeast in their
bread. Each time they bread, they set aside some of
the leavened dough to mix with the next batch. In
this way, they could be sure of having the same
taste and texture.
HISTORY

The first leavening bread in the

Philippines is the Holy Communion.
Wheat is not grown in the Philippines
however Spanish they introduced the
planning of wheat in some provinces
particularly in Batangas, Laguna,
Cagayan Valley and Cavite.
LIONEL POILÂNE A generation younger than Raymond Calvel,
the Parisian baker Lionel Poilâne expanded the baking business
he inherited from his father into one of the world’s most
famous boulangeries, shipping his signature 2-kg round
sourdough loaves around the world. Except for the use of
mixing machines, he relied on traditional techniques and
ingredients, such as stone-ground flour, wood-burning ovens,
and sourdough fermentation, to produce his intensely flavorful
breads. Sadly, Poilâne was tragically killed in a helicopter
crash in 2002, but his daughter Apollonia carries on the
business today
BAKING AND PASTRY CAREERS

SINCE THE BEGINNING of the twenty-first century, the

popularity of fine breads and pastries has been growing
faster than new chefs can be trained to support it. Those
entering careers in baking or pastry making today will find
opportunities in many areas, from small bakeshops and
neighborhood restaurants to large hotels and wholesale
bakeries
Restaurant and Hotel Food Service

Escoffier’s important achievements was the reorganization

of the kitchen. He divided the kitchen into departments,
or stations, based on the kinds of foods they produced. A
station chef was placed in charge of each department.
This system, with many variations, is still in use today,
especially in large hotels offering traditional kinds of food
service. In a small operation, the station chef may be the
only worker in the department. But in a large kitchen,
each station chef might have several
• The pastry department is usually separated physically from
the hot kitchen, for at least two important reasons. First,
and most obvious, is that many desserts and confections
must be prepared in a cool environment. Second, the
division helps prevent creams, icings, and batters from
absorbing the aromas of roasted, grilled, and sautéed foods.
In a small to medium-size restaurant, the pastry chef may
work alone, preparing all the dessert items. Often he or she
starts work early in the morning and finishes before the
dinner service starts. Another cook or the dining room staff
then assembles and plates the desserts during service.
In large restaurants and hotels, the chef in charge of
baking and desserts is the executive pastry chef.This is a
management position comparable to the executive chef in
the hot kitchen. The executive pastry chef supervises
workers in the department, including specialists such as
the bread baker (boulanger), who prepares yeast goods
including such breakfast items as brioche, croissants, and
Danish pastry; the ice cream maker (glacier), who makes
frozen desserts; the confectioner or candy maker
(confiseur); and the decorator (décorateur), who prepares
showpieces, sugar work, and decorated cakes
Bakeries

Retail bakeries include independent bakeshops as

well as in-store bakery departments in grocery
stores and supermarkets. High-end supermarkets,
in particular, have opened many new opportunities
for creative bakers and pastry chefs. A few grocery
stores have even installed wood-burning hearth
ovens for baking handcrafted artisan breads
The head baker is the professional in
charge of the production in a retail
bakery. He or she is in charge of a staff
that may range from a few bakers who
share most tasks to, in a larger bakery,
many specialists who work in different
departments, such as breads and yeast
goods, cakes, and decorated items. Even
bread-making tasks may be divided among
different workers, with some mixing,
proofing, and making up the doughs, and
others baking the items and managing the
ovens.
Professional Requirements

What does it take to be a qualified baker or pastry chef?

The emphasis of a food service education, whether in

baking and pastry or in the hot kitchen, is on learning a
set of skills. But in many ways, attitudes are more
important than skills because a good attitude will help you
not only learn skills but also to persevere and overcome
the difficulties you may face in your career
Mastery of skills is, of course, essential to success. There
are, in addition, a number of general personal qualities
that are equally important for the new pastry chef or
baker just graduated from school who wants to advance in
the industry. The following sections describe a few of
these important characteristics.
Eagerness to Work

• Baking professionally is demanding, both

physically and mentally. By the time students
graduate, they realize that those of their fellow
students who have been the hardest working—
especially those who sought extra work and
additional opportunities to learn—are the most
successful. Once they have graduated, bakers and
chefs who continue to give the greatest effort are
the ones who advance the fastest.
One of the most discouraging discoveries for new
culinarians is how repetitive the work is. They must do
many of the same tasks over and over, day in and day out,
whether it’s making up hundreds of dinner rolls a day or
thousands of cookies for holiday sales. Successful bakers
and chefs approach repetition as an opportunity for
building skills. Only by doing a cooking task over and over
can you really master it, really understand every nuance
and variable.
Stress is another issue caused by repetitive hard
work. Overcoming stress requires a sense of
responsibility and a dedication to your profession,
to your coworkers, and to your customers or
clients. Dedication also means staying with a job,
resisting the urge to hop from kitchen to kitchen
every few months. Sticking with a job for at least a
year or two shows prospective employers you are
serious about your work and can be relied on
Commitment to Learning

A strong work ethic is empowered by knowledge, so it is important

that you, as a baking professional, make a commitment to your
ongoing education: Never stop learning. Read. Study. Experiment.
Take continuing education courses. Network with other chefs. Share
information. Join appropriate professional associations, like the
American Culinary Federation or the Retail Bakers of America. Join
the alumni association of your school and stay in touch with your
fellow graduates.
Dedication to Service

Food service, as its name implies, is about serving others. Baking

and cooking professionally mean bringing enjoyment and a sense of
well-being to your guests. Providing good service requires sourcing
high-quality ingredients and handling them with care and respect;
guarding the health of guests and coworkers, paying full attention to
food safety and sanitation; treating others with respect; making
guests feel welcome and coworkers feel valued; and maintaining a
clean, attractive work environment. Look after others, and your
own success will follow
Professional Pride

Professionals take pride in their work, and want to make sure it is

something they can be proud of. A professional cook maintains a
positive attitude, works efficiently, neatly, and safely, and always
aims for high quality. Although it may sound like a contradiction,
professional pride should be balanced with a strong dose of humility,
for it is humility that leads chefs to dedicate themselves to hard
work, perpetual learning, and commitment to service. A professional
who takes pride in his or her work recognizes the talent of others in
the field and is inspired and stimulated by their achievements. A
good baker or pastry chef also demonstrates pride by, in turn,
setting a good example for others