Which Costco Bakery Items Are Actually Made From Scratch?

Even though Costco does not label its aisles, most members can easily find the bakery thanks to its distinct smell of freshly-baked bread and pastries. And once the section is spotted, shoppers tend to have a hard time walking past the stacks of goodies without a second look. But how many of these tasty treats are actually made in-house? While the company itself has not made any comments confirming which of its goods are prepared fresh by employees, many alleged Costco bakers have taken to Reddit to answer questions we have been dying to ask.

A Costco baker hopped onto Reddit and revealed that only a handful of baked goods available are actually made from scratch in the bakery, according to their experience. They stated that the beloved Costco pumpkin pies, along with other seasonal pies like cherry, pecan, lemon meringue, strawberry rhubarb, and peach, are all prepared from scratch in-house. They also revealed that most of the breads are made from scratch, including the multigrain bread, country french bread, rosemary bread, garlic bread, and cranberry bread. We knew that fresh-baked bread smell had to be the real deal! 

However, the Redditor also shared that for all the baked goods that are freshly-prepared, there are even more that arrive pre-made. Many of the cakes are made from a bag mixture that is shipped to warehouses, while many other goodies arrive fully assembled and frozen.

According to self-proclaimed former and current bakery employees on Reddit, many of Costco's bakery desserts that members reach for every time are not made from scratch. Items that are shipped completely frozen include the cookies, bagels, croissants, and the artisan buns and baguettes. Costco does reheat many of these items before they are sealed and displayed for purchase, but desserts that don't need reheating, such as the popular tuxedo cake and tiramisu, arrive frozen and are simply thawed and cut before hitting shelves.

Another insightful Reddit thread reported that Costco's popular round cakes and sheet cakes are mixed and baked inside the bakery, although not technically made from scratch. They apparently come from a pre-made mixture of dry ingredients that are prepared by Costco's bakers in-house. The fillings and icings (minus the colored icings used for decorating) are all made from scratch in the bakery. As for more goods that are allegedly made using mixes, the other aforementioned Costco baker on Reddit named the grocery chain's pound cake, cheesecakes, muffins, and dinner rolls.