Bakers bake loaves of bread and all kinds of cakes and pastries, as well as rolls and fancy breads.

The trade of baking is one of the oldest trades in the world, with archaeological diggings in Egypt dating bakeries to 6000 BC. Bakers work to produce one of the most basic commodities in Western civilisaton – bread. While bakers work primarily with flour, bakeries will also stock a wide range of other ingredients which they use to create meat pies, sausage rolls, cakes, scones, lamingtons, custard tarts, apple turnovers, danishes, doughnuts, damper, foccacia, and many more pastry treats. Although a lot of bread is made by hand, some machinery may be used in preparing and mixing bread and pastry doughs and cake mixes.

As the demand for freshly baked bread is high, bakers are required to work late at night or early in the morning.

A typical day for a baker may include some of the following tasks:

• check the quality of raw materials
• carefully weigh the ingredients
• mix and knead dough by hand or machine,
• place the dough in tins or trays
• load tins or trays into ovens,
• monitor oven temperatures and bread appearance
• when the bread is baked, turn out and cool
• glaze or decorate cakes and pastries with icing or cream
• serve customers

Bakers undertake a four year apprenticeship, part of which includes some TAFE schooling.