Grains have been a staple in the human diet since prehistoric times, making baking nearly as old as humanity. Early humans gathered and toasted wild grains before grinding them into paste for consumption. Later, flatbreads were created by laying grain paste on hot stones near a fire. Advanced ovens developed around 500 BC allowed the Greeks to become expert bakers. Baking became an important industry in the later Roman Empire after skilled bakers arrived from Greece. Today, opportunities exist for bakers in restaurants, hotels, and wholesale bakeries due to increasing demand for breads and pastries.

2. BAKING
HISTORICAL
BACKGROUND

3. GRAINS –
have been the most staple
food in the human diet since
prehistoric times, so it is only a
slight exaggeration to say that
baking is almost as old as the
human race.

4. Before human beings learned
to plant, they gathered wild
foods. The seeds of various
wild grasses, the ancestors
of modern grains, were rich
in nutrients and valued by
prehistoric peoples as
important foods.

5. The earliest grain preparation
was made by toasting dry
grains, pounding them to a
paste with water. Because the
grains had already been cooked
by toasting them to remove the
husks, the paste needed no
further cooking.
THE FIRST GRAIN FOODS

6. Later it was discovered that
some of this paste, if laid on a
hot stone next to fire, turned
into flat bread that was a little
more appetizing than the plain
paste.
Unleavened flatbreads made
from grains’ pastes are the first
step in the development of
breads as we know them.

7. By the time of the ancient
Greeks, about 5 or 6 hundred BC,
true enclosed ovens were in use.
These ovens were preheated by
building a fire inside them. They
had a door in the front that could
be enclosed, so the oven could be
loaded and unloaded without
losing so much heat.

8. Several centuries later, ancient
Rome was slow to develop
breads. Not until master bakers
arrived from Greece did grain
foods much beyond porridges
and simple flatbreads. By the
latter period of the Roman
Empire baking was an important
industry.

9. At the beginning of the 21st
century, the popularity of fine
breads and pastries is growing even
faster than new chefs can be
trained. Those entering a career in
baking or pastry making today find
opportunities in many areas, from
small bakeshops and neighborhood
restaurants to large hotels and
wholesale bakeries.

10. THE FIRST BAKER
The Greeks were the
master bakers of antiquity,
with more than 70 different
recipes for bread. As early
as 200 B.C. the Greeks
established public bakeries.

11. When the Romans conquered
Greece, the conquerors improved
the industry. The Romans turned
baking into large scale industry
and passed many laws regarding
the quality of bread. Poor people
generally ate coarse, dark bread.
Fine, white bread was only for
the rich.

12. The first leavened bread was probably
made by accident by royal baker in Egypt.
The baker made the mixture of crushed
grains, water and sugar and had set this
aside. His attention was diverted somewhere
and forgot all about the mixture. When he
remembered it, the dough has expanded. In
his fright, he kneaded the dough and baked
it on hot stones and frightfully, offered his
bread to his royal master. The royal master
liked his bread and so he stayed at his job.
That was the accidental birth of the
leavened bread.

13. WHEAT COMES TO THE PHILIPPINES
Because of our tropical climate, wheat
is not grown in the Philippines. However,
records have shown that when the
Spaniards were with us sometime in the
early 17th century, they introduced the
planting of wheat in some provinces,
particularly in Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, and
Cagayan Valley mainly for the purpose of
using this in the making of bread for the
holy communion.

14. Until modern Technology can
come up with a way of
producing wheat in the
Philippines, we will always
depend on importation of
wheat to meet the growing
demands for baked products
that only wheat can fill.

15. WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A GOOD BAKER OR
PASTRY CHEF?
The emphasis of a food service
education, whether in baking and pastry
or in the hot kitchen, is on learning a set
of skills. But in many ways, attitudes are
more important than skills because a good
attitude will help you not only learn skills
but also persevere and overcome the
difficulties you may face in your career.

16. IMPORTANT REQUIREMENTS TO BE A GOOD
BAKER:
1. Eagerness to Work – One of the
hardest discoveries for new culinarians is
the repetitive nature of the work-doing the
same tasks over and over, whether making
up hundreds of dinner rolls a day or
thousands of cookies for holiday sales.
Overcoming the stress created by hard
work requires a sense of responsibility and
a dedication to your profession, to your co-
workers and to your customers or clients.

17. IMPORTANT REQUIREMENTS TO BE A
GOOD BAKER:
2. Commitment to Learning – Never stop
learning. Read. Study. Experiment. Take
continuing education courses. After that
help others share you knowledge. Be a
mentor to a student. Teach a class. Do
what you can raise the skill level of the
profession.

18. IMPORTANT REQUIREMENTS TO BE A
GOOD BAKER:
3. Dedication to Service – Good service
requires sourcing high quality ingredients
and handling them with care and respect;
guarding the health of guests and co-
workers with full attention to food safety
and sanitation. Look after others, and
your own success will follow.

19. IMPORTANT REQUIREMENTS TO BE A
GOOD BAKER:
4. Professional Pride – Professionals take
pride in their work and want to make sure it
is something to be proud of. A professional
cook maintains for high quality.

20. BAKING
The term baking means the use
of heat in an oven to convert
flour, water, yeast, sugar and
such into baked goods.
Baking is a way of preparing food
by the process of conduction,
generally in a closed oven.

21. In the process of baking,
starch content in the food is
processed usually decreased
that provides the food a
brown color which lends it an
attractive and appetizing look.

22. On today’s market there is a never
ending variety of the most delicious
sweets and pastries to please both
the palate and the eyes.
Baking pastries are little more
complicated because everything is
measured to the exact amount indeed
no more or less.

23. The baked food even last long. It
does not stale easily, as it contains
less moisture.
Everything has to be perfect or the
product being made won’t come out
the way it is supposed to be.
Cooking is much more different. It
isn’t measured just added by eye or
to the taste.

24. FOOD SAFETY
AND SANITATION

25. CROSS - CONTAMINATION
Wash your hands frequently and
thoroughly, gloves are not a substitute
for proper hand washing.
Keep your fingernails short, clean and
neat. Do not bite your nails or wear nail
polish.
Keep any cut or wound antiseptically
bandaged. An injured hand should also be
covered with a disposable gloves.

26. Bath daily, or more often if required
Keep your hair clean and restrained
Wear work clothes that are clean
and neat. Avoid wearing jewelry or
watches.
Do not eat, drink, smoke or chew gum
in food preparation areas.
Cross – contamination is preventable
by observing proper cleaning and
sanitizing procedures.

27. THE SAFE WORKER
Food service professionals are
also responsible for their own personal
safety as well as that of their
customers and fellow workers. The
best ways to prevent work related
injuries are proper training, good work
habits and careful supervision.

28. THE FOLLOWING LIST SHOULD ALERT YOU
TO CONDITIONS AND ACTIVITIES AIMED AT
PREVENTING ACCIDENT AND INJURIES:
Clean up spills as soon as they occur.
Learn to operate equipment properly;
always use guards and safety devices.
Wear clothing that fits properly;
avoid wearing jewelry, which may get
caught in equipment.

29. Use knives and other equipment
for their intended purposes only.
Walk, do not run.
Always assume pots and pans are
hot.
Get help or use cart when lifting
or moving heavy objects.
Avoid back injury by lifting with
your leg muscles, stoop, don’t
bend, when lifting.

30. Use an appropriately placed
ladder or stool for climbing; do
not use a chair box, drawer or
shelf.
Keep breakable items away from
food storage areas.
Warn people when you think you
must walk behind them, especially
when carrying a hot pan.

31. JOB OPPORTUNITIES IN
BAKING
There are several ways by which an
individual who has adequate
knowledge and skills in baking can
use such skills to make one self-
sufficient. Some of these are:

32. JOB OPPORTUNITIES IN
BAKING
By working in a bakery
By accepting orders for baked
products at home
By putting up a bake shop

33. PERSONNEL NEEDS OF A BAKERY:
Manager – is usually the owner. He
manages the entire operations.
Chief Baker – he is commonly called
the “maestro”. He takes charge of
the preparation of recipes for
baking.
Assistant Baker – the understudy of
the chief baker. He assists the chief
baker.

34. PERSONNEL NEEDS OF A BAKERY:
Oven Helpers – they attend to
the baking of the breads in big
oven.
Cashier – handles the money
from the actual sales of the day.
He operates the cash register.
Counter Salesgirls – they
attend to the baking pans, and
other jobs like:

35. Counting the pieces of bread baked
and displaying these in the counters.
Portioning of the baked products like
pies and cakes. Portions or cuts of
these are done in uniformly so that
prices could be set for each portion.
Attend to the cleanliness and
orderliness of the bake shop.

36. THANK YOU
FOR
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