This article outlines a robust process for managing enterprise virtual machine images, moving away from manual methods that cause inconsistencies. The recommended approach treats each image as a versioned build artifact, starting from a controlled source and undergoing deterministic configuration. This process involves using HashiCorp Packer for parameterized builds and Azure DevOps for orchestration. The core steps include building the image, publishing it to Azure Compute Gallery, validating the published version with a temporary virtual machine, and producing evidence for traceable promotion.The solution emphasizes a single, reproducible Packer build to avoid complexities of layered pipelines. Environment-specific values are kept separate as pipeline parameters, allowing for flexibility. The Packer configuration defines the builder and a deterministic provisioning sequence, ensuring consistency. Crucially, the article stresses validating the published image version, not just the build VM, by deploying a temporary VM and running remote checks.Validation coverage includes OS baseline, runtime, package, service, and trust checks, with results published as evidence. This evidence, along with build logs and scan outputs, is correlated with the pipeline run for complete traceability. Promotion is controlled, ensuring that the exact same validated image version is promoted, not rebuilt.Failure handling and cleanup are integrated, ensuring temporary resources are removed. Production considerations include release gates for build, functional, security, and promotion stages, supported by a stable validation contract. The image pipeline concludes with a versioned, validated gallery artifact, which consumers can reference for controlled rollouts. Ultimately, treating image baking as a software delivery problem, with versioned outputs and independent validation, simplifies operations.