Why are so many American pastry and bread shops really bad?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not saying NO good bakeries exist in the US, because there are really good ones, but why is it that the vast majority of bakeries in the US are just subpar. Take for example so many bakeries that make bread, croissants, or other puff pastry type items. Why is it in the US there are so many where the pastry shells or breads have too light of a coloring after being baked? Do they not teach the single most important chemical reaction in all of baking, which is the Maillard reaction? It is so absolutely fundamental to master the skill of Maillard, because it unlocks incredible amounts of flavor. Too many shops in America struggle with it. Are the majority of pastry shops and bakeries in the US even run by professional bakers with training, or are they just shop run by people who liked to bake at home and thought they were good at it? Make good bread is extremely hard. It is so hard to find really good bread in the US. So many croissant places miss the mark and their croissants are too soft and never flaky. Bleh.

"Make good bread is extremely hard."

and

"Why are so many American pastry and bread shops really bad?"

Hmm.
Hmmmm.
Yep, that's a real mystery, there.

It is a mystery, because presumably if you open a shop you've mastered how to make good bread in the first place. Not trying to learn how to make good after you open the shop. What a disastrous business decision.

The best business decision is to determine what your clientele wants. Most Americans really don’t want the type of bread you want, because that type of bread is only great tasting for a few hours to a few days, depending on the type of bread. That means you need to shop for bread every day, and know what to do with day-old bread. Most Americans don’t want to shop for bread everyday, nor are their meals constructed around ways to use up day-old bread. So it’s not profitable to make that type of bread here.

+1 with all the threads on here where people don't have time for a weekly shop and the advice to them "get all your groceries delivered. Set up subscriptions for everything- TP, paper towels, soap, deoderant, etc." Of course they are not going to make time for daily fresh bread or have time to make bread pudding or panzanella or croutons or bread crumbs from stale bread. So many people on here just trying to get by.

We have a great place prettynear us that makes fresh bread daily but they run out by mid- to late- morning and are only open T-Sat. I need to do some major planning to get there once in awhile as a treat. Never mind daily.

[Anonymous]

First, a place with both bread and pastries is doing one of those badly. If you want bread, don’t go to cake shop.
In Philly, Ursa bakery is phenomenal. They don’t touch pastries. I’m sure there are good bakeries in dc.

[Anonymous]

Seylou in DuPont circle is supposed to be good if you want real bread.

[Anonymous]

Menifest Bread in Prince George's. They grind their own flour.

[Anonymous]

Many old world ways of making things take time and antiquated equipment. Here bread is made quickly and with preservatives. Many loaves are baked after dough was frozen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know but I think good bread is something Americans aren't willing to pay for..
Every time a new bakery opens up in my area, people get excited on Facebook only to find out it is yet another custom cake place with garishly-colored fondant covering every item. When people ask about bread/baked goods the owners basically say its not profitable and custom cakes are where the money is.

This is the answer.

It's cultural.

[Anonymous]

We had better breads in Texas. I’ve tried to go to a few bakeries here and they have the bare minimum - white, wheat, sourdough, etc. no jalapeño bread, no focaccia, no rosemary olive oil. It’s bizarre.

[Anonymous]

I disagree with your premise. The bread at the farmers market is great and there are several good bakeries I can think of in the bethesda/rockville area.
I find bad bakeries in a lot of countries. Like people rave about the bakeries in Mexico and the pan Dulce but I’ve never had any good ones, despite trying probably a dozen different places. Of course, Italy France and Spain have great bakeries, but you can’t signal out America as having the only bad ones.

But I think one issue is the way Americans shop. Unless you are picking up fresh bread to eat same day, it just doesn’t work. So the Friday challah usually works because bakeries know a large number will purchase fresh bread on that day. Otherwise they end up with a lot of waste because most Americans don’t stop on their way home from work to pick up fresh bread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not saying NO good bakeries exist in the US, because there are really good ones, but why is it that the vast majority of bakeries in the US are just subpar. Take for example so many bakeries that make bread, croissants, or other puff pastry type items. Why is it in the US there are so many where the pastry shells or breads have too light of a coloring after being baked? Do they not teach the single most important chemical reaction in all of baking, which is the Maillard reaction? It is so absolutely fundamental to master the skill of Maillard, because it unlocks incredible amounts of flavor. Too many shops in America struggle with it. Are the majority of pastry shops and bakeries in the US even run by professional bakers with training, or are they just shop run by people who liked to bake at home and thought they were good at it? Make good bread is extremely hard. It is so hard to find really good bread in the US. So many croissant places miss the mark and their croissants are too soft and never flaky. Bleh.

"Make good bread is extremely hard."

and

"Why are so many American pastry and bread shops really bad?"

Hmm.
Hmmmm.
Yep, that's a real mystery, there.

It is a mystery, because presumably if you open a shop you've mastered how to make good bread in the first place. Not trying to learn how to make good after you open the shop. What a disastrous business decision.

The best business decision is to determine what your clientele wants. Most Americans really don’t want the type of bread you want, because that type of bread is only great tasting for a few hours to a few days, depending on the type of bread. That means you need to shop for bread every day, and know what to do with day-old bread. Most Americans don’t want to shop for bread everyday, nor are their meals constructed around ways to use up day-old bread. So it’s not profitable to make that type of bread here.

This. America is not a peasant society where bread is a main staple of every meal. This isn't Ye Olde Middle Ages.

[Anonymous]

I buy $7 bread at my local store that freshly baked. It molds in 3 days. Americans aren't shopping like Europeans and fresh bread is too expensive. You can make it yourself but then it's a lot of effort. The US is industrial food country. Everything is trucked from a far, lots of variety but none of it is that good. But it's all available all the time.

[Anonymous]

I agree. I learned to make my own bread. It's surprisingly not that hard - just does take time.

[Anonymous]

We grow up on Wonder Bread , Krispy Kreme donuts, Pop Tarts, and Ho Ho’s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not saying NO good bakeries exist in the US, because there are really good ones, but why is it that the vast majority of bakeries in the US are just subpar. Take for example so many bakeries that make bread, croissants, or other puff pastry type items. Why is it in the US there are so many where the pastry shells or breads have too light of a coloring after being baked? Do they not teach the single most important chemical reaction in all of baking, which is the Maillard reaction? It is so absolutely fundamental to master the skill of Maillard, because it unlocks incredible amounts of flavor. Too many shops in America struggle with it. Are the majority of pastry shops and bakeries in the US even run by professional bakers with training, or are they just shop run by people who liked to bake at home and thought they were good at it? Make good bread is extremely hard. It is so hard to find really good bread in the US. So many croissant places miss the mark and their croissants are too soft and never flaky. Bleh.

"Make good bread is extremely hard."

and

"Why are so many American pastry and bread shops really bad?"

Hmm.
Hmmmm.
Yep, that's a real mystery, there.

It is a mystery, because presumably if you open a shop you've mastered how to make good bread in the first place. Not trying to learn how to make good after you open the shop. What a disastrous business decision.

The best business decision is to determine what your clientele wants. Most Americans really don’t want the type of bread you want, because that type of bread is only great tasting for a few hours to a few days, depending on the type of bread. That means you need to shop for bread every day, and know what to do with day-old bread. Most Americans don’t want to shop for bread everyday, nor are their meals constructed around ways to use up day-old bread. So it’s not profitable to make that type of bread here.

This. America is not a peasant society where bread is a main staple of every meal. This isn't Ye Olde Middle Ages.

OK this legit made me LOL. It's pretty true. Now everyone actively avoids bread and it's more of a treat. I have an Italian restaurant I can go to that has the best bread. So I save my cravings for that.

[Anonymous]

Agree. I hate American pastries. Way too sweet. I prefer European/Asian ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not saying NO good bakeries exist in the US, because there are really good ones, but why is it that the vast majority of bakeries in the US are just subpar. Take for example so many bakeries that make bread, croissants, or other puff pastry type items. Why is it in the US there are so many where the pastry shells or breads have too light of a coloring after being baked? Do they not teach the single most important chemical reaction in all of baking, which is the Maillard reaction? It is so absolutely fundamental to master the skill of Maillard, because it unlocks incredible amounts of flavor. Too many shops in America struggle with it. Are the majority of pastry shops and bakeries in the US even run by professional bakers with training, or are they just shop run by people who liked to bake at home and thought they were good at it? Make good bread is extremely hard. It is so hard to find really good bread in the US. So many croissant places miss the mark and their croissants are too soft and never flaky. Bleh.

"Make good bread is extremely hard."

and

"Why are so many American pastry and bread shops really bad?"

Hmm.
Hmmmm.
Yep, that's a real mystery, there.

It is a mystery, because presumably if you open a shop you've mastered how to make good bread in the first place. Not trying to learn how to make good after you open the shop. What a disastrous business decision.

The best business decision is to determine what your clientele wants. Most Americans really don’t want the type of bread you want, because that type of bread is only great tasting for a few hours to a few days, depending on the type of bread. That means you need to shop for bread every day, and know what to do with day-old bread. Most Americans don’t want to shop for bread everyday, nor are their meals constructed around ways to use up day-old bread. So it’s not profitable to make that type of bread here.

This. America is not a peasant society where bread is a main staple of every meal. This isn't Ye Olde Middle Ages.

Correct. America is a peasant society where high fructose corn syrup is a main staple.