I own a bakery in a small town about 30 minutes north of Nashville in Tennessee. We’re the only bread bakery in a 20 mile radius (Nashville has a few but we are better 💁🏻‍♀️)and we make sourdough products-breads, bagels, cinnamon rolls, baguettes,and croissants. Also do a variety of pastries like cookies, macarons, and scones, brownies and muffins. We offer a few gluten-free products but basically we’re an old fashioned counter service bakery. No seating, no sandwiches, no wifi. Just stop in, pick up bread and some goodies, and be on your way.

I pay my lead baker a yearly salary, which equals out to about $15/hour for full time hours. My head baker has no college degree, and around a year of experience in a previous bakery but mostly as an assistant.

My other bakers I pay $12 and $10 an hour. The $12/hour baker has a bachelors degree but not in culinary. She had food service experience but not a bakery. The $10/hour baker has a college degree and is a former nurse who was an avid home bread baker and wanted some commercial experience.

My head baker makes prep lists, orders ingredients, and does opening baker shift most days of the week.

The $12/hour baker is second shift most days of the week, and she does mostly pastry and finishes bread production.

The $10/hour baker works two opening shifts per week, and she does mostly bread production.

Hope this is helpful!