There is evidence to suggest that this is a recruitment and retention problem. These challenges often arise when businesses fail to address internal workplace issues—such as poor leadership, low pay and burnout—before attempting to hire new staff. The Future Bakers Council, a committee dedicated to addressing the ongoing recruitment and retention challenges within the industry, have already identified a lack of visibility around baking careers, gaps in training provision, and weak talent pipelines as key areas for improvement.

To develop a better understanding of the issue, I decided to conduct my own research into how we can encourage more people to pursue careers in baking and, importantly, retain them in the industry long-term. I created a survey for current bakers to share their experiences, perspectives and the challenges they have faced within the industry:

1. How long have you worked as a baker?

• Less than 1 year - 3

• 1-3 years - 2

• 3-5 years - 1

• More than 5 years - 4

2. What are the biggest challenges you face in maintaining a healthy work-life balance as a baker?

• “Long hours, unsociable hours, competitiveness”.

• “No time for exercise and socialising”.

• “Work can’t always finish”.

• “Body and brain ache”.

• “The unsociable hours: the length of shifts considering how physical the job is (then leads to burn out and tiredness) and the pattern of the shifts”.

• “Having the energy outside of bakery hours to dedicate to my own time and doing my own things. Working 12 hour shifts was really tiring and after a while you realise that you’re starting to say no to more things/dropping out of plans. This is what took over for me, losing my freedom on weekends and time after work which I just wanted to use for sleeping”.

3. How does the physical labour involved in baking affect your ability to sustain a long-term career?

• “I can perform most physical parts just fine (lifting), but standing for long periods will eventually get me in the long run. If I could occasionally do tasks from a stool, I think I could do this longer”.

• “As much as I am passionate about baking, the last six years has changed my body. I have back, neck and hip pain that I didn’t have prior. Where a few years ago I would have simply pressed on, it’s becoming increasingly hard to persevere physically. Also carpal tunnel, that’s going to stop me eventually”.

• “Early hours and long hours on your feet - working at a fast pace takes a major toll on the body. I find that I get major aches in my back and body which is something I need to consider when thinking about my long-term health as I get older”.

• “It questions whether you want to do this for a long time because it’s so intense, you sacrifice a lot in my opinion”.

• “Long-term it isn’t sustainable”.

• “Hands or body are exhausted or hurt”.

• “Physically I didn’t find it sustainable because it’s a constant loop of working and then your days off are needed to recover physically - so your days off aren’t then used to fill your cup with other joys. Having some leeway with this - be it one day a week where you work a short shift or start later; or having an extra day off every few weeks, or a wellness day every month would be really appreciated”.

• “Pretty tough - came home exhausted most days and unable to go about any kind of normal social life”.

• “The physical labour was a shock when I joined. I understand now that working in a bakery that was selling bread was a key factor in the level of physical labour. I now have bad wrists because of the loads we had to lift and carry. Being on your feet is another thing but I believe your legs get used to it. Education and support for looking after your body would perhaps mitigate some of the issues”.

4. What changes or support would encourage you or others to pursue and remain in a baking career?

• “Having employers that value bakers’ quality of life. If they make an effort to arrange workflows so we can get more sleep, or buy equipment that makes our job easier - that sort of thing. Having a culture that doesn’t push so hard it causes stress. A culture that encourages breaks and taking care of our bodies”.

• “Accessibility to education: baking can be for everyone who has the passion for it. More basic food handling and hygiene knowledge. I also wish it had been presented as a realistic career option earlier in my life. I’m self employed so it’s hard to look at possible changes without that colouring my opinion - but I think the long, unsociable hours and physical toll are what put people off. More government support for small businesses, but perhaps that’s a separate issue”.

• “Maybe more sociable hours - work in a place where you’re not always doing the same shift all the time so you can get more rest. A four day working week would be a great solution for allowing more rest and work-life balance. I also think healthcare support from the government for bakers/hospitality/anyone who does a physical labour job, would be an added bonus in looking after the longevity of those in the industry”.

• “Taking breaks - at least 30 minutes to switch off, eat, and energise”.

• “Workload and hours”.

• “Support and understanding that it’s not normal for a human to function the way a baker is required to function. Yes, we have chosen this career somewhat knowing what it involves, but feeling like you have to just suck it up by peers and managers doesn’t help. Wellness schemes that help those working in physically demanding and unsociable industries, discussions regarding shift times and hours, etc”.

• “Shorter hours and a gym membership to get fitter”.

• “Proper training when you enter a role. Ongoing support to remain in physical good shape. Regular check-ins with management. A clear development plan while in a specific role.”

5. Which of the following initiatives would most encourage people to become bakers?

• Flexible working hours - 3

• Better wages and benefits - 3

• Improved workplace conditions - 1

• Career development and training opportunities - 2

• Recognition and rewards - 1

6. Rank the following factors in order of importance for sustaining a long-term career in baking:

Highest ranked:

• Work-life balance

• Physical labour demands

• Compensation

• Professional growth

• Job security

7. Would you recommend a career in baking to others?

• Yes - 5

• No - 5

8. Any additional suggestions or comments on how to improve the baking profession?

• “More opportunities and knowledge for those just starting out”.

• “I think we struggle to advertise what baking is like outside of just icing buns in a window - awareness via social media is a great thing!”

• “Professional kitchens can have cliques that are off-putting, especially to newcomers and people learning. An environment where colleagues enjoy helping, and teaching where appropriate, would be the best way to encourage and inspire life-long interest”.

• “More clear pathways - other than going to study”.

The findings suggest that making baking a genuinely attractive long-term career requires more than simply encouraging people to enter the industry. The biggest issues identified by respondents were work-life balance, physical demands and compensation, with long and unsociable hours repeatedly highlighted as a major concern. Respondents described 12-hour shifts, early starts and physically demanding work as leaving them exhausted, with little energy for exercise, socialising or other aspects of their lives. For some, this had led to burnout, injury and questioning whether baking was physically sustainable as they got older.

Interestingly, while half of respondents would still recommend baking as a career, the other half would not. This suggests that while the profession still has significant appeal, the current conditions can make it difficult to sustain. Passion for baking alone may not be enough to retain people if the career requires them to sacrifice their health, relationships and quality of life.

This suggests that the solution is not simply to improve recruitment, but to make the career worth staying in. This means addressing the realities of the job through better working hours, fair compensation, improved physical working conditions, clearer career pathways and stronger workplace support. If the industry can demonstrate that it is possible to have a fulfilling career in baking without sacrificing long-term health and quality of life, it may become a much more attractive option for both new and existing bakers.

~~

So what would encourage people to start - and stay in - baking?

1. Make the career proposition much clearer from the beginning.

A lot of people still associate ‘baker’ with:

• Getting up at 2–4am.

• Low-paid entry-level work.

• Physically demanding production.

• Limited opportunity for progression.

• Creating the same products every day.

Those perceptions aren’t necessarily inaccurate. The National Careers Service currently describes a typical baker’s working week as 40–45 hours, often involving early mornings, with an indicative salary range of £19k for starters to £26k for experienced bakers. It also highlights that the working environment can be dusty, noisy and physically demanding. Simply advertising more vacancies, therefore, is unlikely to solve the problem. Instead, the industry needs to showcase the whole career journey—from entering as a beginner and developing practical skills, through to progression, long-term wellbeing and wider opportunities available within the industry. This is the path people are most familiar with:

Apprentice/College Student → Junior Baker → Baker → Senior/Head Baker

From there, however, there are multiple directions an individual can take:

Technical/Creative: Senior Baker → Specialist/Technical Baker → Menu & Product Development
Leadership: Senior Baker → Supervisor → Production Manager
Education: Experienced Baker → Trainer/Teacher
Entrepreneurship: Experienced Baker → Business Owner

A career in baking is not a linear progression, and not everyone will follow the same route or move into management - and that is part of what makes the industry so appealing. Job vacancies and careers information should therefore reflect the range of pathways available, showcasing the different ways individuals can develop, specialise and progress throughout their careers. If the industry only advertises ‘baker’ as an entry-level job, people may only compare it with the physical demands and modest starting salary without seeing what they can build towards. Showing the wider career journey makes baking a much more compelling long-term proposition.

2. Improve pay.

Someone comparing baking with another skilled career is effectively asking, “why should I accept early starts, physical labour and unsociable hours, when I could earn similar money doing something else?”.

If the answer is simply “because baking is enjoyable,” employers are going to struggle. I recognise that this slightly contradicts my previous post, The Reality of Being a Professional Baker Pt.1, where I discussed the importance of finding your “why”—the motivation that becomes your backbone and gives you a reason to keep going when you are overworked and underpaid.

Having a strong “why” does matter. It can be incredibly powerful during the early stages of a career, when you are learning, developing your skills and building a sense of purpose. But I don’t think passion alone is enough to keep someone in the industry for 10 or 20 years - particularly when the physical demands of the job begin to take their toll and the work-life balance remains poor.

There needs to be a clearer relationship between skill and reward, for example:

• Guaranteed raises as skills are acquired/skill-based pay bands.

• Retention bonuses at 2/5/10+ years.

• Enhanced pay for particularly unsocial shifts, e.g. night shifts.

• Additional holiday offered for long length of service.

• Subsidised transport for early starts.

• Reward for contribution to menu/product development.

Employers should aim to pay at least the Real Living Wage, helping employees keep up with rising living costs and ensuring that their pay reflects the demands of the role.

3. Fix the transition from ‘interested’ to ‘actually becoming a baker’.

The existing route into the industry generally looks like this: college, apprenticeships or starting as a trainee/assistant and learning on the job. Baker apprenticeships include Level 2 and Level 3 routes, while pastry offers a Level 3 route.

However, there is an opportunity to expand on these routes and provide more accessible, clearly defined pathways into the industry. These should not only make it easier for people to enter baking, but also give them a clearer understanding of where each route could lead and how they can progress throughout their career. Importantly, potential bakers should also be given a realistic understanding of the role from the outset, including its physical demands, working hours and other challenges. This transparency benefits both employees and employers, particularly when it is accompanied by the assurance that new bakers will be properly supported, developed and valued throughout their careers.

This could look like:

Short, paid experiences where someone can spend 1–5 days in a professional bakery before committing to a career.

This could be particularly useful for:

• School leavers.

• Those seeking a career change.

• Unemployed people looking to enter the workforce.

• People transitioning from other hospitality roles.

• People who bake at home and wonder whether they could do it professionally.

The concept is similar to a stage: a short, hands-on experience that allows someone to work alongside a professional bakery team and gain a realistic insight into the role before committing to a career. The key difference is that the experience would be paid.

While unpaid stages are common within the industry, they are not necessarily an effective or accessible recruitment strategy. Asking someone to take a day—or potentially a week—off their existing job without pay creates a financial barrier, particularly for those who cannot afford to lose income simply to find out whether baking is the right career for them.

A paid trial or work-experience programme would therefore benefit both sides: potential bakers could make a more informed decision based on genuine experience, while employers could identify people who are suited to the role and genuinely interested in pursuing it.

Apprenticeships need to be better:

Apprenticeships could be one of the strongest answers, but they need to be useful and enjoyable experiences rather than just ‘cheap labour’.

4. Address the work-life balance.

This may actually be one of the biggest issues when retaining staff. Baking is unusual because the product generally has to be ready before customers arrive, which naturally creates very early starts. While this is difficult to eliminate entirely, employers could explore ways to make these working patterns more manageable:

• More predictable rotas - knowing your work pattern weeks or even months in advance makes early starts and unsociable hours much easier to manage. It allows employees to plan their lives around work, including social commitments and appointments, rather than having their personal lives dictated by last-minute changes to their shifts. Greater predictability can therefore contribute significantly to a healthier work-life balance.

• Split-shifts or a range of hours throughout the week - where possible, employers could offer a variety of shift patterns, such as early-morning production, daytime production, or evening/night production. This will depend on the individual bakery’s needs, and working through the night may be unavoidable in some cases. However, there may still be opportunities to make these shifts more manageable—for example, offering reduced working hours for night shifts. In my previous role, everyone worked 12+ hour shifts. In my experience, introducing split shifts with shorter working hours could have significantly improved staff wellbeing and provided a much healthier work-life balance. Alternatively, employers could offer one shorter shift a week, allowing bakers to either finish earlier or start later. Early morning starts can make it difficult to maintain a social life - with dinner plans usually out of the question. Even a small amount of flexibility could give employees more opportunities to maintain their relationships and interests outside of work.

• Extra time off - offer unique days off like a paid birthday leave day.

5. Reduce the impact of physical labour.

• Invest in equipment/machinery - introducing machinery does not necessarily mean replacing bakers; it can mean removing the most physically demanding parts of the job. Equipment that reduces heavy lifting, intensive mixing and repetitive shaping can help protect employees from unnecessary strain and injury. This is particularly important when considering the long-term sustainability of a career in baking, as the physical demands of the job can make it increasingly difficult to remain in the industry as employees get older.

• Education - ensuring all bakers are trained on manual handling upon beginning employment. Employers could go one step further by providing practical demonstrations on safe manual handling within the bakery—for example, how to lift heavy flour bags, stack tubs and pick up items from the floor correctly. Teaching these techniques can help employees protect themselves from unnecessary strain and reduce the risk of injury over the course of their career.

• More frequent rest periods and adequate breaks - by law, employees are entitled to one uninterrupted 20-minute rest break if they work longer than six hours. I have worked in plenty of places where I was expected to work twelve-hour shifts with just 30 minutes allocated for lunch, regardless of how physically demanding the day had been or how much energy I had exerted. Unfortunately, this can become the norm in bakery and kitchen environments. High production numbers or long prep lists can make it difficult for employees to take their full breaks, and it is not uncommon for people to eat their lunch on the go rather than taking the time to properly sit down, rest and recover. While this may be unavoidable during particularly busy periods, consistently working through breaks or failing to take adequate time to rest can contribute to injury, fatigue and burnout over time. Employers could offer regular micro-breaks, allowing the employee to take five minutes away from their tasks to hydrate, get some fresh air and briefly rest. These short periods of recovery could make physically demanding shifts more manageable long-term.

• Task-rotation - employers could regularly rotate employees between different sections or tasks throughout their shifts. Alternating between activities would help reduce repetitive movements and strain on the same muscle groups, potentially lowering the risk of injuries and making physically demanding work more manageable.

• Offer a wellness day - a dedicated day of leave, provided by an employer to help employees rest, recover from stress, and proactively manage their physical health. Employees can spend the time however they choose: sleeping, exercising, running personal errands or connecting with friends and family. Offering a wellness day could help boost staff morale by demonstrating that the business values employees’ physical and mental wellbeing. Giving staff dedicated time to rest and recharge may also help them return to work feeling refreshed, supporting sustained productivity and reducing the risk of burnout.

• Wellness support - employers could offer benefits such as discounted gym memberships, subsidised fitness activities or a monthly contribution towards treatments such as massage. These benefits could help employees look after their physical health.

Ultimately, making baking a genuinely attractive long-term career requires the industry to look beyond simply recruiting more people and hoping they will stay-on. It means creating a career that people can realistically see themselves building a future in—through clearer entry routes, better pay and progression, more predictable and flexible working patterns, and greater support for their physical wellbeing. Baking will always involve early starts and physical work, but these challenges do not have to come at the expense of employees’ health, relationships or quality of life. If employers can make the career more sustainable while clearly communicating the opportunities available, we can move from simply attracting bakers to retaining them.

Recipe development is unfamiliar territory for me, but it feels like a natural progression following my experience in the bakery. Over the past year and a half, I’ve focused on expanding my technical skills, but I’d love to gain a better understanding of flavours, ratios, and the way ingredients interact with one other. And there’s no better way to learn than to make something a dozen times over, tweaking it each time—and driving yourself a little crazy in the process.

For my first challenge, I was tasked with developing some savoury cookies. Cookies—yes, you heard that correctly. At first, the idea sounds a little odd, but think Ottolenghi-style bakes, such as his parmesan and poppyseed or cheddar and pistachio cookies.

Unsurprisingly, making savoury cookies is actually quite difficult. Sugar doesn’t just add sweetness; it plays a major chemical role in the structure, moisture, and texture of a traditional cookie. Some of the other challenges I’ve come across during testing include:

• Texture imbalance - Replacing sugar with cheese, herbs, or salt changes the fat and moisture levels, which can result in a crumbly, tough, or rock-hard bake.

• Browning issues - Without sugar to caramelise, savoury cookies can look pale and unappealing. Ingredients such as egg wash or cheese can help create that desirable golden crust.

• Blandness or salt overload - Sugar helps balance salt, so without it, achieving the right level of seasoning without making the dough overwhelmingly salty becomes a delicate balancing act.

These cookies strike a balance between sweet and savoury, so they didn’t quite meet the original brief. They also sit more towards the crumbly biscuit end of the cookie spectrum, so for that reason I have renamed them! They are, however, very pleasant to eat: rich and buttery, with pronounced Manchego nuttiness, toasted almond crunch and a warm, smoky harissa heat. The brown sugar brings caramel depth without making them overtly sweet, while smoked paprika and black pepper build the spice. The cheese adds a slightly salty, tangy richness, and flakes of sea salt on top sharpen everything up.

Manchego, Harissa + Toasted Almond Cookies:

Yield: 10 x 80g cookies

Ingredients:

• 180g unsalted butter (softened)

• 70g light brown sugar

• 30g caster sugar

• 1 x large egg

• 35g Harissa paste (ensure it’s classic and not a rose harissa)

• 220g plain flour

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 4g fine salt

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

• 120g Manchego cheese (grated)

• 70g whole almonds (toasted)

• Flakey sea salt to finish

Method:

• Pre-heat the oven to 170C.

• Weigh out the almonds and toast them in the oven or in a dry frying pan until fragrant and golden brown. Set aside to cool while you weigh out the remaining ingredients.

• Beat the butter, light brown sugar, and caster sugar until smooth and lightly aerated.

• Add the wet ingredients. Beat in the egg, followed by the harissa paste, and mix until evenly incorporated.

• In a separate bowl, whisk together the plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, smoked paprika, and black pepper.

• Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until just combined. Take care not to overmix; a small amount of flour should still be visible.

• Roughly chop the toasted almonds.

• Using a spatula, fold the grated Manchego and toasted almonds into the dough until evenly distributed. You may want to reserve some of the roughly chopped almonds to scatter over the dough balls before baking.

• Cover and chill the dough in the fridge for at least 30–60 minutes, or ideally overnight. This allows the flavours to develop and the dough to firm up before baking.

To Bake:

• Pre-heat the oven to 170C.

• Divide the dough into 80g portions and roll each portion into a ball.

• Bake the cookies at 170C for 13-16 minutes, until the edges are deeply golden and the centres remain slightly soft.

• Remove the tray from the oven and transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.

For Decoration:

• While the cookies are still warm, finish each one with a little finely grated Manchego and a pinch of sea salt.

A note on the harissa: with 35g of harissa in the recipe, it is definitely more than a background note. There’s a clear, warming chilli-spice character, softened by the butter, sugar and cheese. I don’t find it too strong, but if you prefer a milder heat, feel free to adjust the amount to suit your taste.

Almost two years on from my post detailing the reality of working as a professional baker, I thought it was about time that I provided the next instalment! I’ll be honest, I was in two minds about re-writing the whole article altogether - but, to my surprise, it’s since become one of my most engaged-with pieces: The Reality of Being a Professional Baker Pt.1.

Despite its success, I look back at that post and think, Gosh, who did I think I was? I was giving people advice on the industry when I had barely experienced it myself. It’s not that what I was saying was necessarily wrong, but I certainly didn’t have the breadth of experience to back up those perceptions.

At the time, I’d had a particularly negative experience working at a local bakery: It was my first bakery role in London, after having worked various kitchen positions and I was genuinely excited to have landed a job at an establishment that I considered to be the best of the best. Unfortunately, it was not a great work environment; a mixture of cliquey staff, unrealistic expectations and unpaid overtime on a regular basis. There was little room for mistakes and I was often made to feel inferior. I pushed through because I desperately wanted to learn and I convinced myself that this was simply the nature of the industry.

Nearly two years have passed, another bakery role has come and gone, and with it, has come a great deal of perspective. In hindsight, losing my job was probably not the best time to write about the positives and negatives of the industry. Emotions were running high and I genuinely believed that my experience was simply what professional baking was like.

Now don’t get me wrong, the negatives still exist: the unsociable hours, the physical labour and the constant demand. You will still question your life choices as your alarm blares into your pitch-black bedroom; you’ll still feel aches in your body from your fourth consecutive 12 hour shift. Ingredients are still heavy and the dough still requires folding. Production can be repetitive and the numbers can be relentless; and it can still feel like you’re constantly chasing your tail just to get through prep. But that said, those negatives exist to varying degrees, and how much they affect you can be heavily influenced by your own outlook.

Every negative has a silver lining:

It’s very physical - but it’s also a great way to keep your body strong. Physical work naturally builds muscle and functional stamina over time. Lifting bags of flour, moving 25kg blocks of butter, and stacking tubs of dough all contribute to building strength and endurance. While it differs from a structured gym workout it still offers benefits, both physically and mentally. The constant movement helps avoid the health risks associated with sitting at a desk all day, while the physical exertion creates a sense of tiredness that may promote better sleep.

It’s repetitive and the numbers are high - but repeating tasks is the most effective way to build skills, strengthen memory, and achieve mastery. Regular practice develops physical coordination and allows you to perform tasks without active, conscious thought; so, if you’ve ever wandered how your head baker can seemingly shape buns with their eyes closed, it’s probably because they’ve had a lot of practice. High production numbers can be physically exhausting, but they also provide a rewarding challenge. You might start by producing thirty loaves, then ninety, then two hundred. At first, each increase feels like a huge push, until eventually it doesn’t. Before you know it, those numbers become your new normal. You’ve adapted to producing more, and there’s an immense sense of fulfilment in realising you’re capable of doing more than you ever thought possible.

Anti-social hours - but there’s something satisfying about being up before most people have begun to surface. The streets are often deserted: you might catch the sunrise on your commute, or perhaps even spot a fox darting across the road. And if you live in London, there’ll be no shortage of Lime bikes to choose from! It might be tough when that 5am alarm rings and you have to drag yourself out of bed, bleary-eyed and barely awake - but at least you and your coworkers are in it together! There’s a particular bond between people who work early starts; a shared understanding that you’re all up before the rest of the world, getting the day started together. You get to watch the bakery come to life, transforming from an empty, quiet workspace into a fully stocked shop ready for the day ahead.

A positive mindset can help you cope with the challenges of the job, but I’ve learned your boss’s attitudes and reactions matter just as much. I previously mentioned that mistakes can be detrimental. Sometimes, a mistake can have a significant impact on the day’s trade, which is understandably less than ideal for everyone involved. While it is important to remain focused and vigilant to minimise the risk of errors, it is also important to recognise that this is a job where human error is inevitable, and mistakes will happen. What matters is being able to acknowledge the mistake, learn from it, and consider how it could have been prevented.

However, just as important is how your boss responds in that moment, as their reaction can have a significant impact on how you deal with the situation and move forward. I began my last role feeling nervous to make mistakes, and whenever I did, it felt like the end of the world. This was largely a result of how I had been treated in my job prior, and it took me some time to build my confidence back up and feel comfortable enough to relax. While errors shouldn’t be taken lightly, you should still feel that there is room to be human. At the end of the day, we are making food—it’s not heart surgery—and no mistake ever warrants being treated badly. I hope that anyone looking to start a career in baking can take this advice with them and recognise this kind of treatment early on, rather than feeling that it is simply part of the job.

That being said, this is why I place so much emphasis on finding the right environment for your needs. Some bakeries are more open to training beginners and supporting people as they learn, while others operate at such a high pace or capacity that they simply don’t have the time or resources to provide the same level of guidance.

Finding the right environment:

There are ways to get a feel for a workplace before fully committing, such as trial shifts or stages. If one day isn’t enough to give you a clear idea of the environment, most new roles also come with a probationary period, typically lasting between one and six months. This gives both the employer and employee an opportunity to see whether the role is the right fit for everyone involved. You can work out whether a job is the right fit by considering how satisfied you feel day to day, whether the workplace aligns with your values, and how the role affects your overall wellbeing compared with what it requires from you.

Weigh work-life balance - consider if the hours and flexibility allow you maintain your health and personal life. Hospitality is notorious for long hours, while bakeries are well-known for their early starts; so only you can decide how much of your time you are willing to dedicate to work. Over the last few years, I have sacrificed a lot of my work-life balance in order to learn and develop my skills. More recently, however, I have taken a step back from such long hours, with the intention of making more time for my personal goals and life outside of work.

Inspect the environment - observe how management treats staff and whether relationships with coworkers feel supportive. In my previous role, I was incredibly lucky to be surrounded by such a friendly and encouraging team. Despite coming from different backgrounds and having different experiences, we worked well together, supported one another, and genuinely celebrated each other’s successes.

Match core beliefs - consider whether the company’s mission and values align with your own. In my previous role, my boss made a conscious effort to source ingredients from local businesses and support regenerative agriculture. Through that experience, I came to realise just how important these values are to me and that they are something I want to prioritise in my future roles.

Test psychological safety - pay attention to whether you feel comfortable speaking up about concerns, sharing ideas, and being yourself without worrying about being dismissed or shut down. A healthy work environment should make you feel that your voice is valued and that you can communicate openly without fear of negative repercussions.

Inspect advancement - see if there are clear paths for promotions, pay-rises, or skill development

~~

To finish up, I’d like to share a few tips I’ve picked up along the way to help budding bakers manage the physical demands of the job:

Wear compression socks - I cannot recommend these enough! Compression socks have saved my legs over the last year and a half. Constant standing on hard kitchen floors can lead to tired, achey legs and swollen ankles. It also causes blood to pool in the lower legs due to gravity, increasing the risk of developing varicose veins or blood clots. Compression socks use graduated pressure to help improve circulation and push blood back towards the heart. Once I began wearing compression socks, I noticed a big difference in soreness and overall fatigue. You can easily purchase them on Amazon, but make sure you choose a medical-grade pair with appropriate compression. These combined with a decent pair of kitchen clogs, you’ll be good to go!

Moisturise - Investing in a decent moisturiser for your hands and arms will prevent the dryness and irritation caused by constant contact with flour and sourdough. Due to food hygiene reasons, you should avoid applying these at work, but you can ensure you have washed and dried your hands thoroughly upon contact with the dough. Before bed, I would apply a generous layer of moisturiser and let it sink in overnight. I’d occasionally suffer with peeling nails due to having my hands constantly in water and moisturising also helps combat this.

Diet - I’m afraid that skipping breakfast and relying on three cups of coffee on an empty stomach is only going to set you up for failure. It’s not just about fuelling yourself for the day - the type of fuel you choose matters too. For a healthy, energising breakfast, aim for a balanced meal that includes protein, fibre and healthy fats.

Of course, having a full cooked breakfast every morning isn’t always realistic, especially when you’re busy. Luckily, there are plenty of easy, on-the-go options, such as overnight oats, chia pudding, homemade granola or bagels. For me, overnight oats were the perfect no-fuss option that I could easily eat while working. In the morning, I’d simply top them with Greek yoghurt for protein, nuts for healthy fats and berries for a boost of micronutrients.

If you have a little more time, you could also batch-cook breakfast for the week. My favourite savoury option is Em The Nutritionist’s shakshuka with feta and boiled eggs. And, of course, this isn’t to say that I never reached for a pain au chocolat! I just made sure to pair it with a source of protein to help keep me fuller and avoid a blood sugar crash later in the day. Eating a balanced diet while working in a bakery is important for protecting your long-term health, as well as giving you the energy you need to keep up with the demands of the job.

Supplements - You may also need to consider taking additional vitamins or supplements to support your diet. Depending on your workplace, your prep area may be located in a basement or another space with very little natural light. This can mean that some bakers may be at risk of vitamin D deficiency, particularly during the winter months, when sunlight exposure is limited. Taking a supplement may therefore be worth considering.

Strength training - While the job is physically demanding, strength training at the gym can be a great way to condition your body to handle heavy lifting and long shifts while reducing the risk of injury. Strength training can help prevent repetitive strain from tasks such as shaping and piping by building endurance in your arms, wrists, and grip. Strong muscles support your joints and improve your posture, which is crucial when you are standing for long periods. Strong legs allow you to lift with your lower half without unneccessary putting strain on your back. Although you may feel too tired to go to the gym after a long shift, strength training can be a valuable tool for getting through your first bakery job and may help improve your overall energy and physical stamina over time.

Focus on the little things - make sure you enjoy the perks of the job. Drink the free coffees, take home fresh bread, nibble on chocolate batons, and laugh often with your coworkers. Smile at the regulars, say hello to every dog, admire every perfectly glazed bun, and take a moment to appreciate the results of your hard work. These small moments can make even the longest shift feel worthwhile.

This week, I want to dive straight into my favourite section - ‘small bake’:

The ‘small bake’ is more widely known in bakeries as the section that decorates or ‘finishes’ products. Alongside bread, this is probably one of the best sections for a beginner baker to start on. For the more experienced bakers, it offers a welcome break from countless days at the sheeter or heaving 80kg of dough out of the mixer.

It’s also one of the best places to see the fruits of your labour. I loved being on ‘small bake’ the day after I’d spent hours laminating pastry because I could finally see the results up close and personal. By looking at the appearance of the finished pastry — the colour of the bake, the definition of the layers and the height — I could usually tell whether the lamination had been successful and, more importantly, identify areas where I could improve.

And, of course, being on ‘small bake’ meant I got first dibs on the pain au chocs. There was nothing quite like eating one straight from the oven, while the chocolate was still warm and melted. Even better when it was shared with a fellow baker!

A day on the small bake begins with the baker’s head in the chest freezer! I’m kidding, but the first task can be a little chilly - the baker will start by bringing up the cookies, Kouign-amanns, and sausage rolls (if they were shaped the day before). The baker then needs to tray up each type of cookie and load them in the oven before 5:45am.

While the cookies are baking, the baker will then turn their attention to the Kouign-amanns: these get tipped out of the tins that held them, onto a tray to defrost slightly. The tins are then brushed with a layer of melted butter, and coated in caster sugar. The baker will set these aside for later. The oven begins to sing, signalling the first tray of cookies is ready to come out. The baker will use this next few minutes to set themselves up with anything they need - such as spoons, brushes and a tea-towel to handle the hot trays. Once the cookies are done, the baker on the ‘big bake’ will take them out and place them onto a trolley. They’ll then turn their attention to egg washing the first round of pastries; three trays of danish are removed from the provers where they were placed the night before. The baker on small bake will then start the danishes - they must ideally be in the oven by 6:20am.

The baker will need to prepare the danishes according to the current menu; we usually had two flavours on at once. Before baking, the danishes require a weighted filling to create a dip in the centre. This can also be encouraged by gently pressing a shape into the dough with wet fingers. Occasionally, we would use silicone moulds filled with baking beads.

The danishes typically changed monthly, showcasing fresh, seasonal produce such as stone fruits and citrus. They were made with a wide range of fillings, including frangipane, crème pâtissière or jam, and often finished with fresh or roasted fruit, whipped mascarpone, a scattering of crumble, or a dusting of icing sugar. The focus was always on taste and the general mouthfeel - with each danish designed to offer a variety of texture and layers of flavour. The danish shapes were chosen according to the filling they needed to hold—for example, a circular shape for cheesecake fillings, or a rectangular shape to accommodate generous handfuls of fruit. Generally, the danishes would be baked with one key element, with the remaining components added once they had cooled. In other cases, most of the elements would be baked into the danish, requiring only a few finishing touches.

Whilst the first batch of pastries is baking, the Kouign-amanns that were set aside can be prepared: the baker will roll the Kouign-amanns in demerara and place them into the previously sugared trays. The trays are then loaded into the provers to bake later.

The baker will then finish the cookies with either chocolate callets or icing sugar, and consolidate them to free up trays.

The first batch of pastries takes around 16 minutes to bake, giving the baker a useful window to grab any glazes and toppings needed for finishing. This may also be a good time to prepare fresh fruit or mix a batch of cream, ensuring everything is ready to go and keeping the decorating process as streamlined as possible, without unnecessary interruptions. It’s important that the baker has prepared enough components to finish the first trays of pastries, as the bakery opens at 7:30am and ideally, there should be at least one of each item available for sale from opening.

The pain au raisins and Serrano swirls are finished with lashings of cinnamon glaze or hot honey; while the caramelised morning buns are removed from their metal rings and coated in a layer of cinnamon sugar. The almond twice-bakes are dusted with a delicate cloud of icing sugar, and the coquitos are dipped in coffee syrup before being generously topped with coconut.

Once the first trays are in the counter, the baker can move on to portioning and assembling the cakes. During the week, we produced two flavours of loaf cake for sale, while at the weekend, we would bake three 10-inch round cakes, typically finished with mascarpone cream, seasonal fruit, and edible flowers.

The brioche buns, shaped earlier in the morning by the baker on lamination, are now ready to come out of the oven. The baker on small bake is responsible for glazing the buns, using a variety of house-made syrups, including cinnamon, cardamom and lemon. The buns must be finished while still hot, before being taken to the front counter. While decorating, the baker should ensure that every tray that goes out is consistent in appearance - any bakes that are undersized or misshapen should be set aside (the perfect opportunity to try something you haven’t had yet!).

Savouries and sausage rolls are typically cooked last so they can be served at lunchtime. Once baked, the twists require toppings such as cream cheese, roasted vegetables or cheesy leeks. Alongside pastries, the bakery offers freshly made focaccia sandwiches. The focaccia doughs are mixed the day before and left in the fridge overnight to prove; the baker on ‘big bake’ brings them up the next morning and transfers them onto well-oiled trays. The doughs are then dimpled by hand, given a generous sprinkling of sea-salt, and left to prove further. They usually go into the deck oven between 10-10:30am.

Once all the pastries have been decorated and brought to the front of the shop, the baker turns their attention to sandwich prep. Any sauces or marinades should be made the day before, while meats and vegetables are pre-cut and arranged on trays ready to be warmed through. In an ideal world, the only jobs left for the baker to do are dressing the salad leaves and slicing quick, simple ingredients such as fruit or cheese. In instances where an element was unable to be made in advance, the baker on prep can lend a hand to help get things ready as fast as possible. The baker(s) should aim to have the sandwiches finished by 12pm, ahead of lunchtime.

Once the sandwiches are in the counter, the baker will then clean down the surfaces and start on some tasks from the day’s prep list: this can involve anything from bread weigh-ups, mixing frangipane, slicing Serrano or making a béchamel. The baker on small bake is also responsible for replenishing any creams or fillings required for the next day - there’s nothing worse than leaving your coworkers short!

At 3pm, it is all hands-on-deck, unless there are small items of prep remaining. The baker on small bake will assist with cutting and shaping the pastries - and help carry out the final clean down for the day.

Now I’ve taken you through a day on the small bake! Timing is key in this section but this is also where you have an opportunity to be creative and take real pride in your work. A strong eye for detail, combined with the ability to work quickly and efficiently is what will help you thrive. Let me know which section you’d like to hear about next!

While schedules, mixing methods and products may differ from bakery to bakery, each operation tends to be split up into two or three main sections: these are bread, pastry/lamination, and the ‘bake’. In my most recent role, the split was as follows:

‘Big Bake’ - Exactly what it says on the can; the baker assigned to this section is in charge of the main bake. They will bake off all the bread and pastries ready for opening, as well as prepare the focaccias for lunchtime and load baguettes.

‘Small Bake’ - A separate baker will finish items ready for display in the counter; brushing on glazes, portioning cakes, making creams for danishes, and preparing any pastries that require elements pre-bake. Once all products have been decorated and taken to the front, they will then focus on making sandwiches.

‘Prep’ - An additional section but necessary to the overall production; the baker on prep is responsible for carrying out prep tasks, including fillings for pastries, mixing small doughs and assisting with sandwiches. They may also help the bakers on the bread section with weigh ups in the morning. However, all bakers are required to contribute to prep in between their main responsibilities.

‘Bread’ - Two bakers are usually assigned to this section; they focus primarily on mixing and tubbing all the bread doughs, carrying out folds once every 45 minutes. They will also carry out smaller mixes such as bun dough, babka dough and rye. Their main focus is then on shaping the bread and loading the fridges. Generally the bakers on this section will scale for the next day, and take charge of feeding the levain.

‘Lamination’ - This baker is responsible for proving and chilling the croissant doughs; they will then carry out the lamination process. They tend to lead the afternoon pastry shaping - sheeting out doughs according to size, and delegating them to each baker to cut. They must check the loading of each prover and ensure each tray is in its correct space ahead of the morning bake.

As I said, no two days are the same; but now an average day in the bakery is starting to look very different depending on what section you are assigned. You could have a completely contrasting day to your coworker, even though you are both working in the same space. You have individual responsibilities and different problems to solve. Ultimately though, you are all working together towards the same end goal!

The first section I’d love to introduce you to is lamination. Lamination is one of the most sought after sections in the bakery; when you begin working as a professional baker - depending on your experience - you’ll likely be put on bread mix first. If you’re lucky, you’ll only be doing this for a few weeks, but some bakeries may keep you training on this section for months. It’s all dependent on the bakery’s specific needs and how big (or small) the team is. I’d like to clarify, this is not me downplaying or hating on bread - but the lamination process is fascinating; everyone wants to learn how to make pastries!

A day on lamination begins with shaping buns: we mix the brioche dough the day before, divide it into tubs, and leave it to prove in the fridges overnight. The doughs are then bought up at roughly 5:30am by the baker on lamination, and placed in the blast chiller to keep them cold whilst they begin shaping. The baker squishes the bun dough down in the tub to get rid of any air; they then remove it from the tub, shape it into a rough rectangle and dust it lightly with flour before putting it through the sheeter. Once the dough is at the width and thickness required, the baker then flours the bench and places the dough down. At this stage they may need to use a rolling pin to square off the edges. The baker will then apply a generous layer of butter across the dough - we will choose from classic cinnamon, cardamom, lemon and poppyseed, or vanilla butter; sometimes we will use all of them depending on the amount of bun doughs we are shaping that day. Occasionally we may make a bun with crème patisserie and seasonal fruit, or a caramel and nut combination. Once the dough is covered, the baker will then fold it in half (so the butter is touching) and begin cutting strips downwards using a pizza cutter, and a rolling pin to get the straight line. Each strip must remain within a certain weight; if it is any more or less, then we will cut a bit off or attach an extra bit to a strip that needs more. Now weighed, the baker will begin shaping each strip according to whichever bun they are making, e.g. twists for cardamom buns. Once all the buns are shaped, they must be placed onto trays and put into the provers, ready to be baked a few hours later. The baker will then follow the same procedure for the babka dough.

Meanwhile, the bread team are busy mixing the country sourdough, followed by the porridge loaf, and then the croissant ingredients go in. Post-mix, the croissant dough is taken out of the mixer and placed onto the bench, ready for the other bakers to portion and knead until smooth. Once each dough is shaped, they are placed into bags and moved into the fridge to prove. My recent workplace purchased a blast chiller so we also utilised that for proving the croissant dough as well as keeping things cool. An hour or so later, the baker on lamination will then check the doughs and decide whether they are proved enough to start chilling. If the doughs are ready, the baker will flatten them down and place them back into the blast chiller; this makes it easier later on to put the dough straight through the rollers (and saves your wrists from trying to squish them down once they have chilled). The baker will then set the blast chiller to freezer setting - due to space, any remaining doughs will go downstairs into the chest freezer. It is then the baker’s responsibility to monitor the temperature of the doughs whilst carrying out other tasks. When the doughs are sufficiently (and evenly) chilled, the baker will turn the blast off and they can now begin laminating. It is important that the doughs remain cold during this process to ensure the butter doesn’t melt; if the doughs become too warm at any point, the chiller can be set at a minus temperature.

Sheeting Butters:

There is usually some time between the end of proving and the doughs being chilled down enough to start laminating. In that time, the baker may help with some prep tasks, lend a hand pre-shaping baguettes or they can sheet some butters. Butters are generally prepared the day before, but some shifts are more full-on than others and the other bakers may not have had a chance to get ahead. In this case, the baker on lamination must check they have enough butters before laminating; if not, they’ll need to take some out of the fridge in good time, so it can reach a temperature of around 10-11 degrees before sheeting. Too cold and the butter block will crack or get stuck in the rollers - too warm and it will melt all over the belt and become a nightmare to pick up. Unfortunately, butter blocks for viennoisserie don’t generally come the right size or thickness required for laminating, so baker’s have to adjust them accordingly.

Prior to lamination, the butters need to be taken out of the fridge so they can become slightly maluble - this rule only applies if the butters were sheeted the day before. If the butter is too cold, it will crack within the dough as it goes through the sheeter and you’ll end up with layers that are patchy and missing butter.

If the baker had to sheet the butters the day of, they’ll already be too soft and the baker will have to leave them in the fridge for a short while before starting the lamination process. It’s also recommended that the baker should then use them directly from the fridge. The coldness of the doughs will help to firm up the butter as it goes through the sheeter.

Lamination:

To begin the lamination process, the baker will need to start by ‘locking in’ the butters: first, they will widen the dough on the sheeter until it is just under the width of the belt. They will then rotate the dough before taking it down to roughly 7mm. They will then place the butter in the centre of the dough, folding over the sides and sealing the edges to ensure no areas of butter are visible - almost like the dough is an envelope and your butter is the letter.

Once the butter is locked in, the baker will widen the dough slightly before rotating it and taking it down to between 7-8mm for a single fold, or 6-7mm for a double. The majority of our laminated doughs were a combination of one double fold, followed by one single fold; this creates 12 layers of butter. We used a combination of three single folds for our danishes which equates to 27 layers of butter. The result? The final baked pastry will have many flakey layers, which is visually more appealing for danishes - it also affects the texture, and means the pastry can withstand more filling. It can be a little confusing at first, but do not fear, I will delve more into the math of folds in my Baker’s Toolkit series.

A double fold is also known as the ‘book fold’, and it looks something like this:

It is important that both ends are trimmed until the line of butter is completely visible, as you will be joining these together. Once joined, they need to be sealed together well or they risk coming apart later on. This also means you want to avoid widening the dough too much prior to the single fold.

A single fold is otherwise known as the ‘letter fold’, but I think it actually looks more like a book! For a single fold, only one end of the dough needs to be trimmed (usually the end that is being folded on the inside).

With the single folds, it is important not to widen the dough too much prior to taking it down otherwise you risk the dough tearing and/or the butter coming through. You’ll know the butter is coming through if the surface of the dough becomes speckled and you will notice small shiny patches. Another way to avoid this is to rest the dough a short while in between each fold; ensuring it stays cold but not so chilled that it will crack when you put it through the sheeter again. Three singles is a lot of layers so you need to work more gently with the dough.

Once all the doughs are complete with their folds, the baker will then set the blast to around -13 degrees and chill the doughs ready for pastry shaping in the afternoon. This also gives the doughs some time to rest, making them less prone to tearing or warming up too much. I’m going to sound like a broken record, but it is important the temperature of the doughs is then monitored; if the edges become too cold, the dough will crack as it passes through the sheeter, ruining your hard work.

In between lamination and shaping, the baker would focus on topping up butters for the next day, making Kouign-amanns, or laminating ‘second doughs’ (which are doughs made from excess croissant scrap that are given a new lease of life in the form of sausage rolls or quiches). During this time, the baker may also cross-laminate one of the croissant doughs, ready to be cut into pain suisse later.

The best part of the day in the bakery was usually pastry shaping! We aimed to start around 3pm and we relished in this calmer period of the day; this was often our time to tell jokes, ask ‘would you rather’s?’, and share weird and wonderful conversations over a chocolate baton or two. The baker on lamination would usually take the lead in shaping - sheeting doughs down to the required size, delegating them to the other bakers, and lending a hand with rolling and cutting. At this stage in the process, the baker will have a rough indication of how well the lamination went; if the doughs are cracked or if the butter remained in tact, if all the butter layers are visible, and if the dough temperature feels balanced. We produced a variety of pastries, from the classic croissants and pain au chocs, to pain au raisins, cinnamon morning buns, and serrano ham swirls!

Once all the pastries are shaped and trayed up, the bakers will then place them into the provers. The baker who is in charge of lamination must double check that all trays are in their correct spaces, before going home. The provers are set to turn on at specific times in the morning; the pastries will then begin proving ready for baking.

If you’re lucky, you might end up decorating the next morning - which means every tray from the oven will pass through you first! It’s a great chance to see your lamination up, close and personal; I would always snaffle a croissant to cut into later on! Seeing the results of your labour never gets old, and you can learn a lot about your technique from analysing the interior.

Now I’ve taken you through a day on lamination! It is a repetitive process, but one where you can always strive for improvement. And while the general method remains the same, it’s a daily game of balancing temperatures, trying to reduce scrap, and getting the proving right. For me, it was one of my favourite sections in the bakery and one of the most rewarding. Let me know which section you’d like covered next!

It’s been an absolute age since I last posted on here, and I had every intention of keeping this up to date during my time learning at the bakery. Unfortunately, the reality of working as a professional baker, is that it will to some degree, become your life; whether you like it or not, the shifts are long, the labour is intensive, and the concentration required to sheet dough for two hours straight, will begin to take a toll on your personal time and energy. Be that as it may, I wouldn’t have changed a thing - after a few months had passed, I accepted that my Substack would have to take a back seat, but that created room for me to throw myself fully into bakery life..

And what a journey it has been! I joined the bakery when it was brand new and it has been such a privilege to watch it grow, and grow with it. It has pushed me out of my comfort zone, helped me become more adaptable, and fostered a quiet resiliance. I’ve gone through every season - rolling (and consuming) countless hot cross buns during Easter, filling trays upon trays of mince pies at Christmas, and worked with some delicious produce. I’ve shared hundreds of hours with the team and made some real friends for life. We have experienced many highs and lows together and the support within this kind of work is like no other.

As my time at the bakery comes to an end, I’m excited to turn my focus towards new opportunities. The last few years in London have been dedicated to learning and widening my skillset, and by no means am I finished; but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tired. The hospitality industry is hard graft, and the demands of the job mean it’s not a sustainable lifestyle for everyone, especially as you get older. Some bakers may thrive under pressure, some might prefer to work at a gentler pace; some bakers may favour high production, and some, an environment where the focus is quality over quantity, and neither is wrong. What I love about the industry is its flexibility - it can be shaped around your individual goals and needs. While a particular role may not meet every expectation, it can still align well with your personality, strengths and circumstances. There’s no one direction for baking, and I am still figuring out what is right for me. That being said, I really encourage others to expose themselves to a variety of situations; make yourself uncomfortable and challenge your capabilities, it is the only way to uncover your true potential.

I cannot wait to divulge more of my thoughts with you as I embark on the next chapter of my career. It still seems strange to call this a career, but after five years of dedicating myself to baking I don’t think I can get away with labelling myself a beginner anymore! I hope by sharing my experiences (and everything in-between), that I can inspire and inform others who want to follow suit. I’d like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank each and every one of you who have taken the time to engage with my content in my (long) absence, it means a lot. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first started writing so openly about my journey, and I do look back with some second-hand embarrassment; who did I think I was back then giving people advice when I was barely versed in the industry? But thank you so much, for making me feel like my words have been of some guidance.

This is not a list of things to come, you’ll have to watch this space.. But expect me to be rambling once more! I have lots of exciting ideas but if there’s anything you’d like me to cover in more detail, I’d love to hear from you!

To summarise, here are some highlights from the past 18 months:

If it wasn’t already apparent from my constant honeycomb shots, I finally learnt the lamination process and can now produce pastries! This was a goal of mine for a while and it was proving somewhat difficult (but not impossible) to find a bakery that would take me on without prior pastry experience. My current position allowed me to practice on that section during the early days and now I sheet an average of sixteen doughs.

Following that, I now mix and shape the highest number of breads so far in my career.. Around 200 to be precise!

During my time at the bakery, I’ve been lucky enough to go on not one, but two, work trips to see first-hand where our ingredients come from. Last August we went to Aweside Farm (one of sixty farms that our supplier, Shrub, work closely with), where we met Sinead who grows and hand-harvests organic edible flowers and herbs. Her 4.5 acre regenerative plot was absolutely stunning and I left with huge respect for the tough conditions she endures to make a livelihood, as well as the hard work she carries out to support pollinators and promote soil health.

A more recent visit to the Wildfarmed farm in Swindon, owned by Andy Cato, gave us the opportunity to explore regenerative farming in action; we witnessed how healthier soils and thriving biodiversity can create not just better-quality food, but also support the long-term sustainability and wellbeing of farmers. We have been using Wildfarmed flour in the bakery since we opened, and it was inspiring to connect the bread we make every day with the values and purpose behind the brand. I’d love to dive into this more at a later date!

One of the biggest highlights has to be the friendships I have built over the last year and a half. We’ve shared so many laughs, added many songs to the walk-out playlist, consumed many pain au chocs (to take the edge off the stress); shaped many pastries together, had many a weird conversation (when that 3pm delirium sets in), and asked many “would-you-rather”s. According to Google, we tend to spend 31 hours on average a week with coworkers - when you are working in hospitality, this can be anywhere between 45-60 hours. My coworker once joked that we all spent so much time together, we knew more about her than some of her best friends outside of the bakery (and she probably wasn’t wrong). I’ve already touched upon how tough baking professionally can be, and the people you work with have the ability to make or break your experience. I’ve had some hard days - they are inevitable; ones where you make a big mistake that affects production, ones where you are understaffed, ones where you completely doubt yourself, and the ones where you’re overtired, you’re stressed and you just need a hug. I’ve been super lucky to work amongst some of the best people who have always picked me up on my worst shifts.

January:

Hazelnut, dark chocolate + gianduja cookies - If you haven't tried gianduja before, it's so luxurious; it's a rich, creamy hazelnut chocolate that literally melts in your mouth. There was some leftover at work so I decided to incorporate it into some cookies.

February:

My first focaccia! I used @bakewithjack’s no- knead recipe; I would have liked a more open crumb but the texture was nice and pillowy. The base was very soft compared to the top; if anyone has any tips on how to get the bottom crisp, I'd be super grateful!

March:

Cinnamon buns - I used to make these a lot when I worked in the deli in Devon, so I wanted to see if I still had them down! It was quite cold in March so they took some time to prove but it was worth the wait; they ended up deliciously soft and airy!

April:

Homemade bagels - plain, sesame seed + cinnamon - I made bagels a lot at the beginning of the year; I used to fill them with salmon and cream cheese, and I’d eat them on the way to work! I only tried cinnamon once, they looked great but could definitely be stronger. I’d love to try some more unusual bagel flavours next year, let me know in the comments if you have a favourite!

May:

Tiramisu - Not quite a ‘bake’ as such, but it's my partner’s birthday in May and he isn't that fussed on sponge cake; we eat a lot of tiramisu together so I made him one for his birthday ‘cake’. He had one spoon and complained that the amount of cream was going to clog his arteries (lol), so I need to work on my cream distribution. I’m looking to upgrade my tiramisu game next year if anyone knows any decent recipes!

June:

Challah loaves - I started working in my second kitchen job so I didn't get much chance to bake at home; I was making a LOT of challah loaves however. We usually force-proved them in the oven to have them ready for service (so that's why they look a bit wet), but whenever I could, I would cover them with a tea towel and let them prove naturally as it maintained the shape better.

July:

Cherry Bakewell upside down cake - My first attempt at an upside down cake. I saw a video on Instagram (I wish I could remember the source) and I simply had to try it myself! I loved how the top turned out (or bottom shall I say), but I ended up with a huge crack in the centre because I flipped the sponge too soon (patience is not my finest virtue). It was absolutely delicious though and a perfect combination for summer!

August:

Blood Peach Upside Down Cake - I ended up on an upside down cake wave after the cherry one. Broma Bakery posted a beautiful layered peach cake on her Instagram and I tried to re-create it using some blood peaches that I had recently discovered in Borough Market. The expectation Vs reality was hilarious. I’m not sure where exactly I went wrong with the layering, I think I overlapped the peaches the wrong way around! When I flipped the cake, I was greeted with a big pink splodge (oops), but I actually loved it because it looked a bit like a flower and the colours were gorgeous!

Homemade strawberry jam tarts - I made jam for the first time this summer, using strawberries from M&S (yes, I know, not very ‘farmer's market’ of me, but they are the best supermarket ones for sure). Around the time I was trying to nail the lemon tart, I had some leftover short crust pastry, so I cut it into small circles and made some strawberry tarts, inspired by the ones I had in my lunchbox as a kid.

September:

A failed lemon tart - This was my second attempt at a lemon tart and it was infuriating because this one would have been somewhat successful if I had left it to cool down in the oven first; when I took it out, it looked decent, but when I came back 40 minutes later, to my horror, a great big crack had appeared! It's also slightly over-baked (you can tell because it’s coming away from the crust slightly). Safe to say I haven't tried to make another one; maybe next September when I finally get over the trauma.

Brown butter miso + walnut cake - This is probably my favourite bake of the year! It was so so good, if I do say so myself. It was reminiscent of a sticky toffee pudding, especially when warmed up slightly and served with custard, *chefs kiss*. Definitely will be one to experiment with further.

Plum + almond galette - For some reason, I have only just this year, discovered galettes. The fact you can grab any fruit or vegetables and herbs going off in your fridge, wrap them up in some short crust pastry, and have a delicious sweet or savoury bake at the end of it - revolutionary. I tried a plum and almond one with some ground almonds on the base; the pastry ended up a little soggy even though I used cornflour, so next time I'll probably use a frangipan as a barrier.

October:

Pear + raspberry crumble with homemade creme anglaise - After making vanilla custard for the Baker's Toolkit, it seemed only right to make a crumble to accompany it! The mixture of pear and raspberries makes it more of a summer crumble, but it's one of my favourite combinations.

November:

Spelt + blueberry honey tart - This was inspired by the honey pie recipe by Four and Twenty Blackbirds. I’d bought some blueberry honey from a local deli because I thought it sounded interesting, and I was trying to find a use for it. Then I came across this recipe; I used the blueberry honey (which was just honey with 5% freeze-dried blueberries) with some additional runny honey because I didn't have enough, and I used spelt flour for the pastry. The addition of flakey salt really helps balance the sweetness of the honey. You can experiment with different flavour honey or swap out the spelt for rye or buckwheat flour. It was an unusual bake but nice to try something different. I wish it had stayed that purple when I baked it!

Dark chocolate cookies with salted caramel - I baked some cookies so I could photograph my homemade caramel without making anything too complicated.

December:

So many cookies!

Cranberry + white chocolate, double chocolate, peppermint + dark chocolate - I made copius amounts of cookies for my pop-up/trial-run this month. I also ate more than I would like to admit.

Banana + dark chocolate loaf

Finished the year off with a banana bread last night because it's my partner's favourite and even in winter, bananas seem to ripen at the speed of light. This time I creamed my homemade vanilla sugar with butter. I’ve used the same banana bread recipe for years so I’d like to try some more unusual ones. You can find my recipe here:

Can't wait to see what bakes next year brings!

For those of you who joined me in my journey to becoming an all-rounder, I can assure you that the next Baker’s Toolkit is in progress. The fourth ‘Tool’ that I will be aiming to master is buttercream! Unfortunately, this has been delayed because this month, I burnt out my electric hand whisk due to all the aggressive creaming of sugar and butter I was doing for my cookie pop-up! (I mean, it literally burnt out, there was a small trail of smoke followed by a waft of burnt plastic). If you missed my last post, you can catch up here:

At present, I don’t own a stand mixer either, and it’s honestly a wonder how I have managed to survive so long without one. I found a gorgeous beetroot-coloured KitchenAid, though, if anyone fancies donating me one!

So, my first baking goal of 2025 will be to purchase my first stand mixer! If anyone has any recommendations, I’d love to hear them. While I order a replacement hand whisk, you can revisit the Baker’s Toolkit here: Introducing the Baker's Toolkit.

Now, onto the main reason I am writing today, to summarise the last year. I’m not sure what kind of image I have painted of myself on Substack; I try to be as honest and real as I can in my writing. Though I have been working as a baker for over three years, that isn’t to say I actually spent the whole time working in bakeries. It’s taken me a long time to get to where I am now, and it hasn’t been a straightforward journey. My unconventional route into baking meant I had to get experience wherever I could and in any form I could; I spent a while working in kitchens, and only this year have I managed to get hired in actual bakeries.

I guess what I am trying to say is that even though I have been sharing my knowledge and insights, I am by no means an expert, nor have I got it all figured out. 2024 has been the perfect example of what not to do, and in true Baked by Crystal fashion, I want to be as transparent with my readers as possible. I had high hopes for the year ahead, the first year of my thirties! Now I’m laughing because I realise that before January 2024 had even begun, I’d already set myself up for failure. That might be a slightly dramatic statement, but it holds some truth. In November 2023, I (stupidly) quit my first kitchen job without anything else lined up; admittedly, I was struggling, and it was the right thing to do for my mental health, but I was also being rash and impatient. I had only been there six months, after all. But I was adamant that I wanted to work in a bakery; I didn’t want to be a chef, and my plan wasn’t to end up in kitchens. Some of my coworkers were supportive, while others were angry that they’d wasted time training me and told me I was leaving too soon. And to be honest, they were right; I got ahead of myself. Instead of sticking it out a bit longer, I disregarded what else I still had to learn because being in a kitchen didn’t align with my end goal. “No time to waste” was my mantra at the time. Long-term, I don’t think I necessarily made the wrong decision because it’s all worked out, and I don’t know what else that particular role could have given me. But I wish I had gone about things a little differently.

Whether we like it or not, we all have a professional reputation, and even in a city as big as London, people will talk. Your CV also talks. The upside is that you can pick and choose what information you wish to display on there, perhaps you can exaggerate a little, but employers will usually find out the truth. If you’ve only been in jobs for a few months at a time, it can raise alarm bells to the person hiring you. One short stint is usually okay, but if it’s a regular occurrence, you might destroy future opportunities for yourself.

It was completely unknown to me at the time, but that decision to quit the kitchen was about to become a series of bad decisions. Throughout this year, 2024, I have had a grand total of six jobs. That is not something I am proud to say. I had good intentions for myself, but in the end, I caused more harm. So, what would I have done differently about the kitchen job? Well, it goes without saying that you should always have a replacement lined up before you quit; I had a few months of wages saved, but I didn’t budget sensibly and spent a lot during the festive season. I should have stayed in the kitchen a little longer whilst I searched for a suitable replacement. I completely underestimated how long it would take me to find another job; I don’t know what I was expecting in January, the month renowned for being quiet in hospitality, let alone bakeries! After spending a month and a half unemployed and burning through my savings, I ended up getting a job in a shop making cookies on a large scale. In my mind, it was just a temporary job while I looked for bakery work and to keep some money coming in. But at least it was somewhat relevant.

I then received an exciting opportunity from someone I had previously worked with in the kitchen; she’d been busy setting up her own bakery, and now she was finally ready to open. She offered me a job as a baker, and I eagerly accepted! The only downside was that it was night shifts, and I would have to work from 10 pm until 7 am. This doesn’t sound too bad if you are a night person, but it’s not made for someone who is naturally a morning person and who has occasional insomnia (me). I decided I would give it a shot anyway, and I promptly quit my job making copious amounts of cookie dough. Understandably, they weren’t too pleased (I’d only been there two weeks), but they wished me well, and I went on my way.

I managed one night shift and called it quits; this was bad decision number two. When I got home after that first shift, I could only sleep for three hours. I felt terrible. I sent a sincere apology to my friend. I should have tried to stick it out a few more nights at least, but I knew myself, and I knew it wasn’t going to work for me. Looking back, I was a shitty person, and I should never have accepted the job. It’s bad enough to mess with a random business, let alone your friends. It’s something I never meant to do, but I can’t take it back.

So, once again, I found myself without a job, and I hit a low point. Things hadn’t worked out the way I had envisioned. At that moment, the kitchen wasn’t looking so bad! I eventually found a position at a bakery in Hackney; they were hiring a sourdough baker for 30 hours a week. I thought it would give me more time to myself and to focus on other things; a better work-life balance was something I was seeking after 55-hour weeks in the kitchen. If I needed to, I could pick up an extra part-time job somewhere. The downsides were that the bakery wasn’t local, so it took me around 50 minutes to get there every morning, and the pay wasn’t very high either. That aside, I enjoyed the job; I learnt to shape bread the proper way, and I got used to making sourdough at a much higher volume. After a month and a half, I found myself looking on Indeed again. I was struggling to get a part-time job that would fit around my shift pattern, and the money was starting to feel too low for the effort, so I started my job hunt once again.

Ironically, after everything, I ended up in another kitchen. This time, I was hired to work across both the pastry and bakery sections, as well as take part in service. It wasn’t my ideal job, but it was much better pay, and after all the months of being in and out of employment, I just had to get on with it. I felt like I’d been going around in circles. I told myself I had to stay in that job for at least six months and build up some money. I didn’t intend to leave even after six months had passed, but things began to change, and the restaurant wasn’t busy enough, so they began reducing the menu and then started combining some of the sections so they could reduce staff. It was unfortunate because I liked the team and the hours and money worked for me, but the role was no longer serving my long-term aspirations; I mean, it never really did, but I could deal with it until they made the changes. There wasn’t anything new for me to learn in pastry, and I was open-minded, but I didn’t see the point in working on the grill; I’d already pushed myself to work with the fire clay oven and plate starters, even though it wasn’t relevant to baking. Luckily, at this time, one of my favourite bakeries was hiring, so I went for a trial, and I got the job!

For those who have been following my previous posts, this is the bakery that I refer to in The Reality of Being a Professional Baker. I found it very tough, but I considered it to be my ‘dream job’, and I had tried to get a job there once before in 2023. I was determined to stick at it because I really wanted to learn lamination and because I was finally in the position that I’d been seeking all year. I pushed through the 14-hour shifts and tried to handle the stress of the workload and the physical labour. I decided I was going to stay as long as I could humanly manage it. Compared to the rest of the year, it was one of my better decisions, but then the pressure got too much, and I started making mistakes. And as I mentioned in that post, mistakes can be detrimental, especially in bakeries with higher standards and demand. I was let go from that job. It was upsetting at the time, but I believe now that I needed this lesson.

The lesson is that your job isn’t going to fix everything. The answers you seek are within yourself. I spent a large portion of this year looking (and acting) like a serial job-hopper. It’s completely not like me to be in and out of jobs. I was trying to find the right ‘fit’, but maybe the right ‘fit’ didn’t exist, and maybe I just didn’t know what I wanted, and I acted impulsively instead of facing that head-on. The reality is that there is no perfect job; there will always be something about it you don’t like. Maybe the money could be better, maybe the role isn’t challenging enough, maybe you don’t like the people, maybe you have to do things you don’t enjoy. I don’t advise that anyone stay in a job that is stagnating, but I don’t advise anyone to do what I did this year. There is a balance to be struck.

A job should be just that, a job, but I’d started thinking unhealthily about them. It took me a long time to realise that I had been putting my job on a pedestal. Putting your job on a pedestal means you view your career as excessively important, almost perfect, often to the point where you may neglect personal needs or relationships. Now, I wouldn’t say it was to this extent, but I definitely fell into the trap of placing my job on a very high level of value. This can lead to burnout and a lack of work-life balance, both of which I experienced. Sometimes, I would work myself up about starting a new job to the point where I would feel anxious about it, and I wouldn’t sleep all night. Other times, I’d care so much about something that happened at work that I’d let it bother me at home, too. I guess that is the risk when you mix your job with your passion; it can be a great thing, but you have to maintain healthy boundaries.

Losing my job was the wake-up call I needed, and you might even say that I received my karma. I also owe thanks to my partner, who helped me see that my job isn’t everything, it’s how you spend your time outside your job that is important. Yes, my jobs have provided me with a lot of skills and experiences that I otherwise wouldn’t have, and I am grateful for that. But by putting my career on a pedestal, I was creating unhealthy levels of stress, unrealistic expectations, and skewing my sense of self-worth. It also caused me to make bad decisions, waste employer’s time and money, and sabotage my own finances in the process. I hope by highlighting this, I can help others who may experience this in the future. My job is part of my life, but it’s not the defining factor. Since I lost my last bakery job, I have gained another, and for the first time, I’m not working myself up about it; I’m just looking forward to it, but also thinking about my own aspirations now and how I can make them become a reality. I spent the last few weeks of December writing and lowkey selling my bakes, and it’s given me the confidence to keep focusing on myself.

I’d like to end the year on a lighter note, so here are some of my baking-related goals and resolutions for 2025:

• Buy my first stand mixer!

• Finish the Baker’s Toolkit (might be optimistic with this one but I’d like to complete the whole list by the end of the year).

• Finish reading all my baking books before buying any more (SIFT, I am looking at you, currently sat next to my shiny new Tarts Anon).

• Start baking some recipes from said baking books. Perhaps I will make it a project to go through one of my books and make each recipe.

• Learn and understand the lamination process (including types of folds, signs of proving, and shaping).

• Reach a certain number of subscribers on Substack, which I will keep private because everyone’s goals are different.

• Launch my pop-up bakery! This is my biggest goal for next year; I will be offering a seasonal menu, updated on a seasonal basis. I am yet to find a base to bake from, but I hope to launch by the end of next year. There is a lot of planning to do and branding to design, but I’m excited about where my new realisations will take me. (The Instagram is @_fromcrystal if you would like to follow my progress!)

Thankyou so much for reading, I wish you a very happy New Year!

To “just do it” is to take action - to confront fears, push doubts aside, and take that first crucial step. It’s about getting out of your own way. I am an over-thinker by nature, and I’ve been standing in my way for a long time. In the past, I have always made excuses not to do something. I am extremely creative, driven and self-critical; in turn, I have a lot of ideas, but I tend to tear down my confidence in the process. I have previously rejected anything that seemed too difficult or required a lot of work - not because I am shy of hard work, but because I had always framed it in my mind as impossible to achieve. I always put myself down: “I need more experience, I can’t do that yet, it’s not good enough”. Sometimes, I would provide more valid reasons not to do something, e.g. not having enough money to start or not having a space to bake from. But, I’ve realised you need a level of delusion with these things; believe that you will figure out how to make it happen when the problem arises.

So this month, partially due to personal circumstances I found myself in, I ended up with a lot of free time and not a lot of money to tide me over. Past me has been in this situation before and has wasted a lot of opportunities to do something. I have thought a lot about selling my bakes, but I’ve always written it off due to money, space and the amount of planning I thought it would require. For some reason, lately, my mindset has shifted. Now, I don’t know if that’s due to my change in circumstances or the want/need to redirect my energy; this year, I have given a lot of my time and labour to other people. I’ve been so caught up in trying to learn as much as possible, and because I care a lot about what I do, I’ve invested emotionally in these jobs. Now, that’s not necessarily bad, but it is bad when work starts taking over your life and turning you into a negative person because you’re drained. So, not to get ‘deep’, as some would say, but this realisation has definitely influenced my shift; it’s time to start channelling some of that energy onto yourself and spark your own ideas!

“How hard can it really be to sell some cookies?” I pondered. This whole time, have I been making it seem more difficult than it is? Maybe, in my head, I jumped to step five of the process and called it quits before even trying. The reality is I’m not running a full-scale operation here; I don’t need to have everything figured out yet. If anything, more is learnt from the action of doing. And I don’t need to worry about registering as a business yet and finding an appropriate space to register so the inspectors can come and check its food safe so I can sell at markets *and breathe*. That’s the ‘step five’ I was referring to (or maybe even ten), I haven’t tested the product yet or built a customer base, let alone developed a brand. So, just because step five might bring some problems, should we ditch the idea completely or deter ourselves from trying?

I decided to give myself one week to get started; usually, I’d spend more time planning, but I felt the less time I had to think about it, the more likely I was to get on with it. I take quite a serious and conscientious approach to tasks, so I tried to let go of that a little and treat it as a fun mini-project. I gave myself a budget of £100 to put towards ingredients, packaging and anything else I would need; a small budget, but I wanted to show myself that I could do it even with minimal finances. The only initial planning I did was to decide on flavours and break down how much a batch would cost to make, as well as what profit I would gain. Although I have a lot of ideas for potential flavours, I wanted to keep things very simple and decided upon four to sell; to keep some variety, I chose two flavours using vanilla cookie dough and two using chocolate.

Next, I needed to order some packaging. I purchased some cellophane bags on Amazon for the cookies, which were self-adhesive and came with some little ‘thank you’ stickers. I really liked the polka dot pattern as it looked more visually interesting whilst still being transparent enough to see the cookie inside. The only downside was that they were a little smaller than I envisioned (they were advertised as 10x10cm), so I had to make some adjustments to the cookies to squeeze them in. I bought some brown Kraft boxes for postal orders, but again, these were smaller than I was expecting (a LOT smaller). I told myself I would make it work as I wanted to stay within my allocated budget, and I’d already spent too much on getting some stickers with my logo printed. Lastly, I needed some labels to list the ingredients but didn’t want to pay through the roof for them in bulk, so I bought a white sticker roll from the pound shop and wrote all the labels by hand!

I’d say I spent most of the initial budget on the ingredients, my most costly items being butter (shock), chocolate, cranberries, and vanilla/peppermint extract. When I bought ingredients for the first batch, the second batch was a lot cheaper to make because some of the ingredients carried over and didn’t run out until the third/fourth batch, e.g. brown sugar, eggs and flour. It was a little difficult to track, so I basically wrote out how far each ingredient would get me and when I would have to replace it, and then kept a total of how much I had spent overall. I chose to produce samples with the first two batches, which is an optional cost but one I think is required when you’re trying to sell outside of family and friends. I tried to be smart by making only two doughs and then halving them, so I had four, then mixing in the additions. But this didn’t necessarily save me money because I gave out full-sized cookies, and each person could only try one flavour!

Creating samples did allow me to kill two birds with one stone (do people still say that?), which was handy for my week's deadline. Once I had baked all the samples, I was able to take a photograph of each flavour cookie, ready for advertising on my social media. Inspired by a pastry chef who was selling goods during the lockdown a few years ago, I decided to handwrite my menu on a piece of card; I stuck it to the fridge and photographed that as well. None of it was as refined as I would have planned, but the whole point was to see how easy it could be when you simplify things and work with what you’ve got.

I shared my cookie menu with friends on Facebook and Instagram and gave the samples to my partner’s uncle, who handed some out where he works. I posted the menu on Sunday night after I’d finished baking/photographing the samples and requested orders be placed by midday on Friday; this worked quite well as it allowed me Saturday to make the doughs and Sunday to bake and package everything before posting the following Monday. I received a small amount of orders, nothing crazy, but enough to keep me busy over the weekend! I gained a few stray orders last week, which I completed this weekend; in total, I’ve baked around 80 cookies!

Eighty might not seem like a huge number, but for me, the end goal wasn’t to make lots of sales. That might sound a little contradictory because, of course, if I sold a large amount of cookies, I definitely would not be complaining! But this was more about proving to myself that I could do it, and it has given me the confidence to keep going in the future. I have spent far too long holding myself back and making excuses. I have also spent far too long giving everything to jobs and people who don’t care about me instead of directing some of that energy onto myself and fuelling my aspirations. Sometimes, overthinking can protect us, but other times, it can hinder our progress and potential. Sometimes, you need to just do the thing. And when it’s something as simple as selling cookies, what have you got to lose? Granted, some things require more risk, more money, and more time, but remember that nothing changes if you don’t take action. You may not yet have the “experience”, and yes, you might not feel “good enough” at first, but remember that level of delusion I spoke about earlier? Use that to keep your doubts in check, and in the words of Nike, just do it.

Things I learned selling cookies in a fortnight:

Is it really that simple? Yes.

Yes, I could have benefitted from some more planning beforehand, but I think by going full steam ahead, I took out the time I’d usually spend overthinking or procrastinating. It was absolutely worth it, for the feedback alone.

• In hindsight, spending £20 on logo stickers wasn’t necessary - I probably could have gone without them and kept it super simple for the trial run, but it was a touch I wanted, and I feel like they bought everything together. The packaging was way too small, and with more research, I could have found something more appropriate. But it was all cheap and cheerful, which is what you want when starting out, and my goal was to keep the cost low. It also just meant I had to problem-solve; when I made the samples, I struggled to fit the cookies into the bags, so I had to work around this by using a pastry cutter to reshape the cookies when they came out of the oven. Each cookie still weighed 70g, but the reshaping made them small enough to pop into the bags; it also made them chunkier and gave them more texture visually, which was a bonus.

• The boxes were also very small - not at all practical for 12 cookies, but not too bad for smaller orders. I unfortunately purchased the logo stickers before the packaging, so I probably would have spent the money on better boxes. But I was determined to work with what I had received; three individual cookies fitted snugly in the boxes and looked quite cute. For the larger orders, I had to spread them out across several boxes, which I thought looked silly, but I had no complaints.

• I would recommend using honeycomb packing paper, bubble wrap, or foam pieces to absorb shock when sending your cookies in the post. You can use them on the outside of your box but also on the inside to minimise movement. This was something I actually didn’t remember until the last minute; I used some coloured tissue paper (leftover from birthdays) for the inside of the box to make it look less boring, but it’s too thin to be protective. The small boxes did work in my favour here because they helped the cookies stay in place and reduced breakage, but cushioning is something I will need to consider in the future.

• You have to cater for postage in your pricing. I don’t know if anyone has been to the post office recently, but parcel prices are through the roof, and if your customers are disgruntled at the price you are charging, I advise you to kindly guide them to the Royal Mail website.

• Speaking of pricing, if you have read my previous posts, you will know about my history of accepting illustration commissions for little to no money. It’s probably part of the reason why it has taken me so long to sell my bakes; in the past have not had the confidence or belief in myself to charge enough. I decided I couldn’t make the same mistake again, and I chose my prices based on how much it cost me to make a whole batch. Because of my background in the industry and my love for visiting bakeries, I have a pretty good idea of what others are charging, so that also helped.

• My cookies tasted and looked way better when I left the dough to rest overnight in the fridge. The results were still good after an hour, but for flavour and minimal spreading, overnight was best.

• Chopped chocolate over chocolate chips every time. In my opinion, it just looks so much nicer when you get chunks of chocolate throughout the cookie, but it depends if you want them to be super consistent. Personally, I love a textural cookie and cut all the chocolate and dried fruit quite roughly.

• I gave out whole individual cookies for samples, and it was only afterwards that someone suggested to me that I give out bags with tiny cookies instead, with one of each, so people could try all the flavours on offer. And I was like, “That’s genius, why didn’t I think of that?”. So, if anyone is reading this and thinking of testing the waters, make yourself some adorable-sized cookies and give out an assortment, or eat them all (I won’t judge).

I’ve spoken previously about how humbled I was when I started working in London; I felt very much out of my depth and completely underestimated the level of skill in the city. Though I survived my first kitchen job and have come a long way since those days, it highlighted to me just how much I still had to learn. I wish I’d been a little more prepared for what was ahead of me physically and mentally.

To ensure I can provide as much information and detail as possible, I have decided to split this topic across two separate posts where I will cover:

• The positives and negatives of working professionally as a baker.

• How baking in a bakery differs from baking at home, e.g. scaling ingredients, production, workload and time-restraints.

• Physical impact on your body and ‘downtime’.

• Finding the right environment.

This is by no means a comprehensive list, and I will continue sharing my experiences in the future, but these are the main things I wish I had known before venturing into the professional world.

Positives and Negatives:

So, let’s delve into the negatives first because there are many. Baking is a hard graft; it offers little to no perks. If you don’t have passion, I’m telling you now, you won’t be able to tough it out. And if you are in it for money, then this field isn’t for you. I’m not saying you won’t find any bakeries that pay decently, but they are few and far between. We do it to learn, not to earn; knowledge is the real currency of this industry.

It’s very physical - Most people do not realise this, and it can be a shock to the system, especially if you like to take time off in between finishing a job and starting another. I took a few weeks off to refresh before I began my new bakery role, and although I went to the gym occasionally and walked daily, I still found it tough to go back to physical work; I might have been better off starting straight away whilst I still had the momentum from my previous job! Behind the scenes, you have to balance hot and heavy trays out of the oven, shape large numbers of bread and pastries, carry boxes of wholesale goods into vans, and push aside heavy machinery, tables and fridges to clean underneath. Bakeries produce tonnes of goods every week, which means you need a lot of ingredients to make this happen. Flours come in a variety of weights from a nice 12-16kg to an average of 25kg (I find the 25kg bags of flour relatively manageable now, but for some reason, 25 kilograms of caster sugar or cocoa powder is impossible to move alone - someone please confirm I am not just weak, haha). Milk comes in crates, chocolate chips in large bags, eggs in boxes of 180, and blocks of butter in boxes of around 40. All of this must be lugged around and stored correctly, including lifting and emptying the bags of flour into their designated bins.

A common job for beginners is mixing bread - a LOT of it. After autolysing, the doughs need to be removed by hand, sometimes up to 100kg, depending on the size of the mixer and the amount of each bread you produce. It’s a far cry from making a singular sourdough at home in your kitchen. Large amounts of dough are divided between a few tubs of around 20-25kg, whereas smaller amounts can be placed in one. At my previous bakery, we made five different doughs, but the white was a larger amount, so it had to be divided into two tubs. So we had six tubs in total, which were stacked on top of each other; every 45 minutes, the doughs required a fold to give them strength, so I’d have to unstack the tubs, give each dough a fold, and re-stack them. We had to repeat this step at least three times to complete the bulk fermentation process. Once you’ve added the water to these doughs, they become a lot heavier, and it can be a mission to fold them without putting pressure on your back.

And don’t think the pastry section gets out of it either; on weekends, we would produce 26 croissant doughs weighing 3kg each (if my math is correct, that’s around 78kg of ingredients?!). If this sounds like a lot of labour, it’s because it is.

It’s repetitive and the numbers are high - You may enjoy making cookies at home, but you might become sick of the sight after you’ve mixed and shaped 134 of them. Bakeries generally offer fresh goods, which means bread and pastries are produced every single day for the following day’s bake. The numbers vary from bakery to bakery, but it’s not uncommon to shape around a hundred loaves and a few hundred croissants, which involves a lot of repetitive wrist movements. At home, these processes can be engaging and relieve stress. In a bakery environment, it can grow old quickly when you are making the same thing over and over; you have to really enjoy it. I should also mention that some bakeries will have a monthly pastry menu, which means for four weeks, you will be decorating the same things - and trays of them. But there are always weekend specials and recipe development, which is a fun change.

It’s fast-paced and demanding - Because bakeries don’t make a lot of money, it’s a constant game of scaling up and up to maximise whatever profits they can. Many bakeries will offer wholesale to restaurants, coffee shops and cafes. Some bakeries simply don’t have the space to produce high numbers but will try anyway - putting more pressure onto the bakers, who have to try and produce an increased amount of goods in an already short time scale. I worked previously in a bakery where the owners were not particularly understanding of this and expected us to work quickly and efficiently - but we had minimal table space and were often working on top of each other.

To be a baker is to be constantly on it; at any given moment, you can have multiple doughs fermenting, loaves in the oven, starters that need feeding, pastries that need decorating, deliveries that need putting away, fridges that need re-organising, and you still need to do all your weigh-ups for tomorrow. As a baker, you must be able to work fast and complete all your tasks within a certain time frame. You need to remain focused - which can be difficult when you’re on your fourth 12-hour shift in a row and the brain fog has set in. Most importantly, you have to be able to prioritise. The first thing I learnt in the kitchen, aside from ‘mise en place’, was how to prioritise my tasks. (Disclaimer: I still have to ask for advice every now and then when I’m not sure what order to work in). You must complete everything in the most productive order, e.g. if you have to wait for a mixer to be free then you should use that time to weigh up; while you’re at it, get something else processing too. In bakeries, everything is about pace: move quickly and efficiently, there’s no time to stand around or do one task at a time. Throughout all of this, you must keep your workspace clean and organised. It can be exhausting at first, and you will complete your fair share of late nights where you have to stay behind to finish your jobs.

In my last bakery role, I struggled a lot to keep up with the pace. Every day felt like Groundhog Day. It was hard to tell whether this was due to inexperience or because the workload was too much (it was probably both). Some days, I wouldn’t stop for more than five minutes for a break, and I still couldn’t complete my tasks on time. This is something that does get easier with time and experience, but I believe it’s something worth highlighting; sometimes, it’s not just you, the workload and turnover are just too high. Some bakers can keep up with the demand, but you may prefer somewhere small that focuses on quality over quantity, and that’s okay.

Mistakes have consequences - Mistakes happen, it’s how you learn. I’ve forgotten to put yeast in croissant dough, forgot to press ‘start’ on the timer (several times), mis-weighed the water for my bread, used the wrong flour, and dropped a full piping bag of puree upside down on the floor. Unfortunately, when you are baking professionally, everything has real-life consequences, and while some mistakes might not be a big deal, others can be detrimental to the business. Time and money are wasted, and your coworkers may have to work harder the next day to fix your slip-up. Sometimes, you might sabotage a whole day’s trade because you burnt all the bread or the pastries didn’t prove properly. Other times, you will mix a dough wrong and have to stay behind to mix it again. It’s important to note that some bakeries do not mind training beginners and will be a lot more forgiving when you make mistakes, but other bakeries will be less tolerable. The pressure to remain focused and thorough is ever-present.

Anti-social hours and low pay - Bakers are renowned for pulling long, anti-social hours. You may know someone who gets up in the early hours before the birds are awake or someone who has to sleep all day in preparation for the night shift. A bake shift can start any time from 10 pm at night to 5 am in the morning. A prep (or mix) shift is a little bit nicer, starting any time between 4 am and 10 am. People generally assume that if you start early, you will finish early and get the whole evening to yourself. But that is not always the case; some bakeries will require you to work longer days. In my previous bakery, our shifts started at 5 am and finished at 5 pm (and we would often do overtime). You will usually have to work weekends, and you will have to learn how to go to bed early and how to fall asleep straight after a hectic day (or maybe you won’t, and you will spend the next day feeling like a zombie until your head hits the pillow again). The pay is pretty poor, usually around minimum wage. In London, the West seems to pay marginally better than the East; this is largely down to it being a wealthier area and a popular tourist spot. But even a seemingly good salary can break down to minimum wage an hour or even less! And some businesses will not pay you for overtime.

I want to go back to my earlier statement about passion: without a doubt, you need to have passion to survive in this industry, but sometimes passion doesn’t cut it. When you are overworked and underpaid, the ‘love’ for baking begins to sour. You might begin to question your passion or, worst case, destroy it completely and leave your job feeling burnt out, frustrated and resentful. I’m sure you don’t want that, and I don’t want that for you or myself! But that doesn’t mean your dream job is doomed, it just means you have to know your ‘why’. Your ‘why’ will become your backbone, your driving force, your reason to keep going even when you’ve just pulled another 14-hour shift, and you’re up at 4 am to do it all again.

How to find your ‘why’? - Think about your long-term ambitions, where you see yourself going and what you would like to achieve. Is your job going to allow you to achieve those things? If yes, then identify what areas are going to help you succeed (if it’s a resounding no, then you need to re-assess your situation and find something better suited to your goals). I found it very useful to remind myself of these things, especially in the early days of my last bakery role (when I was finding it particularly hard). My personal ‘why’? I want to learn as much as possible so I can become an all-rounder (something you know I am in constant pursuit of) and gain more knowledge and experience, which I can then share with my readers and teach in baking classes in the future. I was also really keen to hone in on pastry and lamination, and I knew the bakery I had chosen would allow me to train in that section.

Positives:

Now, this is not, in any way, shape or form, a post to deter you from becoming a baker. The point of presenting the negatives first is to rip the bandaid off. Many people have this misconception that baking is going to be a cute career change because they’ve whipped up a few cakes at home. Those people quickly quit, shocked and exhausted. At my last bakery, I was told many people (even from kitchen backgrounds) had come through the doors and struggled; they’d underestimated how demanding the job was or simply found the long hours and workload too much. It can also be hard on the bakers who put in the time and effort to teach them; this is why it’s better for everyone involved to be upfront about what the job is and isn’t. Baking in the industry differs greatly from hobby baking. Having come from a small deli in Devon where I’d been leisurely baking cakes and cookies, I would have hugely benefitted from this reality check a lot sooner!

If you’ve read all this and are still determined to become a professional baker, you won’t regret it! It’s the most challenging yet fulfilling thing I have chosen to do with my life so far.

You get paid to make baked goods - I first had this realisation back in Devon in my first bakery job; I couldn’t believe I was getting paid to make brownies all day whilst someone else was sitting in an office or waiting tables. When I said, “It’s no longer your romantic hobby”, this is somewhat untrue. Baking, even professional baking, comes with an element of romanticism. In between all the lifting, mixing and craziness, there are small pockets of time where you will smile to yourself as you glaze buns, roll up pain au chocolates (nibbling on the sticks of chocolate), and dust danishes with a gentle flurry of icing sugar. When you’re stacking the freshly baked loaves onto the bread shelf, and the sun starts to bask the bakery in a golden glow, this perspective will help you manage the hours and the stress of it all.

You get to tap into your creative side - Baking is an art; it requires passion, creativity and strong attention to detail. As a baker, your job is to turn raw ingredients into something that doesn’t just taste delicious but also feeds the eye. Baking, for me, taps into my creativity in the same way that illustration does. It encourages you to be innovative, to problem-solve, and to be playful. There is nothing more rewarding than bringing an idea to life and seeing the fruits of your labour.

You stay active - I’ve spoken at some length about the physical nature of the job, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. As we all know, sitting for long periods can increase your risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and other medical conditions. As a baker, you will spend most of the day on your feet. Whether you are putting away deliveries, folding heavy dough, or taking things out of the oven - you are constantly moving. You might think twice about keeping that gym membership!

It treats your senses - The smells: that familiar sweetness of cinnamon sugar in the air, the sharp fruitiness of blackberries bubbling away in a pot, the warmth of the sourdough that has just come out of the oven, and that yeasty smell of croissants when you open the prover door. The sights: that loaf of bread with its perfectly scored ear, the bubbling baguette dough spilling onto the table, and the tray of golden buns that somehow look even more appealing once glazed. And then, of course, there’s the taste. Nothing compares to a warm slab of sourdough with salted butter or the crisp texture of a freshly baked pain au chocolate straight from the oven!

You will learn, a lot - The biggest positive about baking professionally? Learning. Learning was my sole reason for venturing into the industry; while I taught myself a lot in the early days, the experiences and lessons I have gained from working in a professional environment are invaluable. You will be exposed to a variety of ingredients and shown many different techniques, and you will work among some incredibly talented people. When I discovered my passion for baking, I would have loved to go to pastry school, and though this would have provided me with a good foundation, there are things that school simply can’t teach. You will learn how to adapt and problem-solve when someone has called in sick, your flour delivery hasn’t turned up, or you’ve run out of custard to fill the pastries and the bakery opens in five minutes. Getting uncomfortable and learning how to cope under pressure will only make you a stronger, more resilient baker.

People become bakers because they want to be good at it, but to make it professionally, you have to be dedicated to your craft. You have to open yourself up to failure; every mistake and failed experiment is a lesson. You have to act like a sponge; no one likes a know-it-all, and you won’t gain respect from others if you aren’t willing to listen. Ask questions; you will meet many experienced bakers and cooks in the industry, and you can learn a lot from them if you show you are interested.

There are other positives too: you get to eat delicious staff food and drink real coffee, all for free. You get to take home fresh loaves until your freezers are full, and your housemates protest, “No more!”. You get to work with like-minded people (who are just as enthusiastic about beige goods as you), and sometimes you will gain a lifelong friend along the way.

One day, you might progress onto something bigger, such as becoming a head baker and leading a team. Or you might decide to use your knowledge to teach others and open a school. Perhaps you aspire to start a micro bakery in your kitchen or build a full-scale brick-and-mortar. You could even become a recipe developer and write your own cookbook. Or maybe, you’ll read my post and decide you’re happy just making cinnamon buns at home on a Sunday!

A quick note: During my absence, I have gained some new subscribers! I would like to take this opportunity to thank every single one of you for being here and supporting my work. I have probably bored people on Facebook and Instagram to death with photos of my bakes over the years (to the point where I actually noticed my friends list drop - oops), and it is so nice to have a space to share my knowledge, mishaps, and discoveries, to my heart’s content. As I have mentioned previously, I am definitely not an expert, just someone with a lot of passion and curiosity; I am still growing as a baker and though I have acquired some level of experience working in the industry, I am nowhere near done. I have made it my personal project to revisit the basics and focus on becoming an all-rounder; in turn, strengthening my areas of weakness and building a solid foundation. I’m super grateful that there are already a number of you who want to join me for the ride, and I hope that we can all learn from each other!

This week we are going to be attempting caramel! Caramel at first glance can seem intimidating, but it’s actually super approachable. It can take a couple of tries to get it right, but after some practice you will feel much more comfortable. If it’s your first time making homemade caramel, make sure to buy some extra ingredients so you can give it another go (if at first you don’t succeed).

So what is caramel? At its simplest, caramel is sugar that has been heated until its molecules break down; this is called ‘caramelisation’. Caramel comes in a few shapes and sizes so it can be a little confusing, but all types share the same process of heating sugar until it caramelises. Caramel sauce is generally made with just three ingredients: sugar, cream and butter. Sugar, of course, is the main character - it’s important to use real sugar and not a substitute. Cream makes the caramel loose enough to use as a sauce, and butter melts in the heat to create a smooth texture. Salt is commonly added to enhance the flavour and balance out the sweetness.

What is the difference between dry caramel and wet caramel?

You may have noticed that some recipes instruct you to use water in the first step; this method is referred to as a ‘wet caramel’. Wet caramel is made by combining sugar and a liquid (usually water) and cooking them together. ‘Dry caramel’ on the other hand, is made from just sugar, heated in a dry pan until it liquefies and browns. Wet caramel is recommended for beginners as the water helps the sugar to dissolve more easily and reduces the risk of it burning. However, wet caramels can be more prone to crystallisation, which we will discuss later on.

What is the texture of caramel?

Caramel is generally a thick sauce, but its thinness can vary depending on the amount of liquid used in the cooking process. While we are most familiar with it as a liquid, caramel sometimes comes in the form of chewy or hard sweets (insert nostalgic memory of Werther’s Originals here). During the cooking process, caramel has a thinner and runnier texture which changes once it comes off the heat; it begins to thicken and solidify as it cools down. Once you refrigerate caramel, the caramel will turn hard and you will need to heat it up to restore it to a liquid consistency. If you find the caramel is too thin after cooling, you can reheat it on the hob on a low heat for a few minutes. If you find the caramel is too thick, you can thin it by stirring in some heavy or double cream.

What can I use caramel for?

You can use caramel on almost everything and anything; because it’s so sweet, it pairs well with other strong flavours - salty, tart, or bitter, you can’t really go wrong! But it does pair particularly well with chocolate, vanilla, and of course, apples. It’s another wonderfully versatile ingredient that you can use in a number of bakes and desserts, or eat simply as is!

• Mixed through softened ice cream to make a ‘swirl’ ice cream

• Folded into brownies

• As a filling for cupcakes

• Drizzle over popcorn

• As a dip for apples

• Apple or pear tarte tatin

• Millionaire shortbread

• ‘Snickers’ or ‘Twix’ inspired bakes

• Mixed through a cheesecake

• With apple pie or a cobbler

• To flavour a syrup or buttercream

• Top ice cream sundaes

Do I need to use a ‘candy thermometer’?

Some people religiously use a thermometer and others rely on good old eyeballing. You definitely don’t require one but it may reduce your stress, especially if you are new to caramel, or just prefer to be precise! Caramel can go from a nice silky texture to toffee, in as little as a minute; so it is super important to monitor the temperature. If you have a candy thermometer then the target temperature you’re after is between 170C (338F) and 176C (350F). Above 176 degrees celsius, it will start to smell burnt and the finished caramel will taste bitter. Below 170 degrees, you won’t be able to achieve the proper colour and caramelisation. If you don’t have a thermometer then you should stay on vigilant watch for visual cues.

How do I know when the caramel is ready to remove from the heat?

The mixture should be a deep golden colour, similar to a copper penny. Once you see that, turn off the heat! It will also give off a nutty toasted aroma; the second you smell burning, I’m afraid it’s gone too far. Some recipes may tell you to take the mixture to an amber colour; once you are comfortable with the basic method of caramel, you can play around with how long you let the sugar cook. Keep in mind this will affect the flavour and colour of your final caramel, and you should ensure the mixture is kept below 176C. Golden caramel has a sweet, buttery flavour with hints of nuttiness, while amber caramel has a more rich, buttery flavour with hints of vanilla and sea salt.

Can I taste the caramel?

Sugar crystals start to melt between 140C and 160C, which means the mixture is hotter than boiling water and can be dangerous to work with. Avoid sticking your fingers in the caramelised sugar and resist any urge to lick hot caramel from the spoon until it has had time to cool down! Take care when adding the butter as the caramel will begin to bubble rapidly and may begin to spit.

What sugar is best for caramel?

You should use refined white granulated sugar or caster sugar to make caramel. Avoid using brown sugar or raw cane sugar as they contain impurities that inhibit the caramelisation process. The brown colour can also make it harder to assess when the reaction is taking place.

What is crystallisation?

Crystallisation happens when the sugar crystals have melted and then begin to reform, making for a grainy caramel rather than a smooth and silky one. If you are making a wet caramel, you want to whisk the sugar and water occasionally until you’re confident the sugar has completely dissolved. Then, keep a close eye on the sugar/water mixture as it cooks to the deep golden colour but avoid stirring it any further. Extra stirring will cause the caramel to coat the sides of the saucepan and encourage sugar crystals. If sugar crystals start to form, you can use a pastry brush dipped in water to brush the sides of the pan. If you are making dry caramel, the sugar will look like it’s not doing anything at first. As the sugar warms up, move the pan around in mini circles every few minutes to keep it heating evenly, but do not stir! The sugar will begin to clump together and then eventually start to melt. Keep swirling the sugar mixture around the pan (every few minutes) until the sugar has completely dissolved. Be careful not to swirl the pan too widely, just make small circles; on my second attempt I turned it a bit too much and ended up with melted sugar stuck to the sides of my pan which I think in turn caused the whole mixture to crystallise. Once all the sugar has dissolved, you can then wait for it to change colour before removing it from the heat.

How do I fix grainy caramel?

If your sugar crystallises, don’t panic! Add a small amount of room temperature water to the grainy mixture - start with a tablespoon and you can always add more if needed. Bring the mixture to a boil to dissolve the sugar crystals. Once the crystals have dissolved, you can continue caramelising the sugar. If you find that your finished caramel has crystallised sugar in it, you can place it back in a saucepan on a low heat and warm it for 15-20 minutes until the crystals have melted.

How else can I prevent crystallisation?

Whilst you can avoid stirring the mixture with a spoon, and brush down the sides with a dampened pastry brush, there are other tricks you can use to encourage a perfect smooth caramel every time:

Add an inverted sugar - The most common precaution to stop crystallisation is to add an inverted sugar, such as golden syrup, glucose syrup, or honey. Sucrose is another name for plain white sugar. Inverted sugars contain glucose and fructose which prevent the sucrose molecules from piling up on each other and crystallising.

Add an acid - The second option if you don’t have honey to hand, is to add a squeeze of lemon juice. When you heat an acid with sugar, some of the sucrose will break down into its building blocks, glucose and fructose; you are essentially creating a small amount of inverted sugar. I have seen mixed opinions in regards to using lemon juice directly in caramel - some people say that lemon will cause a bitter or citrusy taste, which may not be the flavour profile you are aiming for. An alternative option is to use a small pinch of citric acid or cream of tartar. Others recommend using white wine vinegar (1/2 tsp) to stop the sugar crystallising; the acidity of vinegar can brighten the flavour of caramel and balance out its richness. Balsamic vinegar can add a pleasant tang and make the caramel more complex - I haven’t tried it personally, but feel free to experiment, I’d love to hear your results!

Change the order of the ingredients - By putting liquid in the pan first and adding the sugar second, the sugar dissolves more easily and more evenly with minimal stirring.

Cover the pot - You can periodically cover the pan with a lid to trap steam, which causes water drops to fall down and melt any crystallised sugar on the sides. Uncover once the sugar crystals are dissolved.

Crystallisation and burning are the two main pitfalls of caramel-making and both of which I managed to achieve during my attempts (oops). The first time I made caramel I used the dry caramel method; the sugar as I mentioned above, appears like it’s not doing anything for the first 5-10 minutes (perhaps because I also started on quite a low heat). But once it starts clumping together and melting, the caramelisation process actually happens very quickly. After it turns a deep golden or amber colour, it only takes a few seconds more for it to become burnt (and you will not be able to hide the taste). I realised I had taken it a bit too far once I added the cream and butter; it smelt bitter and was a very dark brown. You can also see in the photo that I had a lot of crystallised and hardened sugar stuck to the sides of the pan. The second time I made caramel I used a slightly smaller saucepan and it’s only now I’m writing about it that I’ve realised my pan was probably too small for the amount of sugar I used; that and I swirled the pan a bit too much, causing the mixture to completely crystallise. Bear in mind I did this before carrying out my research and I tried to whisk in the butter afterwards - which obviously wouldn’t incorporate, and I ended up with hard candy-like clumps stuck to my whisk and some melted buttery mixture in my pan. Now I know I may have been able to save the crystallised sugar before wasting my butter, but I’m doing these things so you don’t have to!

After researching caramel at some length, I decided to give it a third and final attempt. Equipped with my new knowledge, I have adjusted my steps to create a foolproof method (whether you start with dry sugar or wet). I am pleased to announce that my third caramel was a success! It did go a little darker than I was aiming for, but the result was decadent and rich. It did taste distinctly like sticky toffee pudding, so I probably could have removed it from the heat slightly sooner; but I added some sea salt at the end to cut through some of the sweetness and it made it more balanced. I tried the ‘wet caramel’ method this time and I added just enough water to make a paste with the sugar. I started off by stirring the mixture gently with a whisk, but this pushed some of the liquid up the sides of the pan so I decided to take a hands-off approach and left the mixture alone. Once the sugar had mostly dissolved, some crystals remained on the sides and I tried to brush them off with a dampened pastry brush; they were too stuck and I could see some crystals trying to group together on the surface of the mixture. I quickly intervened and added a few tablespoons of room temperature water. I then bought the mixture to a boil and this helped most of the crystals disappear. Finally, I used the lid trick, which trapped steam and encouraged water droplets to run down the sides to melt the last stubborn crystals that were stuck on the sides. I then carried on with the rest of the process; because I had added extra water it took a bit longer to evaporate from the sugar, but once caramelisation began, the mixture changed colour quickly. It turned from golden to dark fast, and I wasn’t using a thermometer so I guessed when to take it off the heat - but intuition comes with practice!

For this recipe I took the cream and butter out of the fridge a few hours prior. This time of year it’s colder in the kitchen but during summer you won’t need to leave it out for long; the ingredients just need to come to room temperature. This prevents the caramel seizing up and hardening from the addition of cold cream, and stops it spitting as much when you add the butter.

Ingredients:

• 210g granulated sugar

• 6 tbsp (85g) unsalted butter (cubed and room temperature)

• 125g double or heavy cream (room temperature)

• 1/2 tsp table salt (you can add flaked sea salt after for taste)

Method:

For ‘dry caramel’:

• Place a heavy-bottomed pan over a low-to-medium heat and add the sugar (you can start on a higher heat if you feel comfortable but note that dry sugar can caramelise a lot quicker than wet). Move the pan around in small circular motions every few minutes to warm the sugar evenly. Do not stir!

• After some time, the sugar will begin to clump together and start to melt. Be patient, this can take up to 15 minutes. Continue to move the sugar mixture around the pan until it’s all melted - be careful not to let it go up the sides! Once you are confident all the sugar crystals have dissolved, increase the heat to medium and let the mixture sit and bubble without stirring.

• The sugar mixture will be a clear at first and then it will quickly develop some colour. If any sugar ends up on the sides of the pan, you can use a dampened pastry brush to clean the edges and stop the sugar from burning.

• Cook the sugar until it reaches 155C-160C for a clear caramel, or 170C-180C for a darker caramel (I advised 176C but you can push it if you’re confident and opting for a bolder flavour). If you do not have a candy thermometer, cook the sugar mixture until it turns a deep golden colour, or alternatively, a deep amber colour. Be careful not to leave it too long or you risk it burning.

• Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter - stir until combined. Take care at this stage! The mixture will begin to bubble violently and may spit, but this is normal (the butter is simply colder in comparison to the hot sugar which is why I recommend bringing it to room temp).

• Once the butter is combined, add the cream and 1/2 a tsp of salt and stir until everything is mixed in. Place the pan back on the heat and boil for one minute. The final temperature of your caramel will determine its texture. For a smooth caramel, cook to around 107C (225F). For a thicker caramel, cook to around 115C (240F).

• Allow the caramel to cool down slightly before tasting. You can now add more salt if desired or any additional flavourings, such as vanilla extract, cinnamon, ginger, miso - the options are endless!

• Transfer the caramel to a small bowl or sterilised jar and allow it to cool completely before refrigerating. Caramel made with cream can be stored in a jar in the fridge for up to one week. Alternatively, you can store it in a plastic container in the freezer for up to three months.

For ‘wet caramel’:

• Place a heavy-bottomed pan over a low-to-medium heat and add the liquids (water and/or syrup or a tsp of vinegar) followed by the sugar. As a guideline, you want to use enough liquid to create a thick paste (you can use more water but keep in mind that this will affect the overall consistency of your caramel).

• Gently move the pan around in small circular motions every few minutes to warm the sugar and liquid. You can stir occasionally at this stage but I found a hands-off approach is best - the less stirring, less issues.

• Continue to move the sugar mixture around the pan until it’s all melted - be careful not to let it go up the sides! Once you are confident all the sugar crystals have dissolved, increase the heat to medium and let the mixture sit and bubble. You should not stir once the mixture begins to boil. The liquid will begin to evaporate and the sugar will eventually caramelise and take on colour (this process will take a while to get going but once the caramelisation begins, the colour will change quickly).

• The next few steps of ‘wet caramel’ are the same as the dry method (see above).

Further tips for making caramel:

Using a heavy-bottomed saucepan - Thin saucepans heat unevenly and can cause areas of the sugar to burn before the rest of it has melted. A heavy-bottomed metal pan (such as stainless steel) with tall sides, is perfect for making caramel. Additionally, using a pan with a light-coloured bottom will make it easier to track the caramel’s colour changes.

Don’t fear a darker colour - The darker the caramel, the richer the flavour will be. It’s tempting to take the caramel off the hob before it burns, especially if you are new to making caramel, but you may be doing it too early; it will develop more flavour if you let it achieve a darker colour. This is easier to monitor with a candy thermometer, but if you keep the pan on a low heat it should stop the sugar mixture from getting too hot.

Avoid doubling or tripling the recipe - If you want to make more larger batches you should avoid doubling or tripling the recipe; the added volume could prevent the sugar from melting evenly and properly. If you want to make extra, make a couple of batches in separate pans instead - you will find it easier to control.

Use high quality ingredients - Your bakes can only be as good as your ingredients, and with homemade caramel, there aren’t many places to hide. As caramel is made from so few ingredients, the butter and cream quality really shine through.

Don’t forget the salt - Caramel is just too sweet without it. A healthy amount of salt can really deepen the flavour and will keep your caramel from tasting overly sweet. Don’t try to cut corners by using already salted butter - it’s easier to control the flavour if you add it little by little yourself.

Mise en place - Make sure all your ingredients are prepared before you start. As caramel requires your full attention, it’s best to gather all your equipment and ingredients and have them at arm’s reach. Take the cream out of the fridge a few hours before starting so it can reach room temperature, and weigh the required amount so you can pour it in when needed. Cube the butter in advance - this will help it to melt more evenly.

This week we are diving into all things custard, or diving into the custard (whichever you prefer)! So what exactly is custard? A standard custard is made from a mixture of milk, egg yolks and sugar, and is traditionally flavoured with ingredients such as vanilla. It can be served warm or cold and the thickness can be altered to suit a wide range of desserts and baked goods, making it incredibly versatile and a great part of your skill set. There are arguably several types of custard because they differ slightly in ingredients or technique, but essentially they are all part of the same family. There are, however, two brackets that they generally fall into: stirred or baked. Stirred custards are cooked in a saucepan until thick but still liquid in consistency, while baked custards are usually cooked in oven-proof dishes in a water bath or bain-marie until set; these include crème brûlée, crème caramel and egg custard tarts.

Custard is widely available in supermarkets and love it or hate it, most of us are familiar with the likes of Ambrosia and Bird’s instant custard powder. Though they are a cheap and convenient option when you are low on time, homemade custard is neither as expensive nor difficult to make as some might assume; the additional flavourings are where it can get a bit pricey, but you can use vanilla essence or vanilla paste as opposed to the pod. Custard made from scratch doesn’t contain any preservatives, additives, or artificial flavours. It uses basic ingredients that are lying around in most people’s kitchens, and the best part? It tastes much richer and creamier than store-bought custards.

For this post, we are going to focus primarily on two types of custard: ‘crème anglaise’ and ‘crème pâtissière’, otherwise known as ‘crème pat’ and ‘pastry cream’. I would like to go into more depth with baked custards but we’ll save that for a later date!

So what is the difference between crème anglaise and crème pâtissière?

Crème pâtissière is a smooth and rich custard filling commonly used in French pastry. Crème anglaise has a similar composition to crème pâtissière, but doesn’t contain cornstarch or flour. Therefore, it’s more liquid and less thick. It’s possible to turn crème anglaise into a crème pâtissière by diluting cornstarch with warm water and adding it to the crème anglaise, mixing well. Let’s look at the key differences:

Ingredients:

Crème Anglaise - milk and/or cream, sugar, eggs, and vanilla (or flavouring of choice).

Crème Pâtissière - milk and/or cream, sugar, eggs, flour and/or cornstarch, and vanilla (or flavouring of choice).

Thickness:

Crème Anglaise - a pourable custard sauce.

Crème Pâtissière - a thicker custard filling used for pastries.

Texture:

Crème Anglaise - more delicate and can be easily poured.

Crème Pâtissière - has a more substantial texture that can hold its shape when piped or spread.

Uses:

Crème Anglaise - typically served as a sauce or an accompaniment to a dessert, but can be consumed on its own. Can also be used as a base for ice creams and mousses.

Crème Pâtissière - often used to fill pastries, doughnuts and éclairs.

Crème Anglaise:

Should I use milk or cream in my custard?

When searching for a good custard recipe to use, it can be a little confusing. There are variations of the recipe, with some using all milk or a mixture of milk and cream; whilst others suggest a ratio of exactly half and half, or all cream. So which one is right? Well, there’s no right answer - it depends more on your personal preference and what you want from your custard. However, it’s important to understand how the type of milk and cream you use, can affect the flavour and texture of your custard; this will help you decide what ratios to use. In the pastry section, we used equal parts double cream and whole milk, and the result was a delicate and looser custard which we used to accompany a dessert made of filo pastry and pistachios. Consider what you are making the custard for - you may prefer a thicker custard to match the warming and heavier desserts of Autumn and Winter.

Whole Milk - can make custard light and thin.

Semi-skimmed Milk - can be used if you are trying to reduce the fat content of your custard, but you may need to add extra cornstarch to help it thicken.

Heavy Cream - makes custard extra rich and luxurious.

Double Cream - can make custard thicker and creamy but some say it can make the custard taste more like vanilla than eggs.

Single Cream - can add silkiness to your custard.

For example, you want your custard to be on the runnier side, more like a pouring cream consistency, and silky smooth; you might use a combination of whole milk and single cream. Or you want your custard to be on the thicker side similar to the canned shop-bought one; you might use a combination of whole milk and double or heavy cream. The beauty of it is that you can play around with the ratios until you get your perfect result. You can also add more egg yolk (within reason) to increase the richness and creaminess of your custard.

Now to address the elephant in the room - why do so many people hate on custard? Well, no one likes a lumpy custard and some of you are probably still haunted by the cloggy homemade custard your mum tried to make for you when you were a kid. Custard can become lumpy for a few reasons. When custards are heated they turn thick and creamy as the milk and egg proteins unfurl and bond with each other. However, if they are overheated, too many bonds form and the proteins clump together. Alongside overheating custard, you can also heat it too fast. If the custard is heated too quickly, the egg yolk can overcook and the custard will curdle; this is why you should never boil a custard. Once this happens, there’s no way to fix it and you’ll need to start over. At most, if your custard is only very slightly curdled, you could try straining the lumps out, but sometimes they are not worth saving!

How can I fix a lumpy custard?

Lumpy custard can happen to the best of us, but don’t fret! For custard that’s simply overcooked, there’s an easy fix. You can try whisking it by hand, but it will be much easier with a stick blender (or food blender if you don’t have one) - this will also protect your saucepan. Stick blenders are an invaluable tool to have in your kitchen; a quick whirl effectively breaks down the lumps and restores the custard to a creamy texture.

How to ensure my custard doesn’t curdle?

Custards can curdle when they are overcooked or brought to a boil, or when the proteins in the milk are damaged by an an acid or increased temperature. The secret to cooking stirred custard is to heat it in a large saucepan over a medium-to-low heat. Many recipes call for the milk and/or cream to be heated to just below simmering point. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the custard thickens and coats the back of the spoon. Stirring distributes the heat evenly so the custard doesn’t become too hot, which can curdle it. Draw a line across the back of the spoon with your finger, and if it leaves a trail, your custard is ready and you should remove it from the heat immediately.

Here are some more tips to prevent stirred custard from curdling:

Use a whisk at first - use a whisk to keep the mixture moving in the early stages of cooking.

Use a wooden spoon - not just for checking if your custard is ready; a wooden spoon can help you feel if the egg mixture is sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Use a thermometer - the custard will start to set at 160F/71C, but the eggs will start to curdle at 176F/80C. Using a thermometer will take out the guesswork.

Add cornstarch - adding two teaspoons of cornstarch when whisking the eggs and sugar together, can help the custard thicken faster with less risk of curdling.

Temper the eggs - little by little, add the hot milk and/or cream to the beaten egg yolks to bring them up to temperature slowly.

What flavouring can I add to my custard?

As I mentioned before, traditional crème anglaise is either left unflavoured or flavoured with vanilla bean or extract; but you can add any ingredients you like:

• Cinnamon

• Nutmeg

• Chocolate

• Citrus

• Coffee

• Pistachio

• Alcohol, such as rum or cognac

Tips for making custard:

Strain your custard - after cooking a stirred custard, strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a jug. This removes any bits of egg that may not have been properly combined and ensures the custard is as smooth as possible.

Weigh your eggs and sugar separately - you want to whisk them together at the very last moment, to prevent the sugar from ‘cooking’ the egg yolks and causing the mixture to go grainy. This is an important one I learnt in the kitchen. Scientifically, sugar doesn’t actually ‘cook’ eggs the same way heat does but it does change the chemical structure of the protein in the eggs. When eggs (particularly egg yolks) and sugar sit too long in the same bowl without being mixed, the water in the yolks is absorbed by the sugar and you end up with a hard, clumpy mess.

Give it your undivided attention - custard is really easy to make but you have to give it your full attention; no attempting to cook the rest of dinner or leaving your pan unattended. Once the heated milk/cream was combined with the egg and sugar mixture, it took around 10 minutes for my custard to thicken and an initial 5-10 minutes for my milk/cream to reach below simmering point (mostly because I kept my heat low to begin with) - you should try to set aside at least 20 minutes where you can stay and watch your pan vigilantly.

For this recipe, I’m going to use a ratio of half whole milk and half double cream. This is to ensure a smooth but creamy custard. Feel free to adjust the weights of the milk and cream according to your taste (as long as they add up to the required amount of liquid for the recipe). For aesthetic reasons, I am going to use a vanilla pod as I love seeing the specks of vanilla seed throughout my custard.

Crème Anglaise Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 568ml of whole milk (or use half whole milk and half double cream)

• 1 vanilla pod (I recommend purchasing vanilla pods in bulk online, as they are more expensive to buy from the shop and not always easy to find; I didn’t plan ahead so I had to get mine in Whole Foods).

• 4 large egg yolks (separate the whites by hand or with a slotted spoon, and keep them in your fridge for meringue or coconut macaroons!)

• 2 tbsp of caster sugar (equal to about 25g; you can add more if you prefer your custard on the sweeter side)

• 2tsp cornstarch (or an alternative thickener; I’m using arrowroot powder as that’s what I have to hand. You can use more if you prefer a thicker custard)

Method:

• Firstly, de-seed the vanilla pod. Using a small knife, cut a slit down the length of the vanilla pod and then use the back of the knife to scrape out the seeds. If you are using vanilla essence instead then keep it back until later.

• Weigh the milk and/or cream in a large saucepan. Add the vanilla seeds and the scraped pod as this will release extra flavour once heated (as I only had a pack of two vanilla pods, I decided to keep mine and store it in a tub of caster sugar to make vanilla sugar).

• Heat the milk and/or cream with the vanilla in a saucepan and bring to just below simmering point. Stir occasionally with a whisk to distribute the heat evenly. You should be able to tell when the milk/cream is heating up as there will be gentle steam and the pan will feel warm. Remove the pan from the heat.

• Using a balloon whisk, combine the egg yolks, caster sugar and cornstarch in a stainless steel bowl. Ideally, you want the mixture to look a little paler and have no lumps.

• Carefully pour a small amount of the hot milk/cream over the eggs, whisking continuously. If you are making a double batch and your pan is too heavy to lift with one hand, you can do this with a ladle. Repeat this step until about a quarter of the milk/cream is incorporated with the egg mixture.

• Pour the milk and egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk/cream. If you are using vanilla essence, you can add it in now. Keep the heat medium-to-low, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, and cook the mixture until it thickens and coats the back of the spoon. This should take around ten minutes, or longer if you are making a double batch. Make sure you scrape the bottom of the pan with your spoon to prevent any of the mixture from sticking and burning. Do not let it boil!

• To check whether the custard is thick enough, draw a finger across the back of the spoon and if it leaves a trail (and doesn’t flood back), it’s ready.

• Strain the custard through a fine sieve into a jug, remove the vanilla pod, and give it a stir. Cover the surface of the custard with a layer of cling film to stop it from developing a skin as it cools. Keep it outside at room temperature for up to three hours, or transfer to the fridge once cool. If you need to cool the custard down quickly, you can put the jug in an ice bath. Similarly, if you need to keep it hot, put it in a hot water bath. Homemade custard will keep for around three days covered in the fridge.

To reheat the custard:

• When you’re ready to use the custard, reheat it in a saucepan, stirring regularly to ensure a skin doesn’t form. You may find that the custard will thicken further as it reheats; if it starts to become a bit too thick, simply add a little milk to get it back to your desired consistency.

You can now use your homemade custard to accompany your sticky toffee pudding, apple pie, or peach cobbler, or just eat it out of the jug! A childhood favourite of mine was bananas with custard, although I’ve been told this is somewhat controversial.

Crème Pâtissière:

Crème pâtissière is another incredibly versatile ingredient and an essential skill to have under your belt; it’s used to fill an array of baked goods but it’s also delicious on its own!

Why won’t my custard set?

Crème pâtissière will not set if you change certain variables, such as reducing the sugar or using less egg yolk and cornstarch. You can always use more of these ingredients, but taking away the required amount for the recipe will be detrimental to it; the sugar contributes to the thick texture and will help prevent the eggs from curdling, so don’t attempt to reduce it! Crème pâtissière may also not set if you undercook or overcook it. Cornstarch is only activated once the mixture comes to a certain temperature (around 80C), so use the bubbles as your cue or check with a thermometer to be sure. If you overcook the starch, then it will break down and no longer function. Have patience, if you try to rush the process then you may end up with curdled custard!

How can I add different flavours?

If you want to incorporate other flavours, add the ingredients slowly and taste-test the custard regularly until you reach the flavour you’re happy with. Add the ingredients after your custard has been emulsified and strained. Don’t use solid chocolate for chocolate crème pâtissière, as it will make it too thick and firm when cooled; instead, use a ganache and add whilst the custard is still hot. For coffee crème pâtissière, you need to use a high concentration of coffee, e.g. a few teaspoons of instant coffee in a few teaspoons of very hot milk. Keep in mind that adding too much will make your custard too runny. Alternatively, you can infuse the double cream with coffee beans before making the crème pâtissière. Consider how strong the flavour of your chosen ingredient is and if it is a liquid or solid, how it will affect the texture and consistency of your custard.

Crème Pâtissière Recipe:

Unlike the crème anglaise recipe, there is no need to temper the eggs as we are going to incorporate them before heating. For this recipe I am using the addition of butter; this will help to emulsify the mixture (similar to making curd), giving you a smooth, glossy custard. It’s not necessarily required but it makes the texture extra velvety. Traditionally crème pâtissière is thickened with cornstarch but for this recipe, I am combining a small amount of plain flour with the cornstarch which will make it look and feel more creamy. Again, feel free to adjust the ratios of milk and cream according to your taste (as long as it adds up to the required amount of liquid for the recipe).

Ingredients:

• 180ml of whole milk (I don’t recommend semi-skimmed for this recipe as it will affect the final texture)

• 180ml of double cream

• 4 large egg yolks

• 1 vanilla pod (or 1 tsp of vanilla extract)

• 65g caster sugar

• 2 tbsp cornstarch (you can use more if you require a thicker result)

• 1 tbsp of plain flour

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter (equal to about 28g; cubed and cold)

Method:

• Combine the cornstarch, flour and caster sugar using a sieve or whisk. Add all the dry ingredients to a large saucepan.

• Gradually pour in the cream whilst whisking continuously to ensure the dry ingredients are fully incorporated. Follow with the milk and whisk again.

• Add the egg yolks one at a time, whisking well to incorporate them fully into the mixture.

• De-seed the vanilla pod. Using a small knife, cut a slit down the length of the vanilla pod and then use the back of the knife to scrape out the seeds. Add the vanilla pod and seeds to the pan. If you are using vanilla essence instead then keep it back until the end.

• Place the saucepan over a medium-to-low heat and whisk gently but constantly until the mixture thickens and just starts to come to a boil. This should take around 7-10 minutes. It’s important not to leave your pan unattended at this stage; the custard can stick to the bottom and burn easily.

• Once the mixture starts to come to a boil, cook it for a minute longer whilst stirring constantly. This step is crucial as the cornstarch won’t reach its full thickening power until it reaches 80C and stays there for about a minute. If you are unsure, I recommend using a digital thermometer to check the temperature of the mixture. Remove the pan from the heat.

• Add the cold butter slowly and whisk it in until it’s all melted and evenly incorporated. If you are using vanilla extract instead of the pod, then you can add this in now.

• Strain the finished custard through a fine sieve and transfer it into a heat-proof (plastic) bowl.

• Place a piece of cling film directly over the custard, making sure it’s in contact with the surface to prevent a crust from forming. Store it in the fridge for at least four hours until completely chilled and use within three days.

Once you’re ready to use the custard, give it a thorough whisk to smooth it out. It will firm up and set slightly after cooling in the fridge, but it will loosen up again after a good mix. You can now use your homemade crème pâtissière to fill tarts, profiteroles, brioche doughnuts, èclairs and much more!

If you’re new here, my name is Crystal and I’m working professionally as a baker in West London. I have been baking for around four years now; I began in a small deli in Devon making various goods for the cake counter and I completely fell in love with the process, the problem-solving, the challenging myself to become better, and the satisfaction of producing a successful bake. I mentioned previously that I don’t come from a ‘foodie’ background and that cooking doesn’t come naturally to me; when I started there were a lot of sub-par bakes, but a lot of learning and over time I improved. Moving to London and getting hired at a top restaurant was a very humbling experience; I was very much a duck out of water and had underestimated the level of skill in the city. Though I survived my first kitchen job and have been working in the industry since, it highlighted to me just how much I still had to learn. I have made it my personal project over the next few months to revisit the basics and focus on becoming an all-rounder; hence the ‘Baker’s Toolkit’ was born! You can revisit the list here: Introducing the Baker's Toolkit.

Now we are caught up, let’s delve into the first ‘Tool’, jam and curd. A jam is usually made up of four ingredients: fruit, sugar, pectin and acid, though there are some instances where pectin is not necessarily required (but we will get into this). Most often, the fruit is chopped and/or hulled and then slowly cooked with sugar until it thickens. In Britain, Jam is typically eaten on toast or scones, mixed into rice pudding, or layered in a classic Victoria sponge. A foolproof jam recipe can be used in a variety of bakes and it’s the perfect way to preserve berries so they can be enjoyed long after their prime season has passed!

What fruit can I use?

You can use almost any fruit for your jam but there are some factors to consider. Pectin occurs naturally in many fruits and vegetables, usually in the pips, cores and peel, and it helps to set and thicken your jam. It’s important to note that some fruits are higher in pectin than others. Medium-to-high pectin fruit includes:

• Blackcurrants

• Gooseberries

• Cooking apples

• Redcurrants

• Lemons

• Plums

• Raspberries

• Apricots

Fruits that are low in pectin include:

• Blackberries

• Strawberries

• Rhubarb

• Peaches

• Cherries

• Dessert apples

That doesn’t mean you should avoid certain fruits; it just means that the jam you make with low-pectin fruits will be looser and softer. You may prefer a runnier jam, but if you want more of a thick jam you can achieve this by adding in fruits that are higher in pectin, e.g. combining blackberries with blackcurrants. Alternatively, you can use a sugar which contains pectin (also known as ‘jam sugar’), or add lemon juice to help activate the fruit’s natural pectin and set your jam. Slightly un-ripe fruit also contains more pectin and is more acidic than very-ripe fruit, so it’s a good idea to throw some slightly un-ripe blackberries into your blackberry jam to encourage the setting.

How much sugar?

You don’t want to skimp on sugar because this is what helps to preserve your jam by keeping mould at bay. A lot of jam recipes call for equal amounts of sugar and fruit but you can play around with this once you feel more confident. A ratio of at least 60% - 70% sugar to fruit will work well, e.g. 600g - 700g sugar to 1kg of fruit.

What kind of sugar?

Course-grain white granulated sugar is best for jam-making because it ensures a good clear jam; the course-grains dissolve more slowly and evenly giving better results. If you don’t have granulated sugar to hand, fine caster sugar is sufficient. As mentioned above, you could also use ‘jam sugar’ which contains pectin to aid the setting process. The amount of pectin varies depending on the brand; Tate and Lyle Jam Sugar has a balanced ratio of sugar and pectin. Alternatively, you can buy pectin powder separately.

What’s the deal with pectin and strawberries?

Strawberries are low in pectin and acid, both of which are essential for setting jam. Because strawberries are generally sold on the riper side, they need a helping hand. Lemon juice can be used to boost gel formation instead of adding commercial pectin; lemons also bring out the flavour of the strawberries and balance out the sweetness that can occur from maceration. You can play around with the lemon juice levels if you prefer to add pectin naturally, but keep in mind that the acidity may throw off the overall taste of your jam if you use too much. You also risk your jam not setting if you use too little. Commercial pectin is sometimes frowned upon by homemade jam enthusiasts, but contrary to belief, it’s not a bad thing. Without pectin, strawberry jam needs to be cooked much longer to start gelling, and it might not always succeed. In turn, you risk over-cooking the fruit and losing that gorgeous berry colour. If you feel more comfortable reaching for the jam sugar or pectin powder, then by all means! I absolutely recommend it if you are a beginner; it’s more important that you use what works for you.

Now that I’ve written the word ‘pectin’ for what feels like this whole newsletter, let’s get onto the making! Before we get started, you will need to pop a small plate or lid in the freezer for later. You will also need to sterilise your jars:

How can I sterilise my jars?

There are two ways you can do this - boil them in a saucepan of boiling water for around 10 minutes, then set aside to drain, dry and cool. Alternatively, wash the jars in hot soapy water, rinse, then place them in an oven at 120C/250F for 10 minutes. Let them cool before filling.

For this first recipe, we are going to use equal amounts of fruit to sugar. As I am using strawberries, I have also decided to use jam sugar and lemon juice to boost the ‘set’ and thickness of the jam. For the sake of testing, I halved the recipe and it worked perfectly (I’d say this is easier to do with the 1:1 ratio).

Classic Strawberry Jam Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1kg of fresh strawberries (you can use frozen but they will hold extra water)

• Juice of 1 lemon (strained)

• 1kg of jam sugar

Method:

• Prepare your fruit - wash your strawberries and hull them (remove the tops and centre). Dry with some kitchen towel. If your strawberries are large then cut them in half, otherwise leave them whole. They will break down in the pan so if you want to keep some chunks in your jam then don’t chop them at all.

• Put the strawberries and lemon juice into a large pan. Heat for a few minutes to soften. Add the sugar and stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Be sure to scrape down the sides to prevent crystallisation.

• Once the sugar has dissolved and the liquid is clear, boil steadily on a medium heat for about 6 minutes, or until the jam has reached setting point. This will happen quicker if you halved the recipe.

• To test if the jam is at setting point, use a teaspoon to place a small amount on your cold plate/lid and leave for a minute. Push the jam with your finger - if the jam crinkles and separates without flooding back, the setting point has been reached.

• Set your pan aside to cool for 10 minutes. Spoon the jam into sterilised jars and seal with a lid. Homemade strawberry jam can keep around 3-6 months in the fridge once opened, but it’s best to consume it as soon as possible. Un-opened jam can last up to a year or longer if stored in a cool, dry place away from light. However, the flavour and texture will start to decline after about six months.

I kept my strawberry jam in the fridge and used it to make homemade jam tarts with some leftover shortcrust pastry; a nostalgic lunchbox treat!

This second recipe is an example of the 60% - 70% sugar rule. It’s very much autumn in the UK now, leaning into winter; so it seems appropriate to make a lovely berry jam! This time around, we are ditching the jam sugar and using granulated with a combination of lemon juice and slightly un-ripe berries to encourage the ‘set’. If you are using berries picked straight from the bramble they can be sharper than shop-bought, so be sure to taste your berries first and adjust the amount of sugar accordingly!

Blackberry Jam Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 500g fresh blackberries

• 2 tablespoons (40ml) of lemon juice (strained)

• 375g granulated sugar

Method:

• Prepare your fruit - wash your blackberries and dry them with some kitchen towel. Cut them into halves.

• Put the blackberries and lemon juice into a large pan. Heat for a few minutes until they start to soften. If you prefer seedless jam, you can push the fruit through a sieve with the back of a spoon to remove the seeds. If you’re struggling to break them down then use a masher to crush them in the pan before straining. Be sure to complete this step before adding the sugar.

• Add the sugar and stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Scrape down the sides to prevent crystallisation.

• Once the sugar has dissolved and the liquid is clear, boil steadily on a medium heat for about 6 minutes, or until the jam has reached setting point.

• To test if the jam is at setting point, use a teaspoon to place a small amount on your cold plate/lid and leave for a minute. Push the jam with your finger - if the jam crinkles and separates without flooding back, the setting point has been reached.

• Set your pan aside to cool for 10 minutes. Spoon the jam into sterilised jars and seal with a lid. Store in a cool, dry place, away from direct light and transfer to the fridge once opened.

When I think about curd, I’m immediately taken back to my childhood when lemon curd was a cupboard staple in most households; the British food revival of the 90s and 00s saw a modest lemon curd resurgence. People keep a similar attitude towards curd as they do Marmite - you either loved it or couldn’t stand it. My dad had a preference towards thick-cut citrus marmalade and naturally, I grew up with sweet spreads on toast and even in sandwiches! A common misconception about fruit curd is that it’s a preserve like jams and marmalade because you buy it from the same shelf, but this is not strictly true. A curd differs from all other types of preserves because it contains butter and eggs, giving it a texture more similar to custard. Where jam uses whole fruit, curd uses fruit in a juice or pureed form. Butter and sugar are used to create an ‘emulsion’ with eggs, which brings together the fat in the butter with the water in the eggs, resulting in a thick, luscious curd.

What can I use curd for?

• A filling in pies and tarts

• Mixed through a no-bake cheesecake

• Mixed through softened ice cream to make a ‘swirl’ ice cream, e.g. blackberry swirl

• On toast, crumpets, pancakes or scones

• Stirred into porridge

• To top pavlova

• A spread in a layer cake

Tips for making curd:

Strain out seeds - if you are using fruit like blackberries or raspberries, make sure to strain the seeds out of the puree first. This step is particularly important if you are blitzing the whole fruit yourself as opposed to buying a ready-made puree. We want the curd to be smooth in texture, unlike jam where you might prefer to keep the seeds and/or pieces of fruit.

Concentrate the puree - whether you are blitzing your own fruit or using a shop-bought one, I recommend simmering the puree in a pan for around 10 minutes until very thick. This removes any excess water, resulting in a thicker curd. I advise this step especially if using a defrosted puree from your freezer.

Whisk immediately - whisk immediately when adding the eggs as the mixture will still be a little warm at this stage, so to prevent cooking the eggs whisk them straight away on contact.

Don’t stop stirring - once the puree is ready, the curd will only take 5-10 minutes to thicken; you must keep stirring/whisking throughout this time to ensure the eggs don’t scramble and to prevent the mixture from sticking and burning on the bottom of the pan. This step means it’s crucial to have all your ‘mise en place’ ready before starting the recipe.

Strain the finished curd - once it’s finished, press your mixture through a sieve or strainer to ensure any lumps, stray seeds or bits of cooked egg are removed.

Sadly I am currently without a blender for this particular recipe; however, I thought this would be a great opportunity to take you back to my deli days and share with you a mango curd I tried for a friend’s birthday cake. The cake in question actually broke on me and to be quite honest, I don’t know what I was expecting, attempting to stack three sponges the first time I ever made a round cake! The mango curd, on the other hand, was absolutely delicious and just shouted summer. I recommend using ripe mango for this recipe (if you smell the stalk end it should have a strong fruity smell).

Mango Curd Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of mango puree (use ready-made or blitz fresh mango; 1 large mango = 1 cup of puree)

• 1/2 cup of granulated sugar (or caster if you don’t have granulated)

• 2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice

• 2 large whole eggs

• 2 egg yolks (separate the whites and keep them in your fridge for meringue or coconut macaroons!)

• 115g unsalted butter (cut into small cubes and keep cold)

Method:

• If using fresh mango, remove the skin and cut the fruit into smaller chunks. Put the fruit into a blender or food processor and blitz until smooth. Push it through a sieve so you know there are no lumps.

• In a heavy-based pan, simmer the mango puree on a low heat until the mixture thickens and there is no excess water.

• Add in the sugar, lemon juice, eggs and egg yolks and whisk continuously. Keep stirring over a low to medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.

• Now start adding the cubed butter to the mixture, 3-4 small cubes at a time and stir each one in with a spatula until it’s fully incorporated, before adding the next lot.

• Once all the butter has been added, continue stirring and cooking the mixture for a few minutes until it begins to thicken. Focus on the centre of the pan and go around the outside with your spatula every now and then to prevent the mixture from sticking and burning. Once thick, it should coat the back of the spatula - draw a line through it with your finger, it shouldn’t run and that’s when you know it’s ready. Alternatively, it should leave a thick coating on the side of your pan when you tilt it.

• Remove from the heat and pour the curd into sterilised preserving jars. It will keep in the fridge unopened for 10-14 days. Once open you should use it within a week. You can also freeze it for up to three months - defrost in the fridge overnight.

Whether you are looking to progress onto a career in the professional world, widen your skillset at home, or just want to be able to whip up a show-stopping cake on a whim, these basics will provide you with a solid foundation and can be used across many recipes. I named this list, ‘The Baker’s Toolkit’.

Below are some recommended skills you should aim to master:

• Jam and fruit curd (a foolproof jam recipe can be used in a variety of bakes)

• Custard (a basic vanilla custard, and a crème patisserie or crème ‘pat’ for short)

• Caramel

• Buttercream (e.g. Swiss, French, Italian, etc)

• Ganache (chocolate ganache can be used as a filling, dip, frosting, or layer in a cake)

• Meringue (meringues can be used as decoration, for topping pies, making pavlova, and as a base for macarons)

• Different types of cake (e.g. Genoise, Sponge cake, Chiffon, Flourless, Pound cake, etc)

• Shortcrust pastry (learning a good pie crust is essential for many recipes)

• Lamination (e.g. puff pastry or croissant dough; challenging and time-consuming, but a good step up if you have already mastered shortcrust)

• A bake that has a setting element (e.g. a custard tart)

To gain an understanding of yeasted doughs and starters:

• A basic pizza dough/flatbread

• Focaccia (a forgiving dough and a good intro to higher hydration)

• A white ‘sandwich’ loaf

• Sourdough

• A multigrain or rye bread (grains can be utilised in many recipes for flavour and texture)

Enriched doughs are yeasted doughs with the addition of butter, eggs and sugar. Some are shaped or rolled before baking and often filled with sweet ingredients such as chocolate, cinnamon or dried fruit. Therefore I recommend attempting the following:

• A bake that requires braiding (e.g. babka or challah)

• A bake that is rolled or shaped (e.g. cinnamon buns or brioche rolls)

Bakers may also want to develop some decorating skills such as piping, though more intricate decorating is usually reserved for those who want to specialise in celebration cakes, cupcakes and iced biscuits. Pastry chefs tend to focus on desserts, sugar work and chocolate, but these areas are not ‘off-limits’ to you as a baker. In my experience, if it sparks your interest or you are presented with the opportunity to learn something new, it can’t hurt to have it under your belt. During my time working in the pastry section, I learnt an array of things I wouldn’t have if I had just stuck solely to baking. What you choose to hone in on is entirely up to you and will allow you to develop a unique set of skills. In the beginning, I recommend trying a bit of everything, but if you aren’t getting on with bread and you thrive making cakes, then run with that! It really depends on your personal goals; the Toolkit is just here to set you up with a good baseline.

In this series, I will be delving into each ‘Tool’, attempting recipes and reporting my results back to you with any discoveries or tips and tricks I learn along the way. Disclaimer, I am far from an expert! I have worked professionally in the industry for some time now but I’m constantly learning new things (and making mistakes), and after jumping ahead, I’m keen to take things back to basics and refine my skills. Some areas I have explored more than others but some still intimidate me (or catch me out - lemon tart, I’m looking at you). I’d love for you to join me on my journey to becoming an all-rounder, whether you’re just starting out or you’re an avid home-baker! The beauty of the Baker’s Toolkit is that it can be moulded to all levels; Already nailed a pie crust? Let’s do a latticed top! Recipes can be upgraded to incorporate more advanced and interesting flavour pairings or techniques. In the words of my old head pastry chef, “we are never done”. And of course, if anyone’s out here reading this and thinking there’s something I’ve missed, I’m all ears!

For those who are fresh to the tent, there are some fundamentals every baker should know. Bakers must understand the science behind their baked goods and how ingredients work with each other. Getting the right ratios is crucial, and a skill you will learn as you become more familiar with the role each ingredient has. Bakers may also have to scale recipes up or down depending on the quantity needed, so they’ll need to know baking math. Sometimes you will have to wing it, with varying results - but it’s all part of the process! As you become more confident, you will be able to follow a recipe more loosely and make adjustments knowing that the outcome will be a positive one. There’s a lot to it and it can be a little overwhelming, but it does get easier. Here are some tips to get you started:

Mise En Place - One of the first terms I learnt in the kitchen was “mise en place”, a French term that means “everything in its place”. Each day we would write an ‘MEP’ list on the whiteboard (basically a list of all the prep we needed to do). The concept of mise en place is to have everything ready to go when it’s time to cook, bake, or for the start of service. In the industry, time is often of the essence; smart bakers and chefs begin with this step so that they’re not wasting time chopping, measuring, or hunting for an ingredient once they’re in the process. Start by reading through the recipe carefully, and gather all the equipment and ingredients you will need. Take anything out of the fridge that needs to be at ‘room temperature’, you may need to do this an hour or so before you intend to bake, or overnight. Measure all your ingredients before you start and put them in separate bowls so you can grab them when you need them. Wash and chop any savoury ingredients you will need, same with nuts or chocolate.

By having all your prep ready to go and your workspace organised, you can focus on the recipe at hand and make sure any time-sensitive steps are carried out properly. Some recipes will require you to stir continuously or bring a mix to a certain temperature, in which case you need to stay at your workstation and have the right utensils close by. This also prevents you from forgetting any ingredients and promotes a smoother baking process.

Measuring and Converting Recipes - People are often surprised that baking includes a decent amount of math and science. Often when you read through a recipe and check what ingredients you need, you will have to stop to translate measurements. Bakers will often convert from volumes such as spoons and cups, into weights such as grams. I come across this a lot with recipes that people have posted online; luckily we are in the day and age now where it’s really easy to convert measurements on Google without having to do a lot of work, but you should use a reliable website. Also, be wary that the weight of a liquid may be different in a cup than a dry ingredient - don’t just put “What is a cup in grams?”.

Proper measuring is vital and people usually prefer to work in grams because it’s considered more accurate - bakers consider it faster and also more simple because you deal with round numbers as opposed to halves, quarters and thirds. Always use a digital scale for precision and don’t forget to ‘Tare’ your scale back to zero before weighing your next ingredient. If you are measuring by volume, spoon your flour and sugars into a measuring cup rather than scooping them out with a cup, then level it out with a butter knife; many recipes will call for “packed sugar”. When doubling a recipe or scaling up, check your math - you may need to reduce the amount of leavening ingredients. Also, remember to adjust the baking time!

Be Mindful of ‘Carry-over Cooking’ - whatever you are baking will continue to bake once it comes out of the oven due to residual heat coming from the pan/tin. If it’s done in the oven then it will potentially be overdone on the plate. Cakes should be cooked just until a butter knife comes out clean; remove the tin as soon as it feels cool enough and then leave the sponge to continue cooling on a wire rack so that the heat can escape quicker. Custard tarts carry on setting after cooking so be sure to turn the oven off a little earlier when it still has a slight wobble.

Hospitality in the UK was not opening again for a couple more months but I saw an advert for a shop assistant in a new deli that was opening close to my home. The deli had a cafe in the back, selling filled sandwiches, cakes, salads and coffee. I began helping the owner making a variety of sweet and savoury goods, such as quiches, frittata, cookies and muffins. I quickly developed an interest in baking and over time she let me have free reign over the cake counter; using ingredients from the dry store, I was allowed to pick a recipe from her stack of cookbooks or one I found online, and if it sold then I could make it again!

Trust me when I say there were some questionable looking pastry bases and under-baked cakes; the first time I tried cookies they all spread flat across the tray and stuck to each other. I distinctly remember the time I attempted a lemon meringue pie, the pie crust was a little cracked but the curd part was actually successful and tasted delicious; I let it set in the fridge overnight and made the meringue the next morning. I had no idea there were different ways to cook meringue and after topping the pie I put it in the oven. After some time I noticed the meringue had gone brown on the outside, but it was still raw and the curd was melting! I re-read the recipe and discovered I was supposed to blow-torch the meringue. It was at that point I said I should never become a dessert chef (funny, because future me went on to be a pastry demi for almost a year).

I consider myself very lucky to have had that experience in the deli because it helped me uncover an unlikely passion and I am forever grateful to the person who gave me the freedom to be creative and learn from my mistakes (this is a love letter to you, Hannah). I don’t come from a ‘foodie’ household and cooking doesn’t come naturally to me, so I’d never have guessed that I’d now be somewhat decent at baking. As I mentioned above, there were a lot of sub-par bakes in the beginning, especially when I attempted a recipe for the first time; but with trial and error, I improved, and I eventually moved on and applied for my first baking role! The rest is history.

The only issue with my unconventional route is that I actually jumped to making more technical things without learning some of the basics. When I moved to London I was hired as a baker for a top restaurant and I had to learn how to make sourdough - and fast. My first job in a professional kitchen was intense to say the least, made even more intense by the fact I had to figure out how to handle this dough that was sticking to everything, understand every possible variable that could effect its development, and put out something that was of high standard (not just edible). I was out of my depth.. and I hated it, and I wanted to quit, told myself I was never going to be a good baker; I was just girl from Cornwall who prior to this job, had only made brownies, who was I kidding? It pushed me out of my comfort zone and I learnt a lot physically (and mentally); but it also highlighted to me how little I knew and how far I had yet to go.

I decided from that point that I needed to work backwards, to go ‘back to basics’ and fill in the gaps. I wrote a list of the things that, in my opinion, most bakers should be able to make - skills that are transferrable across many recipes and can be pulled out the bag at any time. I will go into more depth about the list in my next letter, but for reference, this is my current personal project; working on areas of weakness to become a better baker. This brings me onto a recipe I attempted recently, the lemon tart. Lemon tart, taken at face value, is a pretty simple recipe right? Or so I thought. Sometimes the ‘easy’ recipes can actually be more technical than they seem. They have to be executed well because there is nowhere to hide (something I learnt in my kitchen days). With the lemon tart, you need an excellent base. A well-baked shortcrust pastry, not too thick, no soggy bottom and no cracks. The filling must be well mixed, and baking time for the custard is crucial.

The first time I tried this recipe I used a 27cm tin - it called for 20cm but I thought I could adapt and guess the ratios for an extra half recipe of filling. I will never know if I was correct or not because it wouldn’t cook! The tart was in the oven for 40 minutes and the filling was still liquid; I ended up throwing it away assuming I’d messed up the amount of egg yolks to lemon juice and cream. It wasn’t until a week later when I re-read the recipe and found out I’d forgotten to include a vital ingredient.. Four whole eggs! How did I manage to miss that?! Laughing to myself, I weighed out everything for attempt two. I thought I’d nail it this time; and when it came out of the oven it did look promising in all its yellow glory. I left it to cool down on the side, and I was horrified when I came back some time later, to see a large crack had appeared in the centre and the custard filling was coming away from the crust!

I have been working in the industry now for nearly four years and I have come a long way since my days in the deli, but every now and then I get handed a dose of humble pie (in this case, tart) and I love it! It keeps me grounded and reminds me that I am still a small fish in the baking world (and that maybe I should just avoid lemons).

I always thought I was going to be an artist, and for the first quarter of my life, that was pretty much my reality. I would draw every chance I got during lessons, after school, hanging out with my friends. I studied Art and Design at A-level and then went on to do a foundation diploma before starting a degree in Illustration. I knew nothing else except art, and I had no idea what else I was good at, so onwards I went. Until after university when I found myself, like most, stuck. I had no plan for afterwards; I had been doing art my whole life, and I believed that was my direction. I wanted to make money from my abilities, but I didn’t have the confidence or belief in myself to ask for enough when people would commission me. Unknowingly to me at the time, uni had killed my passion for drawing. Suddenly, there was this pressure that everything I did in my sketchbook had to be perfect and ‘insta-worthy’; I had to be creating for a reason and I “had to get a job in illustration” because that’s the path I had chosen. Art no longer felt like it was for me and it was overwhelming.

This is not an anti-uni post; I really enjoyed my experience. But now after 3-4 years of baking, I wish I had started sooner. In hindsight, if I’d known I’d had somewhat a ‘knack’ for baking, I could have gone to pastry or culinary school when I was younger. But to be honest, I like my unconventional route; the way I discovered baking and the jobs I have ended up in along the way, have provided me with a unique set of skills and invaluable experiences that studying alone cannot give you. Again, if someone handed me the money tomorrow to go to Le Cordon Bleu or Leith's, I'd probably jump at the chance! But there's also something to be said about the trial and error of baking at home. I owe a lot to bakers, cooks and development chefs for sharing their personal recipes online; they have tried and tested (and failed) their products at home, and have carefully adjusted the ratios and temperatures to take a lot of the work out for us. It means that baking is now completely accessible to people of all skill level! A lot of my learning in the early days (and still to this day) came from following these recipes, making mistakes, figuring out what I did wrong, and then trying again. I absolutely fell in love with the process.

Baking ticks a lot of boxes for me; it taps into the part of me that is a perfectionist the same way illustration did, but in a more positive manner. I still want things to look refined and sometimes it can be frustrating to mess up a recipe. But I've come to realize that this is more about wanting validation from others and having an aesthetically pleasing picture to post online. Once I’m aware of that, I’m free to evaluate where I went wrong and what I can improve next time I attempt the recipe. I can recognize areas I executed well, like the taste or texture for example. With illustration, the need to create something perfect would hold me back; I thought if it wasn't good enough to post, “what’s the point?”. I loved drawing but I unfortunately reached a stage where I wasn't doing it for myself anymore and there was always this pressure over it, it couldn't come naturally.

The perfectionism is still there with baking because it’s part of my personality, but it gives me so much more. It challenges me to become better, to strive for more and to really get to know the science behind the ingredients I am using and the roles they play. It holds my interest in a way nothing else has done before. The excitement of waiting for something to come out of the oven - waiting for the big reveal (or big flop). Nothing else will have me sat on the kitchen floor, peeking through the glass every few minutes in anticipation.

Alongside the process and problem-solving, a huge part of it for me is how much there is to discover. I think regardless of whether you’re a beginner at home or you’ve been in the industry for years, you’re never done. A lot of bakers and chefs I’ve worked with tell me that even after several years they are always learning something new.

I guess what I am trying to say is that no matter your background, what you believe you ‘wanted to do’ or ‘had to do’, you are not stuck; you can change your mind at any point and choose an entirely different path for yourself. It’s fine to abandon something even if you have spent 15 years on it - and it’s amazing we have that option; I believe one day I will pick up my pens again. My path has not been linear and I did not start baking in a traditional way, but I’m so grateful I fell into it because it has been so fulfilling. And if you weren't already sold, there is nothing more satisfying than taking your own homemade bagels to work for breakfast!

This is one of my favourite things to make at home and between you and I, I purposely buy bananas to ‘accidentally’ forget about them, just so I can make a loaf. It’s one of those classic recipes that you start to know by heart, just like chocolate chip cookies or a good pie crust. On the spectrum of banana breads I’d say this is more on the cake side than the loaf-you-can-butter side; but it still makes for a great breakfast snack or a tasty afternoon treat with a cup of tea. I like to add dark chocolate into my loaf as I find it adds a nice contrast to the sweetness of the banana. You can use a high percentage of dark chocolate for a more bitter flavour (I use at least 60%). If dark chocolate is a bit rich for you, you can simply add more walnuts or opt for a plain banana bread - it will still be delicious!

My recipe calls for two eggs; for a lighter banana bread, add each egg separately to allow that egg to mix in thoroughly before adding the next one. Once the eggs are added, don’t forget to stop and scrape the sides of your bowl. This will ensure that all the ingredients are fully incorporated and nothing is left behind. Then once the flour is added, be careful not to over-mix your batter! The more that you mix your batter, the more gluten is developing - which is great for a yeast-risen, chewy loaf, but not so much when you’re hoping for something more light and fluffy. An over-mixed banana bread batter will result in a dense, rubbery loaf. If you are using a machine, it’s better to stop after you have added the eggs and fold in the flour with a spatula or wooden spoon until it’s just combined.

This recipe uses more mashed bananas than most. I prefer to use three bananas instead of two because I personally think it adds more moisture and more flavour to the finished loaf, but it depends how big on bananas you are. More banana does mean a slightly denser outcome, but I can assure you it will still be tender and soft; and the loaf stays moist for days!

Ingredients:

• 140g unsalted butter (plus extra for greasing the tin)

• 140g caster sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 140g self-raising flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 3 very ripe bananas (for mega banana flavour), mashed

• 50g chopped walnuts (or broken up in your hands for more chunky pieces)

• 100g dark chocolate (chopped up roughly - chocolate chips are also fine to use if you prefer just a touch of chocolate)

• 50g icing sugar (optional, for decoration)

• Handful of dried banana chips (optional, for decoration)

Method:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.

• Butter or grease a 2lb loaf tin and line the base and sides with baking parchment.

• Cream 140g softened butter and 140g caster sugar until light and fluffy. I like to do this step with an electric hand-whisk until it’s a pale cream/white colour. Try to take your butter out of the fridge for at least an hour so it has time to soften; if your butter is still too hard then you can microwave it for small intervals (10-20 seconds at a time).

• Slowly mix in one egg at a time, followed by a little of the 140g flour.

• Fold in the remaining flour with 1tsp baking powder, and 3 mashed bananas until just combined.

• Finally add the chopped walnuts and dark chocolate and fold in gently until incorporated throughout.

• Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for about 50 minutes, or until cooked through. Check the loaf at 5 minute intervals but only after 30-40 minutes. You can test it with a cake skewer or a small knife (it should be able to be inserted and removed cleanly with no visible mixture).

• Cool in the tin for at least 10 minutes and then remove and place onto a wire cooling rack.

For Decoration:

• Mix 50g icing sugar with 2-3 tsp water to make a runny icing. Make sure you sieve your icing sugar to ensure there are no lumps!

• Drizzle the icing across the top of the cake and decorate with a handful of banana chips.

Alternatively, for a more rustic look, you can slice a whole banana down the middle and place half across the top of your cake. Please note, you can only do this after the first 30 mins of baking or it will fall through the batter and disappear (speaking from experience)!

Top tip: If like me, you are using a fan oven and it tends to get quite hot, I like to cover my loaf with foil for the second half of the baking time. This will stop your loaf from getting too brown on top before it has had chance to cook properly in the middle.