Do bakeries bake from scratch? - Page 3  

And if you never wish to step your game up and make it even better and worthy of a nice price...so be it. To that I say....LONG LIVE SCRATCH BAKERS!

I forgot to mention, I use box mixes occasionally, for friends and family only. I will never ever sell a mix made cake again, doesn't feel right. Just my opinion.

I bake from scratch...I grew up on a big farm and have loved all of the old recipes. I find that many people today don't really know what a cake made from scratch is...until they taste one. It certainly cost more to do a scratch cake...but the quality of it just can't be beat...and that is just my opinion. I have used mixes and made semi-home made if you will...though they were good...I prefer the ones made from scratch.

Getting back to topic, slightly - the problem with big bakeries not baking from scratch is that their prices undercut the quality competition and close them down, leaving us with only the cheap rubbish. Same goes for cheap fast food joints - they force out the local owned, sandwich shops etc leaving us with only poor quality.

For people like us creating edible art it really doesn't matter what our preferences are, as long as we are proud of our product and happy with our profit margins.

Personally I bake from scratch, I think it tastes better and isn't any harder to get consistent results than by using mixes.

My grandma taught me how to bake, and with that came learning to sift and measure flour and all the other ingredients that went into it. When the cake or whatever it is you're making comes out great, it's a real sense of accomplishment knowing you put these ingredients together to create something so delicious. The idea that scratch cakes are unpredictable or dry is silly. Maybe to those who don't know how to make them right!

My grandma taught me how to bake, and with that came learning to sift and measure flour and all the other ingredients that went into it. When the cake or whatever it is you're making comes out great, it's a real sense of accomplishment knowing you put these ingredients together to create something so delicious. The idea that scratch cakes are unpredictable or dry is silly. Maybe to those who don't know how to make them right!

My grandma taught me how to bake, and with that came learning to sift and measure flour and all the other ingredients that went into it. When the cake or whatever it is you're making comes out great, it's a real sense of accomplishment knowing you put these ingredients together to create something so delicious. The idea that scratch cakes are unpredictable or dry is silly. Maybe to those who don't know how to make them right!

OK, I am going to answer the original question, which I believe was "Do all bakeries bake from scratch?" I won't even go into how I run my personal business.

When I first started out, I worked in the bakery of a large supermarket to get some experience with production, etc. I was in pastry school at the time, and thought it would help me determine what direction to take when I finished school.

At the supermarket, I was told that while the preference was to bake from scratch, after trying this for awhile, they discovered that quality control across the chain of stores was next to impossible. At some point, they changed gears and began to use mixes and frozen products to address this problem, and found that the overall product from store to store was much better.

So there is a little more food for thought on why many places opt for mixes and frozen items. In the end, they feel they are better serving the customer.

Leave me out of the scratch vs. mix fray. Just a little story. About 5 years ago, my honey and I were riding the motorcycle in a town about 50 miles from Sturgis and stopped at a little coffee shop way out in the sticks and they were baking the best smelling cinnamon rolls I had ever experienced. Even better than Cinnabon. We both ordered one and they tasted even better than they smelled. Soft and fluffy, wonderful centers and delicious glaze. When we paid, we commented on their "homemade" rolls. The person in the kitchen stuck her head out and showed us a frozen pan of commercial rolls they use and laughed.
The point being, you can't always generalize on which is best. On that hot day with my wind-blown hair, those cinnamon rolls WERE the best.

Consistant results can be achieved by using a weighing scales.

Boy, just returned from work, checked this thread and thought "Oh no, not again".

First, I just checked a box of Duncan Hines and it does have an expiration date, so I'm not sure which boxed mixes don't or if there are any that don't.

I started baking in 7th grade after my first Home Economics class, I knew I was hooked. I learned scratch baking from the beginning, so that's what I've always done. My Mom never had mixes in the house, she made everything from scratch, including bread everyday for dinner. (I have a huge family, youngest of 8 kids)

Having said that, since joining CC in August, I wanted to try the WASC after reading the rave reviews. It's OK I agree, but personally I can taste the artificial ingredients. That's my personal opinion, I'm not saying it's bad or wrong to use it, I just prefer my old scratch recipes.

As a consumer, I would not be happy to pay a premium price for what I thought was a "from scratch" item if it was not. I think if bakeries or home bakers use a mix, even if they add things to it to "doctor" it, they should advertise as such. I don't think it's fair to pass a doctored mix recipe off as a "scratch" item. It's "fresh baked" yes, but it's not "scratch". I know a girl in RI that bakes from home (unlicensed), has a website, uses mix, and advertises that her cakes are from scratch. That's just wrong in my opinion. Isn't it?

I think there's room for everyone in this world, I'm not bashing people that use mixes, at all. To me it's not even about the artificial ingredients, it's just about the different taste and texture. Notice I said different, not bad or awful, just different.

Heck, unless we grow our own fruit, vegetables, wheat, etc., we all eat a certain amount of artificial ingredients and preservatives everyday.

I guess my biggest pet peeve is the baker that advertises "from scratch", when it's not.

I don't see an expiration date on my bags of sugar nor on my apples.

me too.

I think most bakeries in the U.S. use pre-made mixes. It does have consistency, but I'm sure it also has a price issue. On top of that, most Americans are used to box type cakes. I too use to be a box mix lady. I would have thought every scratch cake was dry and weird tasting.
I think it is harder to compete in the industry with scratch baked goods. The industry is full of cheap bakery products. With scratch cakes you would have to pass the cost onto the costumer. No way would I have ever paid 2 dollars more for a cake just because it was scratch.
So I think cost and costumer base affect box vs. scratch.

julzs-- I think that it's actually easier to compete if you're baking from scratch, because that's a big selling point these days. The cost of scratch baking really isn't that much more expensive than buying a mix and adding the eggs, etc. to it. I advertise no mixes, and I definitely use it as a marketing tool. I can see if you're a large bakery that has to use mixes to get a consistent result if you have a bunch of people doing the baking, but in terms of profit I have no trouble selling cakes.