 AU.S. Navy baker aboard theUSSJohn C. Stennisaircraft carrier moves a tray of hot, freshly bakedrolls onto a cooling rack. | |
| Occupation | |
|---|---|
Occupation type | Vocational |
Activity sectors | Food Hospitality |
| Description | |
Education required | Apprenticeship |
Fields of employment | Food Hospitality |
Related jobs | Chef |
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Abaker is atradesperson whobakes and sometimessellsbreads and other products made offlour by using anoven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called abakery.
Sincegrains have been astaple food for millennia, the activity of baking is a very old one. Control ofyeast, however, is relatively recent.[1] By the fifth and sixth centuries BCE, theancient Greeks used enclosedovens heated by wood fires; communities usually baked bread in a large communal oven.[1] Greeks baked dozens and possibly hundreds of types of bread;Athenaeus described seventy-two varieties.[2]
Inancient Rome several centuries later, the first mass production of breads occurred, and "the baking profession can be said to have started at that time."[1] Ancient Roman bakers usedhoney andoil in their products, creating pastries rather than breads.[1] In ancient Rome, bakers (Latin,pistor) were sometimesslaves, who were (like other slave-artisans) sometimesmanumitted.[3] Large households in Rome normally had their own bakers.[4] During those times, most of the people used to bake their own bread but bakeries (pistrina) were popular all over the towns.
The Gauls are credited with discovering that the addition ofbeer froth to breaddough made well-leavened bread, marking the use of controlled yeast for bread dough.[5]
InMedieval Europe, baking ovens were often separated from other buildings (and sometimes located outsidecity walls) to mitigate the risk of fire.[5] Because bread was an important staple food, bakers'production factors (such as bolting yields, ingredients, andloaf sizes) were heavily regulated.[5] For example,Henry III of England promulgated theAssize of Bread and Ale in 1267, subjecting all commercial bakers and brewers to various fees in order to practice their trade and imposing various regulations, such as inspection and verification ofweights and measures,quality control, andprice controls.[6] Soon after the enactment of the Assize, "baking became a very stable industry, and was executed much more professionally than brewing, resulting in towns and villages having fewer bakers than brewers."[6] Because ovens were expensivecapital investments and required careful operation, specialized bakeries opened.[6]
Bakers were often part of theguild system, which was well-established by the sixteenth century: master bakers instructed apprentices and were assisted byjourneymen.[5] InAmsterdam in 1694, for example, the cake-bakers, pie-bakers, andrusk-bakers separated from an earlier Bread Bakers Guild and formed their own guild, regulating the trade.[7] Afraternity of bakers inLondon existed as early as 1155, according to records of payments to theExchequer; theWorshipful Company of Bakers was formed by charters dated 1486, 1569, and 1685. The guild still exists today, with mostly ceremonial and charitable functions. Five bakers have served aslord mayor of London.[8]
A group of bakers is called a "tabernacle".[9]
InMing dynasty China, bakers were divided into different social statuses according to their customers. Bakers were among the thousands of servants who served in the Ming Palace,[10] including recruited cooks,imperial eunuchs, and trained serving-women (Shangshiju).[11][12] Bakers often joined the occupation throughapprenticeship,[13] or by being born into a family of bakers.[14]
In addition to the secular aspect of baking, Ming bakers also were responsible for providing pastries for use in various rituals, festivals and ceremonies, such aszongzi.[10] In "Shi Fu Meets a Friend at Tanque" buns were provided for the construction ceremony.[14]
Within bakeries, traditional patriarchal hierarchy controlled. For the family-owned bakery, the eldest male figure (usually the father) in the highest position of the hierarchy. For example, in Feng Menglong's story, when Mr. Bo went out looking for the family's lost silver, his wife was ordered to take care of the bakery.[14]
Ming fiction and art records examples of various bakers; for example, inFeng Menglong's story, the Bo couple owns a bakery to sell the cakes and snacks while inWater Margin, the characterWu Dalang does not have a settled store and sells pancakes on the shoulder pole along the street[15] The Ming-era painterQiu Ying's workAlong the River During the Qingming Festival shows food stores alongside the street and peddlers who are selling food along the streets.[16]
The Ming workMing Dai Tong Su Ri Yong Lei Shu, which records techniques and items needed in Ming daily life, devotes a full chapter to culinary skills, including the preparation of pancakes and other types of cakes.[17]
The workThe Plum in the Golden Vase mentionsbaozi (steam bun).[18]
TheColumbian Exchange, which began in 1492, had a profound influence on the baking occupation.[5] Access to sugar greatly increased as a result of new cultivation in theCaribbean, and ingredients such ascocoa andchocolate became available in theOld World.[5] In the eighteenth century, processors learned how to refine sugar fromsugar beets, allowing Europeans to grow sugar locally.[5] These developments led to an increase in the sophistication of baking and pastries, and the development of new products such as puff pastries and Danish dough.[5]
Two important books on bread-baking were published in the 1770s: Paul-Jacques Malaouin publishedL'art du meinier, du boulanger et du vermicellier (The Art of the Miller, the Bread-Baker, and the Pasta-Maker) in 1775, andAntoine-Augustin Parmentier publishedLe parfair boulanger (The Perfect Bread-Baker) in 1778.[5]
A study of the English city ofManchester from 1824–85, during theIndustrial Revolution, determined that "baker and shopkeeper" was the third-most common occupation, with 178 male bakers, 19 female bakers, and 8 bakers of unknown sex in the city at that time.[19] This occupation was less common thatcloth manufacturer andtavern/public house worker, but more common thancotton spinner,merchant,calico printer, orgrocer.[19]
In 1895, theNew York State Assembly passed a reformist "bakeshop law" which included protections for bakery workers; the law "banned employees from sleeping in the bakeries; specified the drainage, plumbing and maintenance necessary to keep the bakeries sanitary (cats were specifically allowed to stay on the premise—presumably to deal with the rats); limited the daily and weekly maximum of hours worked; and established an inspectorate to make sure these conditions were met."[20][21] The legislation was soon replicated in otherstates.[22] Joseph Lochner, a bakery owner inUtica, New York, was subsequently convicted of violating the law for forcing his employees to work more than sixty hours a week. He appealed his case to theU.S. Supreme Court, which decided, in the highly influential case ofLochner v. New York (1905), over a dissent from JusticeOliver Wendell Holmes, that the labor law violated a constitutional right to "freedom of contract".[21][23] This case marked the beginning of a "pro-employer,laissez-faire" era, later known as theLochner era, which "would cast a long shadow over American law, society, and politics" until the late 1930s, whenLochner was repudiated.[23] Frustrated with the rapid deterioration of working conditions, bakery workers in New York went on strike in August 1905.[24]
The first bakeries emerged inJerusalem, after contact with the Egyptians, from whom the Hebrews learned better manufacturing techniques and obtained the recipe. A short time later, there was already a famous bakers' street in the city.
The prophetElisha, thenJesus, performed themiracle of the multiplication of the loaves.
The bread is at the center of the Christian Eucharist; it is "sacramental bread", "singing bread", or "angel's bread". Jesus defines himself as "the bread of life" (John 6:35). Divine "grace" is called "the bread of the strong" and preaching, religious teaching, "the bread of the word of God". In Hebrew,Bethlehem means "house of bread", and Jesus was born in a city called Bread.
InRoman Catholic tradition, thepatron saint of bakers and pastry chefs isHonoratus of Amiens (Honoré), a sixth-centurybishop of Amiens in northern France for whom theSt. Honoré cake is named.[25]Lazarus of Bethany (Lazare) was originally a competitor to Honoré for the title of patron saint of bakers, but in the 17th century the French bakers' guild settled in favor of Honoré.[25]
Baker is an easily recognizableEnglish surname of medieval occupational origin;Baxster is the female form.[26][27] Equivalent family names of occupational origin meaning "baker" exist in other languages:Boulanger,Bulinger,Dufour, andFournier inFrench,Bäcker inGerman, andPiekarz inPolish.[27]
According to theOccupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) published by theBureau of Labor Statistics of theUnited States Department of Labor,
Bakers typically do the following:
- Check the quality of baking ingredients
- Prepare equipment for baking
- Measure and weighflour and other ingredients
- Combine measured ingredients in mixers or blenders
- Knead, roll, cut, and shape dough
- Place dough into pans, into molds, or onto baking sheets
- Set oven temperatures
- Place items into ovens or onto grills
- Observe color and state of products being baked
- Apply glazes, icings, or other toppings
Bakers produce various types and quantities of breads, pastries, and other baked goods sold by grocers, wholesalers, restaurants, and institutional food services. Some bakers create new recipes.[28]
Bakers encounter a number ofoccupational hazards.OOH reports that bakeries, "especially large manufacturing facilities, are filled with potential dangers such as hot ovens, mixing machines, and dough cutters. As a result, bakers have a higher rate of injuries and illnesses than the national average. Although their work is generally safe, bakers may endure back strains caused by lifting or moving heavy bags of flour or other products. Other common risks include cuts, scrapes, and burns. To reduce these risks, bakers often wear back supports,aprons, and gloves."[28]
Baker's asthma—commonly caused by flourallergens and the microbialenzymes (oftenAspergillus-derived) used to facilitate breadmaking—is one of the common causes of occupational asthma worldwide.[29]
Both bakers andpastry chefs make desserts and breads. In some restaurants and shops, a single individual serves in both roles. In other environments, there is a distinction between the two positions, with bakers making breads, rolls, and muffins, and pastry chefs making desserts, such as cakes, pies, tarts, and cookies. Even when both bakers and pastry chefs work in the same place, however, there may be overlap.[30]
A variety of equipment is used by bakers, including:
According to theOccupational Outlook Handbook published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor, there were 185,300 bakers in the U.S. in 2014, with median pay of $23,600 per year or $11.35 per hour.[28] About 28% of U.S. bakers work in stand-alone bakeries or intortilla manufacturing; 26% work ingrocery stores; 15% work inrestaurants and other eating places; and 5% wereself-employed.[28] About 30% of U.S. bakers worked part-time in 2014.[28]
Media related toBaker at Wikimedia Commons
