Culinary Program

Find culinary inspiration and helpful career information on topics such as cooking with chocolate, French and Greek cuisine, the life of a Chef, and what to expect in culinary school.

Does your sweet tooth lead you straight to your oven? Read how to avoid the pitfalls of cheese cake, bake creative cookies, use fresh fruits in baking, and more.

Catering and Restaurant Management

If you've ever prepared a Thanksgiving dinner, you know that cooking for a group takes planning and skill. Learn more about the art of catering and restaurant management, including specialized catering such as chocolates or high tea and how to prepare for a restaurant career.

Culinary Schools in the United States

With culinary schools in all 50 states and additional culinary education available online, you don't need to relocate unless you want to. Each state has its own special mixture of culture, cuisine, and locally grown agriculture that inspires the chefs and students who work and live there. If you're passionate about Maine lobster dishes, California cuisine, or any dish or state in between, you'll find a culinary school that is where you are or where you'd like to be.

Home | Culinary | Baking and Pastry | Baking the Best of it in Culinary School

Baking the Best of it in Culinary School

If you enjoy the aromas of fresh baked pie or cake, a career in baking may be a sweet job for you-it can lead you to work in restaurants, baking shops, or even own your own specialty bakery.

Introduction to Career in Baking

Bakers produce foods like bread, pastries, and other baked goods. Professional bakers can deftly roll, shape, and cut dough into different shapes. When baking pies, tarts, or turnovers, bakers cut and peel fruit for fillings. Bakers also make frosting and icing used on baked goods like cakes and pastries. Rolling pins, cookie cutters, and nimble hands are some of the most important tools a baker can have.

Some bakers work in kitchens in restaurants, grocery stores, and bakery shops. Other careers in baking include working for companies that manufacture large quantities of baked goods that are then sold through businesses such as grocery stores. For example, bakers who work for manufacturing companies use much larger ovens and mixing devices, as they are more likely to be producing large numbers of the same item.

The Job and Training of a Professional Baker

As a baker, you will likely check a production schedule each day to determine the variety and quantity of goods to bake. You will need to know how to select the appropriate pans for baking various baked goods, as well as the correct oven temperature to bake each type of baked good at.

Most bakers usually have training from a formal baking training program. These programs are offered by many technical schools and culinary schools. The curriculum can include training in food preparation, food selection, and the storage of food. Some programs also teach you how to bake specialty items such as pastries, gourmet breads, or even wedding cakes. Many bakers also learn their skills on the job from an experienced baker. In this case you will begin as a baker trainee or apprentice baker and learn to bake different kinds of baked goods, decorate cakes, and handle different kinds of foods. As you gain more experience, you will receive more difficult tasks and more independence as a baker. You may even go on to create and develop recipes of your own.

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