Baking – Skill progression & money notes (Level 0 → Level 10)
While building up my Business, I took a closer look at the Baking skill and wrote everything down for future reference — so I’m sharing my notes here in case it helps others.
Settings: 96-minute day
Quick Summary
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Baking is time-heavy compared to many other skills. Mid/high levels can take ~6–9+ in-game hours per level-up.
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Typical bake times:
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Whole cakes/pies: ~17 min
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Cookies/muffins: ~21 min
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Glazed items: ~25 min
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No special unlocks besides new recipes. Quality improves with level (from ~Level 8 you tend to see Excellent/Perfect more often; Bad can still happen).
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Profit is weak via Inventory/Build Mode, but can be much better in a Business.
Leveling speed (approx.)
(Rough totals. Calculated from items baked using an average bake-time estimate; earlier levels skewed toward ~17 min because Anniversary Cake is fast.)
| Level-up | Approx. items baked | Approx. time |
|---|---|---|
| Level 0 → 1 | -– | a few minutes (first item not even half done) |
| Level 1 → 2 | ~3.5× | ~2h20m |
| Level 2 → 3 | ~6× | ~4h00m |
| Level 3 → 4 | ~5× | ~3h40m |
| Level 4 → 5 | ~22.5× | ~7h30m |
| Level 5 → 6 | ~20× | ~6h40m |
| Level 6 → 7 | ~31× | ~9h20m |
| Level 7 → 8 | ~17× | ~6h00m |
| Level 8 → 9 | ~22× | ~7h40m |
| Level 9 → 10 | ~26× | ~9h10m |
Pattern found!
Ignoring Bad, all regular baking recipes in this dataset follow a clean quality ladder:
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Medium = M (recipe-specific base)
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Good = 2xM
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Excellent = 3xM
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Perfect = 4xM
Family-size scaling: consistently ×8 (confirmed cleanly by Cornbread and Potato Pie).
Important: the Medium base value is recipe-specific — in some cases same cost can still mean different base values (e.g., Potato Pie vs Pumpkin Pie).
Anniversary Cake is the one exception here and shows slightly different values.
Base sell values (Inventory/Build Mode) – inferred ladder + unlock level
Rules used (ignoring Bad): Medium = M, Good = 2xM, Excellent = 3xM, Perfect = 4xM • Family-size = ×8
1) Plates / Small baked goods
| Unlock | Recipe | Cost | Time | Medium | Good | Excellent | Perfect | Measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Plate of Butter Cookies | 5 | 17m | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | Medium 10 |
| 0 | Plate of Strawberry Jam Cookies | 5 | 21m | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | Good 20 |
| 0 | Plate of Gingerbread Cookies (kit) | Kit | 21m | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | Excellent 30 |
| 0 | Plate of Tree Shaped Cookies (kit) | Kit | 21m | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | Medium 10 |
| 0 | Plate of House Shaped Cookies (kit) | Kit | 21m | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | Medium 10 |
| 1 | Plate of Chocolate Chip Cookies | 5 | 21m | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | Excellent 30 |
| 1 | Plate of Matcha Cookies | 5 | 21m | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | Perfect 40 |
| 0 | Plate of plain Muffins | 9 | 21m | 14 | 28 | 42 | 56 | Good 28, Excellent 42, Perfect 56 |
| 1 | Plate of Plain Donuts | 9 | 21m | 14 | 28 | 42 | 56 | Good 28 |
| 1 | Plate of Chocolate Muffins | 9 | 21m | 14 | 28 | 42 | 56 | Medium 14 |
| 2 | Plate of Chocolate Donuts | 9 | 25m | 14 | 28 | 42 | 56 | Excellent 42 |
| 2 | Plate of Sprinkle Donuts | 9 | 25m | 14 | 28 | 42 | 56 | Excellent 42 |
| 2 | Plate of Blueberry Muffins | 9 | 21m | 14 | 28 | 42 | 56 | Good 28 |
| 3 | Plate of Sprinkle Cupcakes | 9 | 25m | 14 | 28 | 42 | 56 | Good 28 |
| 3 | Plate of Strawberry Cupcakes | 9 | 25m | 14 | 28 | 42 | 56 | Good 28 |
| 3 | Plate of Chocolate Cupcakes | 9 | 25m | 14 | 28 | 42 | 56 | Medium 14 |
| 3 | Plate of Carrot Cupcakes | 9 | 25m | 14 | 28 | 42 | 56 | Excellent 42 |
| 5 | Plate of Cream Puffs | 9 | 25m | 14 | 28 | 42 | 56 | Medium 14 |
| 6 | Plate of Chocolate Eclairs | 9 | 25m | 14 | 28 | 42 | 56 | Good 28 |
| 6 | Plate of Strawberry Eclairs | 9 | 25m | 14 | 28 | 42 | 56 | Good 28 |
| 6 | Plate of Blueberry Eclairs | 9 | 25m | 14 | 28 | 42 | 56 | Excellent 42 |
| 7 | Plate of Kouign Amanns | 10 | 21m | 20 | 40 | 60 | 80 | Medium 20, Good 40, Excellent 60 |
| 7 | Plate of Croissants | 10 | 21m | 20 | 40 | 60 | 80 | Medium 20, Good 40, Excellent 60 |
2) 
Whole cakes & pies (Cost 35)
| Unlock | Recipe | Cost | Time | Medium | Good | Excellent | Perfect | Measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Whole Cake | 35 | 17m | 20 | 40 | 60 | 80 | Good 40, Excellent 60 |
| 4 | Whole Cheesecake | 35 | 17m | 30 | 60 | 90 | 120 | Good 60 |
| 4 | Whole Chocolate Cake | 35 | 17m | 30 | 60 | 90 | 120 | Excellent 90 |
| 4 | Whole Tiramisu Cake | 35 | 17m | 30 | 60 | 90 | 120 | Excellent 90 |
| 5 | Whole Pecan Pie | 35 | 17m | 30 | 60 | 90 | 120 | Excellent 90 |
| 5 | Whole Apple Pie | 35 | 17m | 30 | 60 | 90 | 120 | Perfect 120 |
3) 
Ingredient pies (2 + ingredient in inventory)
| Unlock | Recipe | Cost | Time | Medium | Good | Excellent | Perfect | Measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Potato Pie (single) | 2 + potato | 18m | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | Good 12 |
| 3 | Pumpkin Pie | 2 + pumpkin | 20m | 19 | 38 | 57 | 76 | Good 38, Perfect 76 |
4) 
Family-size proof (×8 scaling)
| Unlock | Recipe | Portion | Cost | Time | Medium | Good | Excellent | Perfect | Measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cornbread | Single | 2 + corn | 18m | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | Medium 5 |
| 1 | Cornbread | Family | 16 + corn | 18m | 40 | 80 | 120 | 160 | Good 80 |
| 2 | Potato Pie | Single | 2 + potato | 18m | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | Good 12 |
| 2 | Potato Pie | Family | 16 + potato | 18m | 48 | 96 | 144 | 192 | Good 96, Excellent 144, Perfect 192 |
5) 
Anniversary Cake (Event) – Observed values
(This one doesn’t perfectly match the ladder, likely because added later through the anniversary patch.)
| Unlock | Recipe | Cost | Time | Bad | Medium | Good | Excellent | Perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | A whole inZOI one-year Anniversary Cake | 35 | 17m | 9 | 22 | 45 | 67 | 90 |
Business selling (whole cakes/pies = 8 portions) — value scaling
Stand capacity matters
Whole cakes/pies sell as 8 portions, so your stand size determines whether you keep or lose portions:
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Large stand (8 slots) = ideal (fits all portions). Unlock at Business Star Level 4, though some shops have it from the start.
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Small stand (4 slots) = 4 portions are lost
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Wooden display stand (6 slots) - (not intended for baked goods, but currently usable) = 2 portions are lost
How big is the boost vs base value?
For whole cakes/pies sold in a Business:
Total revenue = (price per portion) × 8
Boost vs base = Total revenue / Base value (Inventory/Build Mode)
In my examples, this typically lands around ~6× to ~10× base value, depending on quality and ★ rating.
March update note: currently whole items can’t be sold at once (likely a bug, already reported), so you have to sell all 8 portions individually, which increases time/overhead.
Boost examples (8 portions)
| Item (quality / ★) | Base value | Price per portion | Total (×8) | Boost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole Chocolate Cake (Good, 3★) | 60 | 54 | 432 | 7.2× |
| Whole Cake (Excellent, 2★) | 60 | 61 | 488 | 8.1× |
| Whole Cake (Good, 4★) | 40 | 45 | 360 | 9.0× |
| Anniversary Cake (Excellent, 4★) | 67 | 83 | 664 | 9.9× |
| Anniversary Cake (Perfect, 3★) | 90 | 108 | 864 | 9.6× |
Key takeaways
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Quality scaling (ignoring Bad): regular baking recipes follow this pattern - Medium = M, then Good = 2xM, Excellent = 3xM, Perfect = 4xM.
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Family-size scaling: whole cakes/pies/plates include 8 portions (×8).
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Medium base is recipe-specific: in some cases same cost can still have different base values (e.g., Potato Pie vs Pumpkin Pie).
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Business selling can massively outperform inventory selling for whole cakes/pies (because of 8 portions + ★ pricing), even more if you can sell all portions.
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Stand capacity matters: 8-slot large stand = ideal; smaller stands can force portion loss.
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Anniversary Cake is the one exception in the base-value pattern and is best treated as measured (seems to be an exception as it was introduced with the birthday update).
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