Tuesday
Apr072009
The Night Kitchen: The Secret Lives of Early Morning Bakers
Tuesday, April 7, 2009 
The idea of a baker's life has always been quietly romantic to me: waking up before dawn, firing up the ovens, and living some sort of secret life that goes on while most of us are still sleeping. As an avid sweet-seeker it's always a strange yet compelling thought to me that by the time I go in to a bakery in the morning, there have already been hours invested in stocking the case from which I am choosing between scones, biscuits and cakes.
So when Dan, the lead baker at the Eastlake Grand Central Bakery, invited me to bake alongside him one Sunday morning, I jumped enthusiastically at the chance. A few days before our planned baking rendez-vous he sent me a list of what we'd be baking that day, along with a note that he would see me at 4.30 a.m. Was he joking? No, he was not joking. And so I went to bed early with sweet dreams of the baking adventures ahead.
So, are you curious about the life of a baker? Here's a peek of the experience, with apologies if my times are slightly off in some cases--it was, after all, very early.
3:47 a.m. The alarm goes off. I had set it for 3.47 because it seemed slightly less cruel than 3.45. I turn it off and promptly fall back asleep.
3:49 a.m. The backup alarm I'd set, in case I went back to sleep, goes off. I get up and shower, pin back my hair and put on my apron.
4.15 a.m. I drive over to Grand Central's Eastlake location. It's raining, and there are few other cars on the road. Along the way, I see a couple walking into an apartment building, wearing last night's clothes. It's strange to witness this unique pocket of time where late and early overlap.
4:30 a.m. I arrive right on time, and Dan's already there. He rode his bike, bless his soul. He makes me a latte (double bless his soul!) and shows me around. I ask if it is nerdy that I brought my own apron; he casually pulls out his chef hat. Clearly, I am in good company.
4:50 a.m. We get to work. Now, here's where things get tricky. You see, Grand Central offers a variety of different types of baked goods, which require various attentions and prepping. Some things, like the biscuits and scones, are mixed and made directly before baking; some items have been handmade in advance and come from the freezer to be baked; yet other items, like the cinnamon rolls, will have been left in the "proofer" so that the dough can develop to a perfect, ready-to-bake consistency. Is your brain full yet? Mine was.
Now, if it were me alone, baking all of these things would take me far longer than one morning. Luckily Baker Dan knows what he is doing, and set to alternately mixing, turning trays in the oven, applying egg washes, letting fruit soak, and a bevy of other tasks. I get to choose the scone flavor of the day. I choose cherry-almond. Boring? Maybe. But boring in a delicious way.
At one point I am allowed to indent and fill with jam my favorite Grand Central baked good, the lovely biscuit which they call a Jammer. I wonder idly when bakers pause to eat breakfast.
I lose track of time for a while. There is a lot going on, but it seems a controlled chaos. We talk comfortably about a variety of subjects while doing the morning bake, ranging from bakeries to East vs. West coast culture (we're both from the East Coast originally) to architecture (Dan is a designer) to music (I boast about Mr. Spy's band)--but it seems like more than anything, the conversation comes back to all facets of baking, from our favorite bakeries and baked goods to methods and thoughts on all manner of sweet stuff.
5:45 a.m. Every now and again, I hear a timer go off, but I cannot keep track of what's what. Baker Dan admits that sometimes he doesn't know what timer goes to which project either, but that when they go off they serve as reminders that something must be done.
6:00 a.m. Baked goods are starting to come out of the oven. They smell very, very good. As nothing is burnt, the timer trick must work!
6:30 a.m. More trays are being put in the oven and yet others are coming out, bearing steaming, golden, delicious-looking pastries. I wonder, not as idly this time, what time bakers take a break for breakfast.
7:00 a.m. Birds are singing and the morning bake seems to be winding down. The trays of baked goods are making their way to the cooling racks, and the cinnamon rolls have been put out front, the first item in an otherwise still-bare pastry case. As the final few items are being put in the oven, we glaze and put finishing touches on the pastries; I especially love applying powdered sugar to the individual bread puddings (made with leftover cinnamon rolls, yum), which Dan says should look "snowy". Delicious snow.
The talk turns to the baked goods we've been working on. Dan is excited about one of Grand Central's newest pastries, the hazelnut danish, which has an orange-infused glaze which tastes vaguely of creamsicle (shown above).
7:30 a.m. By now, some of the other employees have started to arrive, and there is a flurry of activity as the cases are loaded, coffee is made, and the first customers are starting to walk by (I think one even tried the door--eager to join the party I guess).
8:00 a.m. We take a break (so this is when bakers eat breakfast). Even having seen it all made, I am not as much tempted to try a new baked good as I am to try my old favorite, the Jammer--after all, while I've had them before, I've never had a jammer I made (or helped make) myself. We talk over baked goods for a while, and get Sam to take a picture of us. It is at this point that I realize that had an outside viewer been looking in, they might have thought I was a little baker elf assistant to the real baker--such is our height difference.
8:30 a.m. Baker Dan is back to work, starting to make cookies for the later customers and prep work for tomorrow's bake. I have a full day so am not able to stay on, but thank them all for having indulged me this time baking. Before I leave, they load me up with a box roughly the size of Rhode Island full of baked goods.
8:35 a.m. I part ways with Grand Central, entering into the sunshine and feeling like I've lived an entire secret life before the rest of the world was even awake. Having done so, do I feel like it might be the life for me? Well, as much as I love baking, I can honestly say no. Is it the hours? I suppose that is a factor, but if I am to be completely candid, I am aware that when you actually work at something professionally, it does change how you look at it--and though I adored the experience of playing the role for a day, I don't think I'd ever want to give up that magical feeling--as consumer--of walking into a bakery and seeing all of the choices, the result of someone's hard work starting long before I was even awake, just waiting for me.
8:36 a.m. I call Mr. Spy, who answers sleepily after about five rings. "Have you eaten breakfast?" I inquire. "No" he says. Have I woken the dear boy up? "Don't!" I say, and eagerly rush home with my box of sweetness.
A most sincere thanks to Dan and the rest of the lovely staff at Grand Central Baking Company for letting me have a peek of what goes on behind the scenes at their bakery! For locations and more, please visit grandcentralbakery.com.
Reader Comments (71)
Glad to have you as a baker for a day! *chants* one of us...one of us...
Man, the a.m. shift is rough. Right now I'm a 5 a.m. girl transitioning into an afternoon/evening girl, and I'm soooo happy to get away from the early mornings. Sure, it's nice to be basically done with your day by noon, but going to bed at 8 sucks, especially in the summer when it stays light.
I just had this conversation with a coworker the other day, where we were talking about places we didn't want to work at because we enjoyed going there as a customer so much. As much as I admire them, there are certainly bakeries that I don't want to ruin the magic of by going there every day and making the same (delicious) items. The other downside to being a baker is that I have pastries for breakfast every day, which can really add up. On my ass. *sigh* Now to go run off that hand pie.
Those are beautiful pastries. We don't even have a bakery in our town, so I am sooo jealous.
This was a really interesting blog and I'm looking forward to visiting Grand Central next time I'm in the Northwest.
Extremely cool! Thanks for posting about this. All the sweets just look so delicious. I don't know if I would be able to work with that aroma around me all the time. Yum!
I love Grand Central! Thanks for the insider's look.
I worked as a pastry chef for a while and my hours weren't quite so bad, but when our regular morning baker quit, I had to take over. Oye... that was hard. But on the other hand, I loved those early mornings when I had the road to myself and then the bakery. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Jessie...Thank you so much for such a sweet portrait...I´ve enjoyied it so much, even I had to have my cup of cofee to feel in place!!
Just delicious!
Wow. That all sounds amazing! I would love to one day open up a bakery and make that my routine. One day in the very distant future though. I wish it were sooner, but I cannot. :(
A good perspective and those early hours are why I would never want to work in a bakery again. :)
Great post, gives me a new appreciation. It's a lot like working third shift, isn't it.
HAPPY EASTER
I just had Easter and yet..the baklava looking one looks amazing!!Fun!
This is such an awesome post. The pictures almost make me want to be a baker, but the hours are enough to keep a night owl like me away. =) Also love the Grand Central!
I love your blog posts and surprisingly, I feel very much sinful when I see those cakes... tsk ;P
Those sticky buns look heavenly. Thanks for sharing! :)
This is an eggcellent blog post; the photodocumentary parts look particularly sinfully delicious.
I've been meaning to write an e-mail to you for awhile now, but haven't had the time. Just wanted to let you know that I've decided to take a break from psychology and instead go into the culinary arts. I'm hoping to attend school this fall (or at the very latest, winter 2010)!
What a great post. It's so Mr. Rogers-like with the behind-the-scene glimpse!
Love love love the apron. I say it works perfectly and you should wear it more often!!
Spy, I am jealous of everything except the wakeup alarm! What a great experience. And I love the notion of the place where last night and this morning intersect.
I love this post. I always wanted to be in the early morning bakery know...and I too have a special love of the GCB co. Jammer. Thanks for sharing your experience, it was great to read about!
Loved the play-by-play; I've often regarded the life of a baker as being romantic, so I can relate. I'm sure hungry now, though.
I hope you enjoyed baking with my absurdly tall half-brother!
I was a cake decorator for a few years out of college and I got so used to waking up at 3:30 in the morning that now, 8 years later, I still wake up around 6 or 7 everyday and spring out of bed like a little baking elf. It's a sickness!
Ohhh.... you've made me so hungry, and you've also made me miss the Pacific NW (something that happens a lot, as I now live in Houston TX). I used to go to Grand Central in Portland--the one on Hawthorne. I miss the hand pies! (and croissants, and cookies, and bread, and sandwiches, and...)