Head Baker

About the role

We're an established craft bakery in Chorley supplying our own shops, wholesale customers and online orders. We're looking for a Head Baker to run the night bake: a baker first, with many years at the bench and the ovens, who can plan the production, bake it and make the bakehouse run tighter every week.

This is a hands-on role. You'll be baking every night alongside a small team, not managing from a desk. What sets it apart from a baker role is ownership: the production sheet is yours, the standards are yours, and what comes out of the oven is yours.

What you'll do

• Run the night bake across bread, morning goods, savouries and confectionery, so every shop, wholesale round and online order is ready to go out each morning
• Write and own the daily production sheets: quantities by product and by outlet, dough weights, timings and oven schedules, so the bake runs the same whether you're in or not
• Document recipes, batch sizes and yields; track waste and drive it down
• Develop products: refresh the range, bring in new lines and take them from test bake to production spec
• Optimise production: sequencing, mixing and oven plans, prep-ahead and equipment use, so we get more out per hour without losing quality
• Set and hold standards: consistent product, a clean bakehouse, food safety and allergen controls done properly every night
• Lead the bakers on shift: set the plan, train, check quality and cover the gaps
• Tell the owner what the bakehouse needs: stock, ordering, equipment, people

What we're looking for

• Many years as a working baker in a craft or wholesale bakery. Bread and morning goods essential; confectionery or pastry a strong plus. This is non-negotiable.
• You've run a bake, not just worked one: production planning, scaling recipes, managing timings across multiple products and outlets
• You can write a production sheet, a recipe spec and a simple SOP that another baker can follow
• You've created or improved products that sold
• Food Safety Level 2 minimum (Level 3 preferred) and working knowledge of HACCP and allergen controls
• Comfortable leading a small night team: clear, calm, high standards
• Reliable on a permanent night pattern

Bonus points

• Wholesale or multi-outlet production experience
• Comfortable with ordering systems, EPOS reports and digital rotas
• Full UK driving licence

Package

• £15–£18 per hour depending on experience
• 42 hours per week, Monday to Saturday nights, 9pm–4am
• 28 days holiday including bank holidays
• Pension
• Performance bonus tied to bakehouse KPIs (waste, on-time production, quality)
• A senior role in a growing bakery group, with real scope to grow with it

Pay: £15.00-£18.00 per hour

Expected hours: 42.0 per week

Work Location: In person