thumb|The Baker (); [[oil-on-canvas painting by Job Adriaensz Berckheyde (1630–1693) now held by the Worcester Art Museum.]]
A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery.
History
Ancient history
Since grains have been a staple food for millennia, the activity of baking is a very old one. Control of yeast, however, is relatively recent. By the fifth and sixth centuries BCE, the ancient Greeks used enclosed ovens heated by wood fires; communities usually baked bread in a large communal oven.
In ancient Rome several centuries later, the first mass production of breads occurred, and "the baking profession can be said to have started at that time." Large households in Rome normally had their own bakers. During those times, most of the people used to bake their own bread but bakeries (pistrina) were popular all over the towns.
The Gauls are credited with discovering that the addition of beer froth to bread dough made well-leavened bread, marking the use of controlled yeast for bread dough.
Medieval Europe
thumb|A medieval baker and his apprentice
In Medieval Europe, baking ovens were often separated from other buildings (and sometimes located outside city walls) to mitigate the risk of fire. Soon after the enactment of the Assize, "baking became a very stable industry, and was executed much more professionally than brewing, resulting in towns and villages having fewer bakers than brewers." A fraternity of bakers in London existed as early as 1155, according to records of payments to the Exchequer; the Worshipful Company of Bakers was formed by charters dated 1486, 1569, and 1685. The guild still exists today, with mostly ceremonial and charitable functions. Five bakers have served as lord mayor of London.
A group of bakers is called a "tabernacle".
Ming dynasty China
In Ming dynasty China, bakers were divided into different social statuses according to their customers. Bakers were among the thousands of servants who served in the Ming Palace, including recruited cooks, imperial eunuchs, and trained serving-women (Shangshiju). Bakers often joined the occupation through apprenticeship, or by being born into a family of bakers.
Within bakeries, traditional patriarchal hierarchy controlled. For the family-owned bakery, the eldest male figure (usually the father) in the highest position of the hierarchy. For example, in Feng Menglong's story, when Mr. Bo went out looking for the family's lost silver, his wife was ordered to take care of the bakery. The Ming-era painter Qiu Ying's work Along the River During the Qingming Festival shows food stores alongside the street and peddlers who are selling food along the streets.
The Ming work Ming Dai Tong Su Ri Yong Lei Shu, which records techniques and items needed in Ming daily life, devotes a full chapter to culinary skills, including the preparation of pancakes and other types of cakes.
The work The Plum in the Golden Vase mentions baozi (steam bun).
Columbian Exchange
The Columbian Exchange, which began in 1492, had a profound influence on the baking occupation. This occupation was less common than cloth manufacturer and tavern/public house worker, but more common than cotton spinner, merchant, calico printer, or grocer. The legislation was soon replicated in other states. Joseph Lochner, a bakery owner in Utica, New York, was subsequently convicted of violating the law for forcing his employees to work more than sixty hours a week. He appealed his case to the U.S. Supreme Court, which decided, in the highly influential case of Lochner v. New York (1905), over a dissent from Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, that the labor law violated a constitutional right to "freedom of contract". This case marked the beginning of a "pro-employer, laissez-faire" era, later known as the Lochner era, which "would cast a long shadow over American law, society, and politics" until the late 1930s, when Lochner was repudiated.
In religion
Christianity
The first bakeries emerged in Jerusalem, after contact with the Egyptians, from whom the Hebrews learned better manufacturing techniques and obtained the recipe. A short time later, there was already a famous bakers' street in the city.
thumb| Bread of [[Eucharist in the Churches of the East (Prosphorus). Unlike Catholic hosts, this is leavened bread.]]
The prophet Elisha, then Jesus, performed the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves.
The bread is at the center of the Christian Eucharist; it is "sacramental bread", "singing bread", or "angel's bread". Jesus defines himself as "the bread of life" (John 6:35). Divine "grace" is called "the bread of the strong" and preaching, religious teaching, "the bread of the word of God". In Hebrew, Bethlehem means "house of bread", and Jesus was born in a city called Bread.
Roman Catholic patron saints
In Roman Catholic tradition, the patron saint of bakers and pastry chefs is Honoratus of Amiens (Honoré), a sixth-century bishop of Amiens in northern France for whom the St. Honoré cake is named. Lazarus of Bethany (Lazare) was originally a competitor to Honoré for the title of patron saint of bakers, but in the 17th century the French bakers' guild settled in favor of Honoré. Equivalent family names of occupational origin meaning "baker" exist in other languages: Boulanger, Bulinger, Dufour, and Fournier in French, Bäcker or Becker in German, and Piekarz in Polish.
Bakers encounter a number of occupational hazards. OOH reports that bakeries, "especially large manufacturing facilities, are filled with potential dangers such as hot ovens, mixing machines, and dough cutters. As a result, bakers have a higher rate of injuries and illnesses than the national average. Although their work is generally safe, bakers may endure back strains caused by lifting or moving heavy bags of flour or other products. Other common risks include cuts, scrapes, and burns. To reduce these risks, bakers often wear back supports, aprons, and gloves."
Comparison with pastry chef
Both bakers and pastry chefs make desserts and breads. In some restaurants and shops, a single individual serves in both roles. In other environments, there is a distinction between the two positions, with bakers making breads, rolls, and muffins, and pastry chefs making desserts, such as cakes, pies, tarts, and cookies. Even when both bakers and pastry chefs work in the same place, however, there may be overlap.
Equipment
thumb|A [[rolling pin is used to work dough.]]
A variety of equipment is used by bakers, including:
- Baker's peel – A large, flat paddle, either wood or metal, used to slide loaves into and out of an oven
- Rolling pin – A tool used to roll and flatten dough