Weighing, milling, grinding and measuring equipment fill the ingredient assembly department. Employees have to check, measure and process ingredients very carefully for the best quality end product. From this point on, everyone wears hairnets, and jewelry is left in the locker room. Even pockets on the uniforms are sewn shut, to ensure that the bakery remains as sanitary as possible and to minimize the risk of contamination.

In a commercial bakery, recipes are called formulas, and it takes a complete department to gather all the ingredients listed in a formula. The ingredient assembly department is responsible for retrieving and preparing everything needed, and delivering them to the mixing department. A production schedule tells the staff when items are needed and helps them calculate the correct quantities.