Bread Development Lead [Bakery] in London

Reports to: Head Baker

Work Locations: Hackney Downs E8, Stoke Newington N16 (and other locations as required by business needs)

Hours: 40 hours per week, predominantly Wednesday-Sunday

Salary: £14.00 per hour

Employed by: Luminary Bakery Ltd

What We’re Looking For

We’re looking for a passionate and ambitious bread baker who wants to take ownership of a growing and exciting category within Luminary Bakery. You’ll bring strong technical skills, calm leadership, commercial awareness, and genuine care for quality. Most importantly, you’ll be excited by the opportunity to help build something meaningful, using exceptional baking as a tool for impact, community, and empowerment.

Why Work With Us?

Luminary Bakery is a social enterprise using baking as a tool to empower women and build community. By joining our team, you’ll be part of something bigger than bread – you’ll be helping us grow a sustainable business that creates opportunities for women who’ve experienced social and economic disadvantage.

• Free barista coffee when working on site at Stoke Newington cafe
• 50% discount off all Luminary food & drink when working on site at Stoke Newington cafe (plus family & friends discount)
• 20% off online purchases (celebration cakes & merchandise)
• Regular training and professional development opportunities
• Opportunities to be involved in press coverage of Luminary
• Long-service rewards (including vouchers, merch, extra holiday, and of course, free cake!)

Job Purpose

We have successfully launched and grown our in-house artisan bread range, including sourdough offerings, baguettes, and seasonal bread products across our cafés, wholesale, and corporate channels. The Bread Development Lead will take ownership of this category: maintaining and improving the current bread range, ensuring excellent consistency and quality, leading future product development, and embedding strong bread knowledge across the wider bakery team. This role is ideal for someone who is both technically skilled and operationally strong, a baker who thrives on consistency, fermentation, production planning, and team development, while continuing to innovate and grow the bread offering commercially. You will play a key role in ensuring bread production is scalable, profitable, and aligned with Luminary’s wider mission and growth plans.

Key Responsibilities

Bread Production & Innovation

• Take full ownership of Luminary’s artisan bread range, with a particular focus on sourdough production.
• Produce and oversee daily bread production to the highest standards of consistency, flavour, and presentation.
• Maintain and nurture sourdough starters, monitoring health, fermentation and quality and making adjustments as required.
• Continuously review and improve recipes, processes, and production methods to support quality and scalability.
• Innovate with recipes and techniques, creating seasonal and diverse bread products suitable for our cafés, wholesale customers, and corporate catering.

Quality Control & Operations

• Manage bread production schedules, ensuring efficiency, delivery and quality across sites.
• Create and maintain clear production systems, recipes, and SOPs to support consistency across the team.
• Maintain high cleaning and hygiene standards, keeping production spaces tidy and organised.
• Carry out and record daily checks (including fridge/freezer temperatures, cleaning logs, allergen records).
• Monitor product yield, waste, and margins, supporting strong commercial performance of the bread category.
• Manage stock levels for ingredients and liaise with Head Baker and suppliers where required.

Team Development

• Share knowledge and skills with the wider baking team, mentoring junior bakers in bread-making techniques.
• Build confidence and capability across the team to ensure bread production is sustainable beyond one individual.
• Support wider bakery operations during peak periods, holidays, and team absences where required.

Collaboration & Growth

• Collaborate with customer service and operations teams to roll out new products smoothly across retail and wholesale channels.
• Work closely with the Head Baker and Managing Director to support the continued growth of the bread category.
• Collaborate with finance to support recipe costing and margin improvements.
• Contribute ideas for menu development, seasonal launches, and product opportunities aligned with Luminary’s brand and values.

Person Specification

Essential

• Minimum 3 years’ professional bakery experience with strong confidence in sourdough production, starter maintenance, shaping, and baking a range of artisan breads.
• Strong technical knowledge of fermentation, mixing, and baking processes.
• Excellent attention to detail with a strong commitment to consistency and quality.
• Experience managing or taking ownership of bread production within a professional bakery environment.
• Collaborative, team-focused approach; willing to share knowledge and support others.
• Strong organisational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced production environment with shifting demands.
• Commitment to Luminary’s ethos of empowerment, kindness, and excellence.

Desirable

• Experience leading, supervising or training others in bread-making.
• Familiarity with bakery production systems and operational planning.
• Previous work within a social enterprise or purpose-driven organisation.
• Pastry knowledge (laminated doughs, viennoiserie, or enriched breads).