Ron,
Being a veteran of many hotels I can tell you that a fairly large percentage of people working there don't have formal culinary training. Especially minorities. Many of them started busting their butts as dishwashers and worked their way up. Therefore they cook by rote. It's likely the baker can't explain it because he doesn't know himself. This is not to denegrate him in any way, it's simply reality. He might have been shown how to make all the items by the chef and that's the only way he will do it forever.
If you really want to know the answers to these questions, pick up a book and then watch him do these things and you'll understand a little more. Also try to arrange your schedule so that you can see how the other things are done. You don't have to work then, just find out when it's done and then tell the Chef that you'll be stopping by on your day off to see how it's done. Again, no Chef in his right mind will tell you no!
Being a veteran of many hotels I can tell you that a fairly large percentage of people working there don't have formal culinary training. Especially minorities. Many of them started busting their butts as dishwashers and worked their way up. Therefore they cook by rote. It's likely the baker can't explain it because he doesn't know himself. This is not to denegrate him in any way, it's simply reality. He might have been shown how to make all the items by the chef and that's the only way he will do it forever.
If you really want to know the answers to these questions, pick up a book and then watch him do these things and you'll understand a little more. Also try to arrange your schedule so that you can see how the other things are done. You don't have to work then, just find out when it's done and then tell the Chef that you'll be stopping by on your day off to see how it's done. Again, no Chef in his right mind will tell you no!