How Bakers Survive Winter Mornings
A baker’s dozen strategies for getting out of bed and into the kitchen during the coldest months of the year.
Cake friends,
We’re deep into production for STEAK ZINE, and can’t wait to share more soon. In the meantime, we’ve been thinking about working bakers, members of our beloved community who have to get up in the liminal hours of the morning, in total darkness, trek out into the cold to fire up the ovens and get bread ready for the day.
This week, we’re diving into the small rituals and necessary delusions that help some of our favorite bakers get through it.
Tanya Bush, pastry chef at Little Egg
“I’m jolted awake by the sound of radar—all the Apple alarms are an assault on the senses. I emerge from bed with actual hatred in my heart. I am not a morning person.
The only thing that softens the blow is this ridiculous fuzzy pink sweater I’ve started calling my snuggie. I keep it on the bedside so it’s the first thing I reach for. Then I listen to early-aughts rock music (Three Doors Down) on my walk to work to try and feel some semblance of aliveness (lol). Most mornings it’s still brutally dark, but once in a while, depending on the season, I catch a sunrise. I like to smile at the other people on their way to work. I try to remember that we’re doing something together, bringing the city to life.”
Morgan Knight, pastry chef and owner at Saint Street Cakes
“Because most of our bakes don’t require proofing, and cakes are baked the day before, I’m usually up for work around 6 a.m! The thing that keeps me up and ready for the day is using my Brick—it’s a device that disables social media on my phone to avoid the morning doom scroll. Staying off of my phone in the morning helps me be present and intentional.
Oh, and I’ll usually make a fruit smoothie to trick myself into feeling like it’s warm out, especially on cold days.”
Kaitlyn Wong, pastry chef at Ouma Brooklyn
“I recently got back into the early morning baker life at the end of last year when I started the pastry program at Ouma in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. It’s been almost 3 years since I’ve had the (dis)pleasure of waking up that early—I’d be lying if I didn’t say it never gets easier! It’s funny when people constantly assume that because I’m a pastry chef I’m “used to” the early hours… no! I realize I sound very agro, and I know it’s what I signed up for but waking up early will never not suck!
If bringing fresh pastries to Prospect Lefferts Garden means waking up at the crack of dawn, I’ll do it—just not with a smile or any cheerful enthusiasm. I do have a few tricks up my sleeve that seem to help make the agony of waking up early a little less agonizing: no caffeine after 10 a.m., asleep by 9 p.m., and just one alarm to wake me up and a second one to yell at me to get out of bed.”
Biking to work is my usual mode of transportation, and I swear that there’s something about the frigid 5 a.m. air hitting your face that really wakes you up! But it would be disingenuous of me to not admit that I supplement with the occasional uber (I’ve been Ubering a lot these days…). My partner Jordan and I both get up early for work and sometimes it aligns and we can wake up a little earlier and have a coffee together. Those mornings are always nice.”
Kyla Tang, baker at Plumcot
“The playlist I choose to listen to on the morning commute completely sets my mood for the day. This one always gets me going in the morning.
Oh, and I never leave the house without a hot drink (hot water with ginger and dried red dates).”
Dallas King, executive pastry chef at Lost Bread Co.
“I wake up at 2 a.m. on the weekends and pick out an outfit in the dark so I don’t wake up my partner. I chug a pre-workout shake, brush my teeth, moisturize, and walk 30 minutes to work to get there by 3 a.m. I think the walk really helps me wake up and get ready to immediately start working (the walk is great podcast listening time, too).
I usually like to have a really consistent routine in the mornings: I let myself snooze once, always, then bolt straight out of bed. The key is good sleep and immediate caffeination.
I’ve seen bakers belittle themselves for not getting enough sleep before an early shift, but that couldn’t be me. Just be easy on yourself and have some coffee (there is a recurring theme here). Go slow as you reasonably can but don’t be sloppy. Watch the clock obsessively. Budget in a nap for ASAP after work and move on.”
Lilli Maren, freelancer baker in New York
“No matter how early my day starts, I always carve out 15 minutes for puzzles. I call this “bringing my brain up to temp.” I also have a vintage lamp in this cosy corner of my apartment, and it gives the softest light. I snuggle up here with some Kenken and a cup of extra strong black coffee and it sorts me right out. I know you’re not supposed to drink coffee before 10 a.m. or whatever but at 5 a.m. it tastes extra naughty and extra delicious!”
Gabrielle Weems, freelance baker in New York
“I work evenings now, but I used to think about getting out earlier than everyone. Enjoying the sunshine and (kind of) quiet afternoons while everyone else is still at work. Still having a nice chunk of my day ahead of me to do whatever I want with it.
It’s difficult, but getting up earlier helps me allow myself a slow morning. Warm, dim lighting and starting my mornings with jazz is a lovely motivator. As well as fresh chamomile tea. It alleviates a lot of my nerves and stress.”
Kelly Mencin, pastry chef and owner at Radio Bakery
“Ohhhfff—the winters are hard! Honestly, I try to go to bed as early as I can so that I can get at least 8 hours of sleep. Unfortunately, for a 3 a.m. start, that’s 7 p.m.
Waking up knowing that I got 8 hours of sleep makes it more bearable, I guess? Maybe it’s a placebo effect, but I tell myself that yes, I got adequate sleep and yes, I will be fine.
I also don’t wake up from a jarring alarm. I installed HUE lights in my apartment that gradually turn on over a 10-minute time frame. Waking up to light feels more natural and doesn’t make me as cranky as a loud alarm would.
Once I’m out the door with the thought of a warm Earl Grey tea awaiting me at work, it makes it pretty easy.”
Stephanie Cho, pastry sous chef at Chambers
“When I decided to work in a kitchen professionally, I thought I could avoid the dreaded early morning start times by working in restaurants rather than bakeries. I soon found myself working pastry production hours as early as 6 a.m., 5 a.m., and even 4 a.m. on occasion.
The winter mornings are far worse than the summer ones. It’s cold, obviously, and dark, and lonely at times. In that brief moment of negotiating whether to get out of bed when my alarm goes off, I think of my long production list that I always write down the night before. Tomorrow, there are 24 things I need to do.
Knowing what I need to do gets me out of bed on the dreariest days. If I don’t shape the bread to proof as soon as I get to work, there won’t be bread for dinner service tonight.
Once I’m in the kitchen and the ovens are humming, I fully switch on. There’s a quiet ownership and groundedness to those first few hours alone. It’s almost like a game—me against myself—trying to work as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
Teresa Finney, freelance pastry chef in Atlanta
“I often think of that viral tweet about feeling lonely in the middle of the night and remembering that bakers are already up and working.
Waking up at 4 a.m. is hard, especially before your body has adjusted, but I actually love my quiet mornings before the rest of the kitchen trickles in. I look forward to that first cup of coffee and the playlist I made specifically for morning bakery production. That alone time is really precious: just me and the dough.”
Jules Stoddard, pastry chef at Central Provisions
“Super early mornings are not for everyone, just like late nights are not for everyone, but somehow I’ve grown to find the best things about them and undeniably enjoy them. My day starts at 4:30 a.m. with a cup of coffee, snuggles with my cats, and a solid full body stretch.
I live in Maine so right now it is dark when heading to work and most days the sun is setting when I leave. I live where I can safely walk to work so I’ve also found being one of the first people of the day to see my city inspiring. I swear that the air is crisper and the world around me is less chaotic which calms me ahead of a long day of running up and down stairs and beating the timer to the oven. It’s a perfect time for me to mentally go through my day and set my intentions.
I try to get to work at least 20 minutes before everyone else so I can gently wake things up for the day. As we all know it isn’t always glamorous,so listening to a mix of the news and music carries me through the mundane parts of the day.”
Charlotte ThaiThai, pastry cook at Four Seasons Midtown
“For me, it’s a sense of responsibility that gets me out of bed. Waking up at 3 a.m. to make it to a 4 a.m. shift is really hard, especially in the winter when it’s cold and dark. But the moment I walk into the kitchen, I’m on ‘go’ mode.
I have my routine: I walk in, say hi to the other morning shift people, everyone slowly gets started. I make my favorite cup of coffee and then make my way to my station.”
Once I start rolling out the bread, putting things in the oven, and pulling trays out, time just moves faster and that’s an incentive. Before I knew it, it’s already 8 a.m. Then you start prepping for the next day, and suddenly it’s 12 p.m. and time to go home. I’d take some of the leftover bread for my snack and get ready to do it all over again.”
Katy Languidey, pastry cook at Vicente
“It’s hard, but if you can’t do hard things, you shouldn’t be a baker. Honestly, I don’t know. One thing that helps me is as soon as my alarm goes off, I force myself to physically JUMP out of bed so before I actually even wake up I’m already standing. It forces you to stay awake rather than snooze and keep sleeping. It also helps that if I don’t come in then the bakery will literally not run for the day and if someone else does it then nothing will look as pretty as I want it to.”
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I love the mix of pro vs. anti snooze button opinions in this piece.
Bread bakers are saints. Period. End of story. This article just proves that. I will buy the bread and appreciate the baker until my dying days.