Centennial College

Did you know that not every bakery has a storefront open to the public? Some makers of baked goods only sell wholesale to retailers such as supermarkets, grocers, convenience stores and delis. Wholesale bakers offer breads, sweets and pastries of all types, though smaller bakeries tend to produce a limited number of items. If you attend baking courses, a commercial bakery is one of the places in which you may find employment. Others include: retail bakeries, supermarkets (Costco, Wal-Mart Supercentre, Loblaws, Metro and Sobeys), department stores, hotels, camps and other related businesses.

At these places, not only will you play a role in producing commercial quantities of breads, rolls, sweet dough, savoury and sweet pastry, danish and puff pastry, cookies, cakes and desserts, you’ll also apply business know-how to the business end of the bakery.

Centennial College’s Baking – Commercial Bakeries program offers some of the most reputable and respected baking courses Toronto and it is an affiliate member of the world tourism organization, UNWTO. This one-year/ two-semester offering is actually specifically designed to meet industry demands for people skilled in producing baked goods. If you are interested in attending, all you need for the admission process is: at minimum an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent, or mature student status (19 years or older). In addition, you must have completed English Grade 12 C or U or equivalent, or skills assessment.

Not only do students of these baking program learn how to create all sorts of baked goods, they also gain the knowledge they need to carry out their duties in a safe, ethical and professional manner, and obtain business knowledge. Additionally, any baking courses offered at Centennial College are geared to mature learners and led by instructors who are professional bakers. As with many other Centennial College offerings, the baking courses in this Commercial Bakeries program offer much hands-on practice.

Baking courses in Toronto offered within this specific program include: Baking and Pastry Arts Theory (course provides students with essential, practical knowledge to produce commercial baking products. Through study sessions, students review major baking ingredients, their industry applications, trade terminology and baking production principles and methods); Baking and Pastry Arts Practice (through demonstration and skill development exercises learners review and apply basic production principles and gain confidence in weighing ingredients, mixing doughs and preparing batters, fillings and icings. Students prepare, bake and finish specific sweet and savoury doughs, quick breads, cookies, pastries, custards, pies and laminated doughs); Purchasing for the Commercial Kitchen (demonstrates the procedures required to build an integrated purchasing system for food and non-food items); and more.

The baking courses in Toronto in this program are facilitated from Progress Campus, which offers on-site facilities such as a kitchen in which students can obtain hands-on training to complement what they learn in their baking courses. In addition, students learn in a newly renovated lab and have a state-of-the-art computer lab at their disposal.