H-E-B Doesn't Actually Bake All Of Its Bakery Items In-Store

H-E-B has a lot of products that are positively beloved by shoppers, from butter tortillas and green hatch queso dip to specialty salsa and ice cream, but the in-store bakery selection might just take the cake. However, it turns out that a selection of items from the bakery section aren't actually made in-store, and regular H-E-B shoppers have started to take notice.

In a Reddit thread under the r/HEB subreddit, users commented on the noticeable drop in quality of the chocolate chip cookies, noting a difference in taste. An H-E-B bakery employee replied, noting that some are baked in-house, while others are brought in from a warehouse. In another Reddit thread, an H-E-B employee noted that at the store where they work, the cakes aren't actually made fresh in-house. "Just to be clear — the cake comes in pre-baked and frozen. The decorators assemble and ice (most of) them after they've thawed, and then they get put out." Users quickly replied, with notes of disappointment and recognizing that the aroma you get when you walk into a mom-and-pop bakery is noticeably absent when strolling through H-E-B's bakery section.

Should you trust everything you read on the internet? Probably not, but in this case, the Reddit threads are proving to be accurate. According to Chron, Lisa Helfman, manager for public affairs at H-E-B Houston, issued a statement that the San Antonio-based grocery store chain partners with other suppliers and operates facilities across Texas to produce a variety of items, including cakes, chips, and other customer favorites.

While it's true that H-E-B has begun outsourcing a variety of its bakery section items to outside vendors, fans of the superior grocery store chain and its in-house bakery shouldn't lose hope. In the same Reddit thread discussing the frozen cakes, an H-E-B employee made sure to note the products that are still, in fact, made in the store. "I should say, we do actually bake a lot of our stuff still, like the Danishes, turnovers, palm leaves, croissants, etc. Also, all of the 'made from scratch' bread is made by the scratch baker, who usually does mix flour, yeast, etc., and bakes the bread," the user explained in the Reddit thread. "So, when they're there early in the morning, the bakery does smell like a bakery."

The croissants? They're not just your standard, run-of-the-mill grocery store butter croissants. They're freshly baked, covered in a sugary sweet glaze, and have become a viral sensation online. However, according to fans of the sweet treat, they have an annoying habit of quickly selling out. In a recent Reddit thread about the glazed croissant, fans of the flaky treats note that if you manage to get your hands on one (or a box if you're really lucky), don't wait until the next day to indulge. Dive in as soon as possible. "It is definitely a 'eat only when fresh' scenario," one Reddit user suggested. "Such a tasty one too."