Why The Pastries At Panera Bread Are Never Made From Scratch

Though the original name of Panera Bread was something entirely different, the restaurant has become synonymous with cafe-style foods and casual business meetings. Warm seasonal soups, convenient sandwiches, and doughy bagels are a few of the brand's staples, there to fill your stomach. However, to those who say that Panera Bread reminds them of hospital cafeteria food, you're not far off the mark, because the chain's "New Era" means that par-baked and frozen pastries are now part of the norm.

In 2024, Nation's Restaurant News (NRN) reported that Panera Bread had begun switching to par-baked and frozen bakery items as a part of its "Bakery of the Future" initiative due to supposed underperformance and falling profits at various fresh dough manufacturing facilities. While some pastries were never made from scratch at Panera, it appears that many locations no longer receive fresh dough from the manufacturing facilities at all, only frozen and par-baked.

Beyond poor margins at these facilities, Panera's previous method of baking fresh dough in the restaurants meant there was always a possibility of over- or under-production of an item. This new strategy, however, means that bakery items, such as pastries, are partially baked at another location, frozen, and transported to Panera restaurants. Though this may sound like a simple business model maneuver, many employees (and customers) are unhappy about what these changes entail.

Historically, Panera Bread has received its dough and pastry items from fresh dough manufacturing facilities, separate from restaurants owned by the Panera brand. The facilities were staffed by bakers who created dough for bread, bagels, and pastries and delivered these items to restaurant locations daily. In 2016, Panera Bread owned 22 of these facilities, but following the brand's 2024 "New Era" plan, which reimagines a whole new menu, at least four of the facilities have closed, with more predicted to shut down as the year progresses. Facility closures mean massive layoffs, and since Panera employees no longer need to bake fresh dough in the mornings, various restaurants have also seen a minimization of employees.

The concept of par-baked items isn't entirely new to Panera Bread, but this is the first time the brand is almost eliminating fresh-baked items in favor of it. With the new par-baked model, many items arrive frozen, such as cinnamon rolls, croissants, muffins, and cookies (besides the decorated shortbread). Even the bagels come par-baked — and don't forget that soups aren't made fresh at Panera Bread, either. According to employees interviewed by NRN, the frozen pastry and bakery items don't "have the same taste, texture, or look as a fresh product." Though Panera Bread's "New Era" may cut back on profit losses at fresh dough manufacturing facilities, it may not be worth the public outcry if those Cinnamon Crunch Bagel Breakfast Sandwiches taste any different.