How Long is Baking and Pastry Arts School?
Today, many fields require some form of certification. This rule also applies to the food industry. So if you wish to become a pastry chef, you'll have to attend a baking and pastry school to earn the degree required to be considered a professional baker. Let's take a look at what attending a baking and pastry arts school entails.
There are a range of baking classes that you can take to learn about the pastry industry and how it operates. These classes are available at a variety of institutions, including culinary schools, community colleges, and four-year schools. Attending the classes will give you a deeper understanding of the minute details related to baking, including decoration principles, how to make use of baking tools, the sanitation practices to follow at your bakery, and how to choose the ingredients. There are several categories of baking courses, such as:
Introduction to Baking
This is the essential preliminary course for beginning bakers. You could learn the basics of baking, including how to measure and mix ingredients. Also, you might see demonstrations and learn basic safety rules for the kitchen. In addition to all this, you should learn about the preliminaries of setting up a baking business and the types of jobs available to bakers and pastry chefs.
Specialty Baking
This course is for those who are looking to carve out a specialty in the baking market. The specialty can be for birthday cakes, wedding cakes, or any other special occasions. You could learn about creating more complex cake structures, as well as the use of special ingredients and other techniques to put a unique spin on each cake.
Cake Decoration
This is a subset of baking focused on providing the toppings and extra material to a standard cake. Techniques include airbrushing, molding, sculpting, how to create the right color and texture for the surface of the cake, and how to make use of decorations to give each cake its own appeal. Decorations could include rolled fondant, French butter cream, pastillage, and pressed sugar, among others.
Advanced Baking
This is for people who have experience in the baking field, and wish to take their skills to the next level. You will be introduced to a much wider range of batter and icing techniques. You could learn how to prepare multi-batter and multi-layer cakes, as well as advanced techniques for cake construction.
The Value of a Diploma
Some students who are new to the industry question the point of studying for several years to get a diploma in baking instead of starting work in a small shop and working their way up. However, this type of thinking does not take into account that working in a shop will only allow you to learn a limited amount about the types and techniques of baking. This is the same basic level of expertise that every other small shop baker has, and will not allow you to learn a specialty or graduate to baking more difficult pastries unless you keep working there for a very long time.
Getting a diploma, on the other hand, is an official confirmation that you have learnt from experts and possess specialized baking knowledge. Many of the bigger baking shops require a diploma before considering new applicants. In the end, it is the combination of a diploma or a similar certification and practical work experience that could qualify you to work for your bakery of choice in the field.
Time Spent Learning and Training
When it comes to baking, practical experience will be an essential part of studies. This means you will not only have to study theory but also how to apply it in the kitchen.
In case you feel that the usual two to four years of study that is needed for getting a diploma in baking and pastry arts will take up too much of your time, there is also the option of partaking in an accelerated program. Such a program is designed to transfer the maximum knowledge and training to students over the shortest time period.
In an accelerated program, you can take classes year-round and focus on your baking. Accelerated classes also tend to be geared toward working adults, so fitting in a job or other obligations are no issue. You could still earn the diploma and the certification, but the time taken in completing the course will be significantly reduced. You could earn your diploma in as little as 10 months.
Are you interested in earning your baking and pastry arts diploma and doing it at an accelerated pace? If you'd like more information about ECPI University's Diploma in Baking and Pastry Arts, be sure to contact an admissions advisor today. With ECPI University's accelerated format, you could graduate sooner and start baking professionally faster.
It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!
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