What does a pastry baker do?
Pastry baker responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real pastry baker resumes:
- Manage inventory of ingredients and culinary supplies.
- Use of mixers, and sheeter for fold doughs.
- Prepare recipes for a variety of bake items including cookies, pies, cakes, short breads, and muffins.
- Prepare glazes and dough, baking cinnamon rolls, baking bacon, creating donuts, piping, preparing pastry frosting and inventory
- Work independently to replenish product to pars -mix and portion muffins, scones, cookies, pies, cakes, etc.
- Prepare donuts following instructions and safety guidelines.
- Maintain bakery equipment and proper sanitation requirements according to OSHA regulations
- Operate large-volume cooking equipment such as industrial standing mixers and ovens.
- Prepare and bake bagels in a high-volume bakery and maintain proficiency at every station.
- Operate equipment that refines and tempers chocolates
- Check and sign for incoming bakeries products being place in bakery area.
Pastry baker skills and personality traits
We calculated that 31% of Pastry Bakers are proficient in Food Safety, Culinary, and Mixers. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Math skills, and Physical strength.
We break down the percentage of Pastry Bakers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Food Safety, 31%
Applied food sanitation and food safety principals.
- Culinary, 26%
Develop culinary gold standard formulations for key new products and innovation strategies, leveraging professional chef advanced baking skills.
- Mixers, 13%
Operated machinery (mixers, cutting) Followed recipes effectively Cleaned and sanitized work station
- Kitchen Appliances, 8%
Cleaned and inspected galley equipment, kitchen appliances, and work areas in order to ensure cleanliness and functional operation.
- Kitchen Equipment, 6%
Conducted daily inspections and maintained food sanitation and kitchen equipment safety reports.
- Customer Service, 2%
Promoted excellent customer service through counter sales and order taking.
"food safety," "culinary," and "mixers" are among the most common skills that pastry bakers use at work. You can find even more pastry baker responsibilities below, including:
Detail oriented. One of the key soft skills for a pastry baker to have is detail oriented. You can see how this relates to what pastry bakers do because "bakers must follow recipes and instructions precisely." Additionally, a pastry baker resume shows how pastry bakers use detail oriented: "position is extremely detailed, requiring organizational skills, quick thinking, and a high level of customer service. "
Math skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling pastry baker duties is math skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "bakers need basic math skills, especially knowledge of fractions, in order to mix recipes, weigh ingredients, or adjust mixes." According to a pastry baker resume, here's how pastry bakers can utilize math skills in their job responsibilities: "exceed performance expectations skills used *fractions *measurements *math"
Physical strength. This is an important skill for pastry bakers to perform their duties. For an example of how pastry baker responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "bakers should be able to move heavy items, such as bulk-sized bags of flour, from storage to a work area." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a pastry baker: "wash dishes food preparation and training customer service physical demand janitorial duties time management".
Communication skills. For certain pastry baker responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "communication skills." The day-to-day duties of a pastry baker rely on this skill, as "bakers must be able to convey information effectively to other workers or to customers." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what pastry bakers do: "excelled in customer service, organization and communication with serving customers in person and via telecommunication. "
The three companies that hire the most pastry bakers are:
- Brinker International50 pastry bakers jobs
- SusieCakes Bakery26 pastry bakers jobs
- Hyatt Hotels3 pastry bakers jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable pastry baker resume templates
Build a professional pastry baker resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your pastry baker resume.
Compare different pastry bakers
Pastry baker vs. Baker/cake decorator
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a pastry baker are more likely to require skills like "food safety," "culinary," "bars," and "mixers." On the other hand, a job as a baker/cake decorator requires skills like "cleanliness," "cupcakes," "food preparation," and "groceries." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Baker/cake decorators really shine in the retail industry with an average salary of $31,237. Comparatively, pastry bakers tend to make the most money in the retail industry with an average salary of $34,323.On average, baker/cake decorators reach similar levels of education than pastry bakers. Baker/cake decorators are 1.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Pastry baker vs. Baker's assistant
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that pastry baker responsibilities requires skills like "food safety," "culinary," "bars," and "mixers." But a baker's assistant might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "cake orders," "food preparation," "donuts," and "groceries."
On average, baker's assistants earn a lower salary than pastry bakers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, baker's assistants earn the most pay in the retail industry with an average salary of $33,015. Whereas pastry bakers have higher pay in the retail industry, with an average salary of $34,323.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Baker's assistants tend to reach similar levels of education than pastry bakers. In fact, they're 1.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Pastry baker vs. Baker apprentice
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from pastry baker resumes include skills like "bars," "kitchen appliances," "kitchen equipment," and "customer service," whereas a baker apprentice is more likely to list skills in "premier customer service," "sales floor," "bakery equipment," and "safety regulations. "
When it comes to education, baker apprentices tend to earn similar degree levels compared to pastry bakers. In fact, they're 3.7% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Pastry baker vs. Baker helper
Even though a few skill sets overlap between pastry bakers and baker helpers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a pastry baker might have more use for skills like "food safety," "bars," "kitchen equipment," and "haccp." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of baker helpers require skills like "food handling," "safety regulations," "donuts," and "mixes. "
Baker helpers enjoy the best pay in the retail industry, with an average salary of $32,360. For comparison, pastry bakers earn the highest salary in the retail industry.In general, baker helpers hold similar degree levels compared to pastry bakers. Baker helpers are 1.2% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of pastry baker
Updated January 8, 2025
