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Have supermarkets killed the old-fashioned Bakeries?

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LOL why is it doing that?

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The short answer is pretty much but that includes "real" places like DD and KK. There are some big places that are pretty good, Wegmans being an example, for donuts. Breads are harder and fair is about as good as big stores get. Bagels? Forget it. Those pretty much went south after the bagel makers union got busted decades ago. I hear some places in and around NYC are still ok but the old timers say it ain't what it was. While I'll eat an occasional commercial bagel I prefer to roll my own, literally. No extruded and steamed wheat toroid.
 
I just hate having to go to a Supermarket just to get a morning donut.

And this morning I went in there and there wasa lady loading up 2 dozen donuts in two of those huge boxes. She took literally all the maple bars that were left.

This is what upsets me. Supermarket bakeries are not designed to handle these people that come to get 2-3 dozen donuts. They end up cleaning out all the good donuts and all that is left is like the hard old fashioned donuts with chocolate icing ugh... i dont eat those garbages. I want a maple bar!
 
OP certainly doesn't live near me. Top 3 donuts in the area are all from supermarkets. KK, Dunkin Donuts, are crap in comparison.
 
Years ago we had 3 small bakeries in a town of 15k people. You bought cakes at one, donuts/pastries at another, and bread at the third. The first two closed, and the survivor only had good bread while the rest was so-so. And it didn't last too much longer. Where I live now there's one bakery that's on its last legs. Everybody goes to the supermarket for their "fresh" (= brought to the store as frozen dough, then they bake it) not-that-great stuff. The DD is too far out of my way.

Agreed that supermarkets killed bakeries, with a helping hand from the modern-day stigma attached to donuts ("fat pills").
 
Supermarket bakeries in my area generally suck, especially for what you pay. It's probably still cheaper than proper bakeries though, and you get everything in one go.
 
Imp said:
Supermarket bakeries in my area generally suck, especially for what you pay. It's probably still cheaper than proper bakeries though, and you get everything in one go.
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Not when people come in and load up 2 dozen donuts from the tiny supermarket donut section! I left empty handed!
 
futurefields said:
Not when people come in and load up 2 dozen donuts from the tiny supermarket donut section! I left empty handed!
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Don't worry, man. The places I go usually make a few dozen boxes of donuts and leave them on the sales floor up until the expiration date. There are usually a few dozen boxes left on the day of expiration. You get a whole dollar off before they go in the dumpster!
 
futurefields said:
How does one come up with a stat like this? Directly from where the sun doesn't shine? :colbert:
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Keep in mind...while Oldsmoboat has a basement...Doc Pizza has a farm. LOTS of room to hide bodies...and he might have a neighbor who raises pigs. 😛

While good donuts have made me the (fat) man I am today...I've NEVER had a decent donut from a grocery store.

Happily (for my waist line) there are very few donut shops around here...so I'm rarely tempted.
 
Some real bakeries put themselves out of business, by only making crap that might have been popular 20 years ago. That happened around my place. Sorry, I'm not interested in polish pastries that were liked by my neighbours' grandmother, who died in the 1990s.

OTOH, new bakeries that make good tasting stuff and who have kept up with times have thrived. They charge more than the supermarkets, but it's worth it. Mind you, not everyone in all neighbourhoods would agree. The high end bread loaves are $5+ now, and that doesn't go over well in lower income neighbourhoods, when you can get an approximation of those high end bread loaves for $1 less in a supermarket.

As for bagels, we have a true bagel shop here in Toronto near my workplace, complete with the wood oven. They have a decent selection, but the selection and availability is more in Montreal. I never buy grocery store bagels, because they taste like cardboard, or at best, like a bun. If I want a bun, I'll buy a bun, not a bagel that tastes like a bun.

As for Tim Hortons, I am disappointed with them. At least they used to make their own doughnuts, but no more, and they don't taste as fresh as they used to. But it should be noted that it's not as if Tim Hortons was ever really that "good". Its main draw is that it's cheap with mainstream drinkable coffee, and OK donuts. As for their muffins, they aren't so good and never have been, or at least haven't been very good in the last 20 years.
 
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no shortage of good bakeries here, and a few truly great ones 😀

roche brothers was the first supermarket in the area with a decent bakery, then the others (stop & shop, shaw's, etc.) took it a little more seriously, then they're all terrible. whole foods is mediocre at best (and poor value for money) while trader joe's has good bread (baked at a commercial bakery somewhere near each store) but i'm not crazy about the muffins and other sweets.
 
We still have good bakeries up here in the northeast. Around north Jersey there are a number of Italian bakeries that produce everything from bread to cakes. And then there are the bagel shops, which number in the trillions.

As for donuts... Dunkin' I guess.
 
Generally speaking, grocery store have sucky desserts (including donuts) in their bakery departments. Going to a donut chain will be a notch or two better.
 
destrekor said:
Yeah, the cupcake trend was unreal. Never thought I'd really see major cupcake-only bakeries selling $4+ specialty cupcakes... but alas, they are everywhere now.

I need to figure out the next baking trend, get some financial assistance, and make my move.

Cronuts, unfortunately, when they made correctly, do not last long at all before losing half of the magic behind them. The air gets to them way too fast. They are rather magical, however. At least, the imitation varieties I have tried have been magical.
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Most cupcakeries aren't stellar. People are essentially buying into a fad (usually it's decorated quite nicely and/or piled high with frosting).

I agree with you about Cronuts. Gotta eat 'em while they're fresh.


MongGrel said:
Seems like too much work for a doughnut to me to begin with.

*shrug*

logo.png


http://www.cafedumonde.com/beignets

http://www.cafedumonde.com/history
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The first stop when I went to New Orleans was Cafe Du Monde. I can sum it up in one word: Overrated. It's *missing* something. I bet if some cinnamon were added to the powdered sugar, it would taste a lot better.

beignets1.jpg

What you get at Cafe Du Monde 😉
 
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Xstatic1 said:
The first stop when I went to New Orleans was Cafe Du Monde. I can sum it up in one word: Overrated. It's *missing* something. I bet if some cinnamon were added to the powdered sugar, it would taste a lot better.
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Maybe it's changed I guess over the years, haven't been there in about 15.

Not sure they had all the retail branches they have now, appears they might have commercialized too much, got me.

Happens I guess.

I know the line at the building used to go around the block at the main one every morning from talking to most locals.

Loved this place while I was there too, I don't live there but thought I'd throw it out there.

http://www.tujaguesrestaurant.com/
 
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Xstatic1 said:
Most cupcakeries aren't stellar. People are essentially buying into a fad (usually it's decorated quite nicely and/or piled high with frosting).

I agree with you about Cronuts. Gotta eat 'em while they're fresh.




The first stop when I went to New Orleans was Cafe Du Monde. I can sum it up in one word: Overrated. It's *missing* something. I bet if some cinnamon were added to the powdered sugar, it would taste a lot better.

beignets1.jpg

What you get at Cafe Du Monde 😉
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Yeah, not exactly what I recall.

More culture down the drain I guess.
 
MongGrel said:
Maybe it's changed I guess over the years, haven't been there in about 15.

I know the line at the building used to go around the block at the main one every morning.

Loved this place while I was there too, I don't live there but thought I'd throw it out there.

http://www.tujaguesrestaurant.com/
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Oh believe me, there was a huuuge line to get 'em (if you wanted take-out, which we did)...and all the tables were full if we wanted to dine there. It's definitely worth trying if you haven't, but having already tried it once, I wouldn't bother again (I've been called a food snob). I think if they were to add cinnamon though, it would change my view, considerably. 😉
 
MongGrel said:
Yeah, not exactly what I recall.

More culture down the drain I guess.
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The pic was my take-out order a few months ago. They throw the beignets in a bag. I don't know if there would've been a taste difference if we had gotten a table. :shrug:
 
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