5 Things You Should Know Before Buying Bakery Items at the Grocery Store, According to Employees

Though I am no longer small enough to fit in the kids seat of a grocery cart, I still get the same level of giddy when I get close to the best section in the store: the bakery. Whether it’s to grab a freshly baked loaf (half of which would never make it home on my watch), sample a seasonal cookie, or pick up a last-minute birthday cake, the grocery store bakery really is a magical place. And wouldn’t you know, the bakers who staff them have plenty of tricks up their sleeves, too?

I asked three bakery workers to share their favorite tips for navigating my favorite grocery store section. Happily, they shared some secret intel on freshly baked loaves, frozen (yes, frozen!) goods, and special occasion cakes. (One of them also lovely transformed a single chocolate cupcake into a cat for me — but that’s a story for another time.) Here are the five tips to know before your next grocery bakery run.

More often than not, the bakery section at your grocery store is not making cakes, pastries, and pies from scratch, and instead relies on premade mixes or frozen par-baked items. This is actually great news, TBH! Why is that? Well, you can actually buy these items frozen and bake them at your leisure. 

I’ve personally found picking up frozen bakery croissants and holiday pies are the best way to get the most out of this tip. To me, frozen-from-the-bakery croissants taste even better than the croissants in the freezer section, and you don’t have to worry about missing out on a pecan pie (or buying one too early). 

Long gone are the days you have to rely on presliced sandwich bread for the perfect BLT. Yes, you can and should get that baguette (or sourdough, or ciabatta, or…) sliced! Most bakery departments have a slicer that can easily turn that loaf into slices of your preferred thickness. All you have to do is ask.

Grocery store bakery cakes are so good, even chefs and cookbook authors can’t get enough of them. On days you want a little creative freedom with what goes on top of the cake (besides, say, vanilla or chocolate frosting), many grocery stores like Whole Foods Market, Walmart, Sam’s Club, and Costco can sell you unfrosted sheet cakes and round cakes. This way you can skip the baking part and get right to decorating with whatever flavors and designs you desire.

On the other hand, maybe you want all those purple frosting rosettes and more. In those cases, you should absolutely ask your bakery section if you can buy additional tubs of frosting. You can even see if you can switch out the frosting altogether for something like store-made ganache or whipped cream.

This tip is particularly helpful for kids’ cakes, especially if ones that have a specific character or hobby they really like. Consider bringing a few figurines, favorite candies, or other kinds of toppings to the bakery to use when decorating your cake. Of course, you’ll want to drop these decorations off at least a few days before, so they have ample time to complete the design.

Got any bakery tips to add to the list? Tell us about it in the comments below.