Hugo was working over his oven in his little (but cozy) hobbit hole preparing his second supper, Bear Steaks with a nice glass of Halfing Brandy. As he was about to sit down for his appetizer ... Fruit Pie, when he heard a tap at the door. He scurried up the little tunnel to his circular green door (with a nice brass knob, right in the center) to greet his guest, of whom he had been expecting. He gave his guest a seat and ran off down a twisting corridor to the pantry to fetch another Fruit Pie for his guest. His guest was a long time friend’s son of a good bloodline in his shire. He was here to study under Hugo as an apprentice baker, and Hugo was very glad to have some company (as Halfings always are). They ate their dinner and began discussing his guests new duties as a chef, while sipping the warm brandy . . .

So you want to be a baker? Well it’s not for everybody . . . but I love it, it’s a lot of fun to role-play a pot-bellied Hobbit named Hugo, who is a chef. Most of the people I meet on my journeys get a kick out of Hugo and I make some good friends this way. So if you’re still committed stay a while and relax while I go over this profession.

To start out you should invest about 5 points into the skill . . . some say you only need 1, but things go faster with 5. Next you should find a Recipe Book (s), for a beginner I recommend Rohand’s Sea Treats, my favorite beginner recipe are Fish Fillets, followed by Mixxy’s Delicacies Volume 1, this way you can get to work on Candied Spider Legs and Edible Goo. Also make sure you are within the vicinity of an oven. The good thing is that these books contain ingredients that are relatively easy to obtain, if not time consuming.

Now you may ask, “What’s the use of Baking?” and to that I say . . . I’m not really sure, but It’s fun to role-play and there are also rumors of combinations of food that you can eat to give you special abilities, you never really know! Another advantage is you will never need to buy rations/bread again!  You should also try to get friendly with a higher level smith as you will need him for more advanced recipes. I would also suggest you keep your fishing skill up because you will need the skill for fish rolls... the main recipe people use to raise their Baking skill. Below I’ve included a list of general recipes so you can experiment on your own, or you can check out the recipe page and copy the exact recipes.

*Also skewers, pots, pie tins, smokers
Candies: Frosting, Spices, a monster ingredient make in oven
Sandwiches: Bread (several), monster meat make in mixing bowl
Steaks: Spices, Jug of Sauces, monster meat make in oven
Beer Braised Meat: Spices, Short/Tall Beer, monster meat make in oven
Pickled Meat: Vinegar, Jar, monster meat make in oven
Stew/Soup: Water, Pot, various ingredients make in oven
Crunchies: Frosting, a monster ingredient make in oven
Pies: various ingredients, dough, pie tin make in oven
Cannibalistic Treats: Race specific meat, spices, garnish make in oven
Cookies: dough, spices, frosting (also cookie cutter) make in oven
Kabobs: meat, spices, jug of sauces, skewers make on spit
Cupcakes: dough, spices, frosting, muffin tin make in oven
Fillets: Water-based meat, various ingredients make in oven
Smoked Meat: smoker, monster meat, spices make in oven
Rolls: water-based meat, monster wings make in oven
Muffins: dough, fruit, and muffin tin make in oven
*Oven and spit are interchangeable, but with different sizes of meats or type of food sometimes.   Only one may be used according to the recipe books.

So far in my journeys I’ve only found 13 recipe books, I’ve asked if anyone else has found more and no one really has. The books each contain a set of themed recipes with specific instructions. The books seem almost comical and you really do need a sick sense of humor to eat “Smoked Wood Elf”. The names of the books are as follows, with a little description.

Mixxy’s Delicacies 1 (easy to make recipes)
Mixxy’s Delicacies 2 (more easy to make recipes)
Binetin’s Quick Treats (recipes for hunters)
Binetin’s Succulence (more recipes for hunters)
Ghumin’ Classical Dishes (PvP recipes)
Ghumin’ Delights (more PvP recipes)
Xetica’s Hot Pies (metal cooking)
Xetica’s Favored Flavors (more metal cooking)
Vaashar’s Revenge  (swamp recipes and desserts)
Vaashar’s Sweet Treats (more swamp recipes and desserts)
Rohand’s Edibles (simple seafood)
Rohand’s Sea Treats (more simple seafood recipes)
Sorin’s Treats on the Go (simple, fast recipes)

Remember though, you will fail often. But don’t be discouraged, us Bakers will persevere! At the moment it seems as though this skill is a little buggy, namely the failure ratios seem much too high... at least the supplies are cheap, that is until you starting investing in those expensive Mixing Bowls and other metal utensils!