Do Bakeries Make Everything From Scratch: Untold Secrets Leaked

If you ever have passed by a bakery or been in one, then the question ”do they make everything from scratch” has probably been in your thoughts more than once. I have been in many bakeries and wondered the same thing, but the common nominator is that everything has always been delicious!

This article will learn whether bakeries make their baked goods from scratch or use pre-made dough and things like that. I will also go through some additional things that are good to know about bakeries, but more on that after I have answered your question about whether bakeries make everythign from scratch or not.

The vast majority of bakeries don’t make everything from scratch. This is because frozen and pre-made ingredients are cheaper, easier, and faster to prepare, reducing employment costs. Yet there still are bakeries that do bake from scratch, and they usually advertise themselves as scratch bakeries.

Now that we know how most of the bakeries use frozen cakes, pre-made dough, and everything between, we need to understand when bakeries bake from scratch and when they use other means.

Which bakeries do make from scratch

There isn’t only one answer to whether bakeries make everything from scratch or not because there are so many different types of bakeries that you can’t say yes or no, it varies. Let’s take a look at the bakery types that do usually bake always from scratch (Are Bakeries Considered Restaurants?) (Are Bakeries Considered Restaurants?).

These bakeries have a deeper meaning than just baked goods, or they are owned by private bakers who have been in business for a long time. For example, wedding cakes are almost without exception made from start to finish using only fresh ingredients. This is because they do cost a lot of money and the meaning of wedding which is one of the most important days of their lives. That demands something other than cake mixes and frozen goods!

Another type is family bakeries. These bakeries have usually been in business for decades that have been made everything from scratch forever. You can spot more this kind of bakeries when you go further from the big cities, and these are where the real unique delicacies are found!

Lastly, some bakeries advertise themselves as ”scratch bakeries,” and most of them do make from scratch. Do you probably wonder when I say most of them? Well, there are bakeries out there that say being scratch bakeries when in reality they are not. However, these bakeries usually do make most or at least some fresh products.

Which bakeries don’t make from scratch

The bigger portion of bakeries uses many frozen items, cake mixes, pre-made doughs, and bake-only products. Most bakery chains operate this way because it eases their operation so much, and the money amounts involved with chains are so large that they will save a lot of money when using pre-made goods. Let’s see some well know bakery types that operate this way.

Also, inside supermarkets and malls, bakeries usually use cake mixes and place them to the frying point when they are done. This is because the customer volume is too big to make everything from scratch, and not even big chain supermarkets have resources and appliances for that amount of demand. Delivery-only bakeries are either-or kind of bakeries, but in most cases, they use frozen goods products.

Next, let’s take a quick look at the benefits of baking from scratch and frozen goods because both of them have some.

Why bake from scratch

First, let’s take a look all the benefits on baking from scratch!

Taste

Even though the modern advanced frozen substitutes do taste really good, nothing beats the taste and texture of freshly baked goods made from the start.

When a product is frozen, the water molecules will expand and break their original condition. Therefore when the food is thawed, it isn’t as in good condition when looking at the texture as before. This can cause the diminishing of the taste as well.

Reputation

There is a reason why some bakeries remain scratch bakeries even when there are more convenient and cheap options that would free up some time off their hands.

The reputation you get when advertising yourself as a scratch bakery is beloved by all. If you put 2 bakeries next to each other where the other bakes everything from start to finish and other sells pre-made goods, the vast majority of the customers will go to the fresh one even if the quality or taste would be the same.

Fewer artificial ingredients

Last but not least, if a bakery makes everything in the scene, they won’t obviously add any artificial ingredients, whereas there might be some in the frozen ones.

However, many frozen goods don’t have artificial ingredients either because they are made and immediately frozen; therefore, there isn’t a need to use any when a product is frozen solid.

Why use ready to sell and frozen products

As we can see, there are many great benefits to bake from the start but don’t get too cocky because there are many great benefits to use frozen ones as well.

Convenience

Using pre-made products, cake mixes, and frozen goods is extremely effortless and time-saving. Take the product out of the box, bake, and boom! You have a product in front of you that looks the same as the fresh one.

The same principles go with the cake mix, pre-made doughs, and anything you can think of. It is just so easy. It’s good to understand that if you are a baker at your heart, then easy isn’t what you are looking for, which is why many privately owned bakeries make from scratch.

Speed

For many commercial bakery chains, the element of being an authentic baker isn’t as important anymore than getting a great product to customers fast! These bakeries have accumulated such a big demand that there is no way that everything can be done from start to finish; therefore, they had to come up with a faster plan.

Frozen products and pre-made goods are the perfect solutions to that because, in addition to them being so convenient, they are extremely fast to produce.

Cost

The core of every business is money, and when factories can mass-produce dough, for example, pack them in neat packages and freeze them so they can be bought and delivered easier, faster. At a lower cost, that really is the logical solution.

This is why bakeries use them because if the factories can sell them at a low price, and the bakery doesn’t need to prepare everything from scratch, it will be extremely tempting and in most cases, unreasonable not to embrace the moment.

Do bakeries create their own recipes

Most bakeries don’t create their own recipes because the majority are using frozen and pre-made products. Also, if they make everything from scratch, the chances are that they don’t use their own recipes even then. However, some bakeries, usually small private ones, have created their unique recipes.

Is being a baker hard

Generally, being a baker is somewhat hard, mostly because of the working schedule. Most bakers start their work at 3-4 am and work until noon, creating an unusual and hard sleep pattern. The actual work can be easy, especially if they use pre-made or frozen products, and because they can work in peace.

What do bakeries do with leftovers

Bakeries try to use everything to minimize their food waste; however, there will always be leftovers. Therefore, bakeries try to sell them at discounted prices, re-use them as much as possible, sell or give them to the employees, or even donate them. For example, you can make croutons from leftover bread.

Can you sell baked goods using someone else’s recipe

You can use someone else’s recipe and sell baked goods you have made; however, you can’t publish and announce it as your original recipe when in reality, it isn’t.

Conclusion

As we can see, most bakeries don’t make their goods from scratch; however, this doesn’t mean that they are of great quality or delicious. Everything authentic is slowly fading, and I have great respect for those holding on to the traditional ways to bake and cook.

I hope that this article gave you great value and you now know whether bakeries bake from scratch and how to spot one that probably does offer fresh products.