The Disappointing Reason You Need To Resist Buying Grocery Store Bakery Items

It might be nearly impossible to walk past the bakery section of your grocery store without buying something, or at least glancing at the options. However, while these premade treats may look delicious, they aren't always the freshest. Many shoppers have complained of store-bought baked goods from stores having an incredibly dry texture. Instead of a light and fluffy croissant or a perfectly moist piece of cake, you're left with a gritty and hard dessert. These items often aren't of the freshest quality due to being made with frozen components or shipped and stored while frozen.

Of course, the storage conditions of baked goods will affect quality in the long run, no matter whether you buy them or make them yourself, but the lack of freshness of store-bought treats is typically an issue from the very beginning. Many desserts such as sheet cakes, pastries, and even breads are made with frozen dough and other frozen ingredients because it's cheaper. These desserts are often half-baked at another location, transported to the store frozen, and then finished baking or decorated there. This results in a dry, stale texture, which many shoppers understandably have a problem with. Some even claim online that they no longer buy from grocery store bakeries because of the disappointing quality.

While it seems like many grocery stores offer fresh baked goods, most retailers follow the same frozen practices. Fortunately, it's possible to save your store-bought desserts — you simply need to add moisture back in along with heat. For treats like croissants or breads, simply spray them with water and heat them in the oven for eight to 10 minutes. Microwaving is another trick to melt down some of the fats or sugars, so try reheating your spritzed pastries for under a minute to soften them up again. For cookies or cakes, the slice of bread trick will also help to add moisture back into your desserts and keep them fresh for longer.  

While store-bought bakery items can be brought back to life, they still won't be as fresh as you may be expecting. Freezing is often a way to preserve baked goods as leftovers, but texture and moisture will end up being sacrificed when freezing a finished product from the start, then thawing it to sit on store shelves for several days. Adding moisture to and reheating your baked goods may be a quick fix, but sticking to baking homemade treats or buying freshly made ones from a local bakery rather than your grocery store may be your best bet for the best quality.