How does a baker work at perfecting the craft?
This question has bothered me slightly. Its probably because I'm quite a ways down from even being knowlegdebale on the subject, but as I wait to attend a baking school, I've wondered how to work on the craft at home. So far I've been running through the BBA. I feel like I'm picking up on patterns that allow me to keep my eyes out of the book and on the dough, but I keep thinking I should do more. Should I try memorizing times, temperatures and formulas? Should I start baking almost "free-form" sotospeak? Should I apply more baker's math (does wear down supplies abit though) and stock pre-ferments in large quantities? Granted I haven't even touched sourdoughs yet.
Ultimately, it seems that one can best perfect the craft in a more professional environment. In the event that I don't reach school, how does one just jump in? Staging has proven difficult when it comes to bakeries, especially in NYC and even moreso when one is a novice with practically no related work experience. It also seems a bit difficult when you find yourself needing an actual job then volunteering and such. Any tips?
I simply want to situate myself in an environment which allows constant improvement. Sorry if this is the wrong place. Questions seemed broad enough. Thanks.
Baker's math is pretty important if you want to get consistent, controlled results. I'm not sure what you mean when you say that it "wears down supplies." To the contrary, it allows you to scale quantities down or up according to your needs. I would also recommend the book "Bread" by Jeffrey Hamelman. It's written with both professional and home bakers in mind.
Well I assume when you step up the batches to be larger, my supplies (mostly flour) would be put on bigger strain. Sorry if I'm being not quite understood. I've been meaning to do larger batches to calm the high demand back home, but I can barely keep up with the flour now. Perhaps I need a bigger storage unit to store the flour.
I'll check out the book. Thanks for the reply.
Find the best teacher you can and work with that person. Notice hand movements. Notice how the Big Dogs work with tremendous economy of motion. Then practice. Practice some more. Practice some more.
The Bread Bakers Guild of America (www.bbga.org) just published their education schedule - they have a great class with a great instructor in NYC.
Baker's math is a fundamental. It is the foundation that will allow you to design your own formulas and express your creativity. You needed bake in large quantities to use it. But learn it right. Once again I will reference the Bread Bakers Guild of America and its website. They have created some great educational material based on their standard. Why their standard? It was designed by very experienced members of the baking community based on practical concerns. But most of all - it is something that actually eases the process of designing formulas and increases understanding. I see so many questions on this board about "how do I convert this to that" where the answer is simple bakers math...
Happy Baking.
How does one manage ones time though? As I know it, it takes a lot of time and space. Its not how I imagine classes where they have pre-made dough ready for practice. Is one round of loaves a day sufficient?
Also thanks for the response.
how to answer your question - because I'm not sure what you are asking. However I will give my experiences.
Most baking classing (that don't cover a full week ) cover two days - an evening so that pre ferments can be prepared and then a full day when final mixes and baking take place. You can bake an amazing variety of breads in an 8 hour day if the teacher is well organized. Yes, they take space - but a good class will have that space.
As for practice - well, the more often you bake, the more practice you can get. I have a demanding career, so I can't bake as much as I would like, but if I can bake, I bake. I tend to focus on specific areas where I want to practice a technique and I might have to do this for months because of the demands of my life - but although improvement is slow, it happens. Your personal priorities will determine how much you can practice. I have a home kitchen that is laughably small by American standards, but I consider how to be organized and work cleanly in the space that I have. I can bake a lot in a day if I push myself.
Finding the best teacher you can to work with is key. Take a class - then practice - then go back to that teacher and make any course corrections you might need to make. And remember, practice only makes perfect if you practice perfectly. There is no amount of book reading or internet surfing that can replace working with a good teacher. I also caution new bakers that there is a lot of stuff out on the internet (maybe including this) that is not good advice. When you work with someone who actually has met standards in the baking world, you can keep your center and do not have to be distracted by bad advice.
Hope this helps.
To the already good advice that you have received, I would add that you should relax and realize that you are on a long never ending journey. The vast majority of your learning will come from your own experience whether at home, in the classroom or on the job. Relax, have fun, bake, bake, bake and then bake some more. Enjoy the ride.
Jeff
Thanks.
You might consider perusing a bread baking text book, and even consider starting from its beginning doing the practice exercises. No doubt, if you're going into serious training, you'll be buying a text or texts on the subject, but at this point, with all your interest, you could prepare yourself for the book and practical work. I often recommend this short and concise text: DiMuzio's Bread Baking. It's not more than about $20 if you get it used from, for example, Alibris on-line. I think that the longer and more serious your course work will require a deeper text, but starting by reading through the DiMuzio one will give a good beginning foundation to build one.
Look at all the videos linked to from this website to see the choreography of dough movement.
And practice, practice, practice. Make mistakes and learn from them.
I look into the book.
Thanks.
They might need some refinement although with my experience (as a dishwasher) I doubt it would hold much weight.
I've read the Steve Sullivan of Acme Breads started as a dishwasher. Just get in and show your passion and commitment and prove you can add value to your employer's business.
Is it common for aspiring bakers to bring their product as some sort of portfolio?
Can't hurt. Worked fonce or me.
If you can't leap all at once then baby steps can help build your confidence. I had a good friend once say "sometimes you just gotta peel potatoes for a while". It's not an all or nothing proposition; just start where you can and the confidence will follow with time and familiarity. Think of confidence as a muscle that needs exercizing. Good luck.