I tried the Home Bargains bakery - one 69p item was better than M&S
Who doesn't love a trip to Home Bargains? It's the perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon, and even if you don't have a shopping list in mind, you're bound to find some stuff that you didn't even know you needed.
My local retail park opened a brand new Home Bargains store a few months ago, and safe to say I've already made a few trips there. I usually stick to the homeware, beauty and cleaning aisles, so failed to notice that there's actually an instore bakery too. And as someone who can't resist a treat, I decided to try out a few pastries to see how good they were.
Being such a huge fan of a baked good, I've tried pastries from most of the major supermarkets. Lidl is usually my go-to for cheapness, but I do love the occasional treat from Waitrose and Marks and Spencer too. So, I was keen to see how the Home Bargains prices compared, and of course, how good they tasted too.
The bakery section was pretty small, with everything coming pre-packaged instead of the usual tongs and bags affair, which definitely made it a lot easier. There was a decent selection of sweet treats like croissants, pain au chocolats, cookies and more, with prices ranging from 59p to around £1.50.
I'd have liked to see some freshly baked bread or baguettes, but maybe my store had just run out. I managed to get six things, and it came to less than £6, which I thought was decent. Here's my verdict.
Maple and pecan plait - 59pStarting off strong with one of these sweet and moreish pastries, which is normally what I buy from Lidl, so I had high hopes. These honestly tasted the exact same, with a lovely sweet centre and flaky, chewy and buttery pastry surrounding it. I wish I'd taken the time to warm it up, as it would have tasted even more delicious.
My one criticism would be that it could use more pecans on top to add an extra crunch, but apart from that, it was lovely. This was also the cheapest thing in the entire haul, costing just 59p.
Rating: 4/5
After starting on such a high, I was brought swifty back down to earth with this Biscoff filled croissant. As I tore into it, I noticed that it was made from a cheap bready dough and not the flaky kind that a croissant should be. It only had a tiny bit of filling in it too.
Unfortunately, it didn't taste any better than it looked. It tasted cheap, and the Biscoff filling didn't add anything to the overall experience. It was way too dry, chewy and lacked flavour, so I probably wouldn't recommend, even if you're a Biscoff lover.
Rating: 1/5
Next up was a twin pack of pain aux chocolats, which set me back 99p. After the horror of the Biscoff one, I was definitely wary about these.
However, these were actually slightly better. The pastry reassuringly started flaking off in my hand as I inspected the chocolate filling, which also appeared pretty substantial.
In terms of taste, they were just okay. Again it lacked that crispy bite that you get from a good artisan pastry, but for 99p, I don't really know what I was expecting. The chocolate was fairly mid-tier as well, and I would have preferred a darker variety to balance the sweetness of the pastry.
Rating: 3/5
Cookies are all the rage at supermarkets right now, with many retailers battling it out to create the trendiest new flavours. But you can't beat the classics, and these double chocolate ones from Home Bargains proved that.
You get five in a pack, and they're pretty big but very thin. I was expecting them to be a hard biscuit-like texture because of this, but they were so soft and chewy, you could almost bend it in half without it breaking.
The chocolate chips just melted in your mouth, which was lovely. Each cookie's interior was soft and chewy with more of a crunch on the outside - just like a cookie should be. I highly recommend these, and they seriously give M&S a run for their money.
Rating: 5/5
If there's one thing that reminds me of my childhood more than anything, it's mini doughnuts. I ate them so much that I'm truthfully now not a big fan, but I still thought they were worth trying for comparison purposes.
These were very forgettable, as far as mini doughnuts go. I thought they were going to be coated in sugar but it was more of a powdered sugar, which I don't really love.
They were also a bit on the dry side, and I wasn't tempted at all to go back into the bag and eat some more later in the evening. In my opinion, it's worth spending a little more and getting them from a different supermarket.
Rating: 2/5
It's not often I opt for a savoury pastry, but I love cheese twists, especially from M&S. A colleague recommended that I had to try the Home Bargains version, and I'm so glad she did.
This was by far the standout of the bunch. The pastry was perfectly buttery and the cheese filling ran generously through the layers, without being too sickly or overpowering.
It was the perfect savoury balance, and for around half the price of the M&S version. This would make the perfect snack for the upcoming picnic season, so if you're a fan of a cheese twist and haven't tried the Home Bargains bakery one, I can't recommend it enough.
Rating: 5/5