10 Must-have Skills to Become a Complete Baker

Your love of baking can become a successful career. However, there are some crucial skills that you must possess if you want to be successful in this field. It is worth noting that these qualities can be obtained through informal or non-formal learning. That means that these abilities may come out naturally from you, or you may learn to become one once you undergo training or apprenticeship. Take note of these skills that will help you throughout your journey of achieving this career.

Creativity

It is more enticing to buy a product that is not only delicious but has a good appearance, too. Being creative is crucial when you want to become a baker. This skill plays a significant role in the creation of enticing decorations that will attract your buyers. Aside from the suggested recipe, you should be able to make up your own style so that you can make your brand stand out in the competition.

Patience

Lack of patience may urge you to skip some steps of the recipes. If a cake takes hours to bake, you have to wait until it is evenly baked, or you might produce an uncooked food. It is critical to follow the required cooking time for you to deliver quality results.

Ability to follow recipes

Your ability to follow the instructions is crucial most especially when you are a beginner. You should not overlook even a single step if you want to deliver a high-quality outcome. Recipes are designed to provide a balanced taste, texture, and other qualities that will make the food flavorful. It may be tempting to skip some of the methods, but it will give you more confidence that you’ll produce excellent results if you follow each step.

Keen eye to every detail

Baking requires attentiveness. You have to be aware of what is going on in the entire process. You have to be observant of the appropriate amount of the ingredients, required cooking time, or right products that are included in the recipe. Keep in mind that bakers are not looking at a cheat sheet while baking. So, ensure that you familiarize not just the process, but even the smallest detail as well.

Ability to meet strict deadlines

Regardless of the size of the bakery, setting deadlines are crucial to meet the demands of the customer. Some buyers may order a cake or cookies during holidays or special occasions. Being said, you have to produce the finished product before the scheduled time. In this way, you will leave a positive impression on your customers.

Organizational skills

For a seamless flow of your task, you have to maintain proper organizational skills. From preparing your ingredients to decorating your pastry or cake, each stage requires you to think ahead. It is to make sure that you won’t forget anything along the way, allowing you to meet your timeline with less stress.

This guide is sure to give you a helping hand in getting organized

Composure under pressure

If you work in a plant, you need to deal with large quantities of baked goods each day. It might require you to stand for long periods in a hot and humid bakery. Not yet to mention that you have to meet the large volume of orders or demand at a given schedule. This condition makes stress and pressures a typical scenario in this kind of workplace, so make sure that you know how to compose yourself despite this situation.

Ability to maintain neatness and cleanliness

Since you will be handling foods during your whole duty, you also have to make sure that the baking tools and cooking area are all neat and clean. You also need to wear a clean uniform and maintain a neat appearance all the time. It is to ensure that the food you deliver is safe to consume.

Ability to implement health and safety standards

The government requires every bakery to practice proper health and safety in this workplace. Aside from food handling, bakers should also be working in a risk-free area to prevent fire or accident.

Critical thinking

If something goes wrong during the process, take note that it can ruin the flavor of the bread or cake. This time, you have to use your analytical skills so that you can understand the underlying issue and create a resolution immediately. Without using logic and reasoning, you might be wasting the products that you use for that recipe. Therefore, you need to have the right approach to problems so that you can resolve it as early as possible.

Did you evaluate yourself and find some of these skills? If you don’t possess some of these qualities, you can start to practice now so that you are prepared while getting closer to your dream of becoming a baker.

Also, apart from the skills, you will also need tons of equipment and machinery. Find out all about them in our post The Ultimate List of Baking Equipment Every Baker Needs so you do not miss out on anything important.