Learning and development process for Bakeries: from helper to baker, product by product
In a bakery the skill sits in a few hands. A product-by-product route from helper to baker moves that skill onto the bench and keeps the shop steady when a senior baker is away.
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Share your requirementsWhy learning and development process matters in bakeries
Most bakers learn by standing at the bench for years, watching the senior baker and being given a small task now and then. Nobody writes down what has been learnt. A helper may mix dough for two years without ever shaping a loaf, and a trained baker leaves with the recipe, the timing and the feel for the dough all in one head.
Good learning here is by product and by task. A list of items per grade, such as pav, bun, puff, loaf, cake base and icing, with a name and date against each once the senior baker has tasted and passed it. A short morning check on one fault, such as a dense crumb or an uneven bake, teaches more than any annual course.
How to set it up
1. List the products and tasks by grade
Write what a helper, an assistant baker, a baker and a senior baker should be able to make or do. Keep to one page, with scaling, shaping, proving and baking as separate lines.
2. Sign off product by product
The senior baker tastes and checks each item and signs the name and date. Tenure alone does not make a baker. The sheet also forms a base for pay benchmarks.
3. Write method cards while teaching
Ask the senior baker to dictate the method as the trainee makes the item. Photograph the result. In a month you will have cards for the main range.
4. Pair a helper with a baker for a season
Choose one or two helpers with the interest and pair them with a baker for a few months of steady practice. Review progress monthly with the head baker.
5. Teach the counter team the range
Take counter staff through each product, its ingredients and keeping time. A tasting day once a quarter works well.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Count how many people can make each of your top ten products, not only the head baker.
- Ask each helper what product they would like to learn next.
- Check whether any product has a written method card.
- Look at the last month's returns or complaints and see which product they came from.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach learning and development process in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
It depends on the range and the person, so a fixed number would mislead. Measure by products signed off, not by calendar time, and expect months of regular practice for the main range.
Some will. Written method cards and a second trained baker make the loss manageable. Pair learning with a visible step in grade and pay, which is the better answer to leaving.
Yes. Nights often run without the head baker, so name a night lead who teaches and signs off, and have the head baker visit now and then so that standards do not drift.