Why we can call ourselves a "SCRATCH BAKERY"

​A topic that is near and dear to me and somewhat irritates me is the misuse of the term “Scratch Baking”.  It has been more and more used incorrectly by most bakeries these days in North America. To quote Martin Barnett, “If a magasin (store) in France sells pre-made bakery goods, they are not allowed to call themselves a boulangerie (bakery). To be a boulangerie, you have to make products on the premises with certified bakers. I think we should embrace that in Canada.” Most bakeries claim that they bake everything from scratch.  When you bake from “scratch”, you bake using only basic ingredients and nothing that has been prepared ahead or processed. The official definition describes creating or preparing something “from the beginning.” Just like other idiomatic expressions, this saying is used regularly, but the original meaning has changed.

The term “from scratch” dates back to the 1800s, but this idiom used to be about races or sporting events instead of cooking or baking. Bicycle and foot racers were said to start from scratch if they had no advantage. Non-scratch racers were given the advantage of an early start or shorter distance. Scratch racers had no lead and began the race at what was then called the scratch line, which was simply a line scratched into the ground to mark the start of a race.

Baking from scratch means the baker uses only fresh, basic ingredients to prepare: bread, a cake, cookies, or other treat, instead of using boxed mixes or other pre-made ingredients. Since baking from a box is fairly common, scratch cakes and baked goods are frequently the exception to the rule. Sayings like “from scratch” make it possible to distinguish who is doing the old-school baking and who is “fudging” it a bit.


At the Kimberley City Bakery, we DO have FRESH, SCRATCH BAKED GOODS DAILY! I can attest to that personally. Come and see and taste the difference of TRUE scratch baking.