For many people, a meal is incomplete without a piece of bread, a muffin, or cookies. Others like to have pastries with tea or coffee when they invite people over to visit. Unless they make these foods at home, they need the services of a baker. People in this trade work with ingredients like flour and sugar to bake breads, pies, cookies, and more. This job can be good for creative people who like working with food.

Many people bake for themselves and their families at home, but others bake for grocery stores, restaurants, hospitals, and small shops. Currently, the job outlook for bakers is average, and people can work almost anywhere. However, cities tend to have the most jobs available. Salaries start at about $27,000 per year or about $16 per hour, and can rise to about $40,000 per year or close to $22 per hour, with experience.

Most bakers go through an apprenticeship before they begin working. Trade certification is available everywhere in Canada except Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and Red Seal status is available for bakers who successfully complete the examination.

Working as a professional baker can be a busy but satisfying job. In many cases, the work starts early in the morning so that the breads, cakes, cookies, and pies are ready for when the store opens in the morning. Baking throughout the day is also necessary in most bakeries because the food needs to be fresh.

The baking process usually involves following a recipe and measuring out the ingredients. Sometimes, bakers invent new recipes or adapt old ones to new situations. For example, a customer might want a gluten-free cake made from special flour or a sugar-free dessert for someone who is diabetic.

Often, bakers specialize in certain types of baking or a specific item that they like to make. One baker might make mainly cream pies, while another could focus on cookies or decorated cakes. Specializing is easier in large bakeries with enough employees to take care of the other foods, but even in a small bakery, some specialization might be possible.

Besides doing the actual work, many bakers need to keep track of ingredients and order replacements. If the flour or nutmeg is running out, for example, the baker would need to make a note of it and either shop for the items or instruct someone else to do that. Bakers should be able to manage money and keep within their budgets, and also be able to work with people.

Being able to stand for long periods of time is an advantage for bakers. Good manual dexterity and steady hands are helpful, especially for tasks like cake decorating. People often like their baking to look good as well as being delicious, and bakers who have an artistic sense to make desserts look beautiful can work in specialty areas like making wedding cakes.

Bakers often work unseen by their customers. Working with hot ovens for hours at a time can be difficult, especially in summer. Burns and cuts are common, and other injuries are also possible.

Most bakers usually start out as assistants, but with experience, can eventually become baking supervisors or even start their own business. For people who enjoy making food and working with their hands, being a baker is a good option.

Bibliography:

Government of Alberta. “Occupations in Alberta: Baker.” https://alis.alberta.ca/occinfo/occupations-in-alberta/occupation-profiles/baker/.

Job Bank. “Baker in Canada.” https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/marketreport/summary-occupation/22246/ca.

Skilled Immigrant Info Centre. “Bakers.” https://pwp.vpl.ca/siic/guides/bakers/.

Talent.com. “Baker average salary in Canada 2021.” https://ca.talent.com/salary?job=baker.