pay rate for bread baker

[sugarseattle]

I'm getting ready to open a retail bakery and I've realized I can't quite make the baguette of my dreams. My bakery will specialize in desserts and breakfast pastries, but we will also offer pre-made sandwiches and salads. Breads are not going to be our mainstay, but we'd like to at least produce them ourselves. I can probably get the hang of it sooner or later, I'd just feel more comfortable with somebody with a little more experience.

Ideally, I would like to hire someone proficient in making artisan breads, croissants, and brioche. My question is how much would they expect to earn? Also, since we will be very small at first, this person will also likely help with various prep items and such, just to flesh out their hours.

I'm located in Seattle, WA. If you'd like to be confidential about your answer, please feel free to PM me and I will keep your answer in strict confidence for my reference only. Thanks.

Edited July 23, 2007 by sugarseattle (log)

[artisanbaker]

depending on how great of an opportunity it is to work at your establishment, the skill level you are looking for, advancement opportunities, and other variables...

15-21/hr

in my opinion

[tan319]

I'm getting ready to open a retail bakery and I've realized I can't quite make the baguette of my dreams. My bakery will specialize in desserts and breakfast pastries, but we will also offer pre-made sandwiches and salads. Breads are not going to be our mainstay, but we'd like to at least produce them ourselves. I can probably get the hang of it sooner or later, I'd just feel more comfortable with somebody with a little more experience.

Ideally, I would like to hire someone proficient in making artisan breads, croissants, and brioche. My question is how much would they expect to earn? Also, since we will be very small at first, this person will also likely help with various prep items and such, just to flesh out their hours.

I'm located in Seattle, WA. If you'd like to be confidential about your answer, please feel free to PM me and I will keep your answer in strict confidence for my reference only. Thanks.

←

I agree with Artisan Baker and I would also think it would behoove you to get them in & out, lest your bottom line bulge.

I was just at an establishment that baked their their own brioche, burger-ish buns, etc. for a fairly large volume,250+ a day, most biz at lunch, and it is a hard road to hoe.

Should the breads be a separate department for P&L purposes? "Sold" to the main store?

Our bread came out of the pastry department and we would get questioned a lot about costs, mainly labor.

If the acct set it up so they were buying the bread FROM us they would have seen their savings sooner.

Do you have a sheeter?

Without a sheeter it can get involve a lot of labor fast, especially if say, your croissants start to fly out the door.

Not trying to be a naysayer, just that I've seen the movie before and it can screw heads up fast.

My two cents.

[sugarseattle]

i'm definitely starting to understand that making bread is very labor intensive, and since it involves a lot of waiting around, there has to be a certain volume to break even at it. yes, we will have a sheeter. my back thanks me for that addition to the bakery.

I definitely think breadmaking is an advanced skill, worthy of a few extra bucks, but I have also been seriously toying with purchasing the bread from another bakery because it might save me the hassle of worrying about the bread every day. However, after thinking about potentially adding pre-ordered box lunches to our menus, the ordering turnaround time might be tricky vs. being able to bake a few extra baguettes in the morning if we get a bunch of extra orders.

Hmmm...

[tan319]

One other thing to consider, and I sincerely hope you don't take this the wrong way, is don't bite off more then you can chew.

I see this screw up so many people and they're burned out before they know it.

Being able to bake a few extra baguettes X maybe a rest. account or two you pick up because they love your stuff but they forgot to fax or email or phone message the order the night before and now they're on the phone wondering where their stuff is plus one or two people were no shows in the fabrication department and you could quickly be screwed.

Buy the bread until you see what the demand is like, if you can handle it, and use the sheeter for some nice crossiant, pain au chocolat, etc.

Best of luck

[SundaySous]

No real experience with this but I wonder if pre made frozen dough from a wholesale bakery is an option? Frozen loaves and buns. Thinking along the lines of cost and time savings until you could develop demand and your own skill set.

I've heard the argument here order fresh and frozen. On the day you get swamped you have the frozen to fall back on. I'm thinking ideal if you have excess freezer space.

Mind you I'm talking about Chicago. Plenty of competition for wholesale bakeries who operate on razor thin margins. Be interesting to see what you find out there in Seattle.

[tan319]

Bread is always razor thin margin, it seems to me.

If you're main thing is going to be a Pierre Herme' type of patisserie ( I like those kind of display case's too) then be more of that unless you have the persons, budget, and space to devote to the bread thing.