loubot wrote:
I wonder why people become bakers or run bakeries. Is it because it was a family tradition, they enjoy baking, or a simple / steady gig to keep occupied throughout the morning.
There is no big financial reward in becoming a baker or running a bakery. No steady clientele because people will go on their diets avoid pastries and bread. The liklihood of a bakery shutting down in a well-developed suburb or city is great. They seem to thrive to small to modest size towns.
When bakers bake their goods what goes through their minds. Do they feel they are reached their quintessenial peak of their trade. Do they push the envelope of the traditional way of baking. Do they care or go through the motions of baking. What do they seek if it is not Fame or Fortune
I became a baker for something to do, though I did get the idea from my bro, who had been baking for a few years. It's also quite fun, so a combination of all 3 I guess.
There are huge financial gains for baking. Each roll costs us about 3c to make, and we sell it for 60c. Even the items that use expensive ingredients are sold for about 3-4 times their actual worth. The shop I'm at is part of a franchise, and the well run stores can make a six-figure OP (operators profit). Bread has been a staple of the human diet for thousands of years, and is eaten all over the world. There will ALWAYS be a customer base willing to spend money, even in the worst economic times.
Some of the things that go through my mind when baking:
"Stupid fucking fruit loaves"
"I hope I don't burn myselfFFFFFUUUUUUUUU-"
"I could be playing BF2 now
"
"Would I have sex with a dead body for $1,000,000?"
Those among other things.
I'm only a first year apprentice, so I still have a ways to go before I reach my peak.
we're a franchise, so we can't do much in the way of breaking new ground, but we do change the recipes/molding techniques/baking times when the head office releases a new product that just doesn't work like they say.
some things can be repetitive, so you just go though the motions, but we always try to produce a good product.
I personally seem to spend my time seeking clean oven mitts so I don't have to use yesterdays ones all soaked with sweat, oil and covered in a hard shell of dried blueberrys.
I hope I've provided satisfactory answers to some of your questions. You should sleep better at night now.
