How Do Baking Schools and Pastry Schools Differ From One Another?
Most of the time, “baking school” is an umbrella term used to describe everything related to the act of baking, including both baking and the pastry arts. After all, pastry and baking are really two sides of the same coin; each one includes a set of skills that leads to the creation of fabulous pies, cakes, and bread most often associated with the dessert course.
Although most schools offer baking and pastry arts as a combined course or diploma program, they are actually two different concepts. Both are required to become a truly accomplished pastry chef, but focusing on just one as a specialization is possible.
Baking includes the real “meat” of the baking and pastry arts. It involves the creation of Breads - Dough - Cookies - Scones - Pies - Tarts - Rolls
Pastry is really just the fancy stuff. It requires the hand of an artist and quite a bit of delicacy. It is the chocolate embellishments on top of the cake, the sugar-sprinkled flowers, and oftentimes the delicate puff of a successful meringue.
When you’re looking for a baking and pastry school, make sure the courses contain exactly what it is you’re after. A straight baking course will probably skip over the small intricacies that make desserts fun and light.
A straight pastry course might not teach all the skills you need to successfully integrate ingredients for mass production in an industrial kitchen. If you’re looking for just one or the other, that’s great, and you might save a lot of time and money by only focusing on one aspect.
However, if you want a comprehensive culinary education that may lead to a restaurant job or the ability to open a bakery of your own, ensure both baking and pastry get a front-seat role. Both sets of skills can go a long way in making your culinary career successful.
Pia
hi i wanted to know what is the difference between a pastry university and a pastry school, do they have different subjects or they provide with different degrees ?
G. Stephen Jones
Hi Pia, no. Some schools call themselves colleges and some universities.