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

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

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]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?  [b]Make good bread is extremely hard. [/b] 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. [/quote]

"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. [/quote]

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.[/quote]

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.[/quote]

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

Correct.  America is a peasant society where high fructose corn syrup is a main staple.[/quote]

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