Do bakeries bake from scratch? - Page 2  

I don't have any issues with box mix bakers, each to their own!

Scratch bakers never seem to get a chance to express their views on cc as it always turns into an argument?

But I do quiet strongly take the view that my bowl of fresh egg, butter, flour and whatever else is definitely not comparable to a bowl of powder!

Anyway, getting off track, I think scratch baking and the demand for it is on the increase so not all bakeries bake from scratch but some places are starting to offer freshly produced products.

I'm with you on this one, banba, you're not alone!

How is the flour that you get out of your bag, any fresher than the flour in a cake mix?

And how is it that you can state that you feel that scratch baking is better and then get upset when a mix baker says that they think mixes are better... should we not be respectful of each others opinions? Geez, it's just cake...

For me it's the gums that they use in cake mixes (that are there to give a consistent result to the final cake regardless of who makes it and how they mix it) that I don't like. It gives a gummier texture to the final cake.

Let's not start making this into a mix-vs-scratch debate, to each his own. Do what you prefer and leave it at that.

LOL!... I love CC...

Here's a little distinction that one might want to consider.

The opposite of fresh is stale, not frozen.

Pastry chefs use freezers. Freezing product is not a problem. Improper freezing of products of course is an issue. But freezing is a valuable tool.

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I always get back to this--the almighty bottom line.

Look around at all the Mom and Pop bakeries that are no longer there. They were slammed by competition --including the Wilton sell out to the homemaker back in the 60's then the big box stores.

Scratch cake without the plastic properties of the special shortenings has a brief and tedious shelf life. Bakers rely on those ingredients to help them make a profit--there is nothing wrong with that. Don't like it then don't buy it.

We had a lovely lovely artisan bread bakery here several years ago. I mean state of the art in a great location. Closed.

The bakery business is much different than the decorated cake business. You have to have a lunch counter or something to support your baking habit.

Great ingredients are great. Some like the multi million dollar enhancing ingredients and some like the measure and mix but all of us are trying to float a nice business. Factor in a world concerned about weight issues including reduced carb intake and that's another huge gut punch. (picture the Pillsbury Dough-boy getting sucker punched and flour coming out dusting everything in sight)

So there's room for everyone. Some don't like the fact that all scratch is tempermental and some can taste the properties in the mix. Wasting energy bashing each other and constantly listing why we don't like the other way is silly and self defeating. That one's gummy, that one's dry--yep true. There's pluses and minuses for each way. But we all need to support each other I think--stabilize prices and keep on keeping on.

There's pretty much enough factors against us that we can't control. United we stand divided we fall--trite but...

It's ok to bake however you want. It's not ok to bash (be negative about) the other guy's choice.

Banba, you have spoken negatively about cake mix cakes and that's why threads break down. Comparing ourselves to ourselves we are not wise.

Every last one of us can point to both kinds of cake that totally sucks so what?










Go ahead and champion the cause you love but not by pummeling the other (cause).

Every time you go to hit submit re-read your post and exchange the term 'scratch' for 'mix'. Then if it would be concerning that someone said that about your choice then consider re-arranging what you said.

So simply focus on being positive about your choice and leave off the other.

I have a bakery and I make everything from scratch. My prices are high to compensate for the cost of raw materials, and I do use the good stuff! Real butter (no margarine has ever come through the door!), quality chocolate and cocoa powder, etc. My customers love my stuff!

It's not just flour in the box mix. This proves perfectly what I am talking about.

People genuinely don't understand how the bowl of fresh produce ended up a bowl of powder, yet they still use them not knowing what they are! I don't understand this maybe someone could clarify?

Yes we all know the pros and cons of each type of baking be it scratch, doctored or all mixes. The world is a sorry place if we cannot each have our own opininons on these and DISCUSS these without turning it into an argument. Emotions should not come into it, just plain old facts!

I am sorry that someone would feel that I am "pummeling" them with my views. Would it be possible for someone to tell me which part of what I said was incorrect with regards to cake mixes exactly?

Does somebody belive that if a "food" doesn't have an expiry date that it is still "food"

Can someone actually compare the bowl of fresh food to powder, really? I would be interested in hearing your comparison, this is discussing intelligently right, not which is better!

Why should I or any other scratch baker "leave off the other", this is a site about cake right? Scratch bakers make a conscious decision to bake the way they do for a reason as do box people!

What is the future of cake and what we put into the food chain?

So should we not change, work together and create wholesome treats and invest in our communities, why not? Or just keep churning out the same ole same ole?

Instead of each person trying to have their own business and having to use box mixes due to the pressure of being in business on their own and therefore turning out mix cakes, people could work together and produce something a little more wholesome.

I did not "bash" anyones choice, read back, where did I do that?

Did I speak negatively about cake mixes or state the truth?

Baking is a scientific art form passed down from generation to generation. We passed on recipes using foods that were available not mixes so when I speak of "real" baking this is what I mean.

Maybe I am trying to champion a cause but I am really trying to understand how a person that uses a doctored cake mix really believes that they are scratch bakers?

I am also trying to understand why people that use cake mixes don't accept responsibilty for what they are putting into the food chain? Or stop to even consider what they are doing?

Box mix bakers do not upset me as I have already stated to each their own.

Feel free to blast negative comments at me with reagards to scratch baking I will not be offended, I stand proud of what I am putting into people mouths!

I would like to apologise to the person that started this post, I may have gotten carried away but I think it's time people started to consider their choices.

k8memphis, I think that you need to back off and not dole out a lecture if you're concerned about all of us supporting each other. Your second post picking banba's post apart is totally opposite what you're saying about all of us needing to support each other, so I don't see the point of why you posted either time. For pete's sake...

See ^^^ this is what I meant. It's all positive.

If either side of the debate is derogatory (speaks negatively or puts down the product) of the other is when it gets dicey.

Perhaps another thread entitled "All the reasons why scratch cake is my only choice" might work out good for a very passionate baker entitled to her opinion.

Pass the brownies.

All I did was quote her own words to show her potentially hot spots for mix users.







[White flour itself is bad for us--the life of the wheat, the germ, has been removed. Sugar is not so good for us. So I mean I can't even eat cake. My body can't handle most carbs.]

You say potato and I say celery. sigh

The bakery I worked at was in a small farm kitchen - everything was scratch. Sometimes they would use canned items that were not in season, such as cherries.

In a perfect world all bakeries would have green houses with fresh fruit and herbs growning to pick each day...at least mine would!

I started out with box mixes. As time went by, and I received compliments on taste and decoration, I started to feel uneasy about the compliments on taste. It's from a box. It can't be screwed up. When I decided it bothered me enough, started scratching the recipes. I'll never go back. There is something to be said about a cake that's is scratch from start to finish. In my opion, it's a higher level of quality that is justification for higher prices.

I respectfully disagree. My cake is a wonderfully moist decadent creation that did not come out of a box, nor was it mass produced in Wherever-ville and shipped frozen to 300 Walmart locations two Sundays ago. That is "just cake".