Who can resist a visit to Home Bargains ? It’s an ideal way to spend a drizzly afternoon, and even without a specific shopping list, you’re guaranteed to come across items you never realised you wanted. A brand new Home Bargains opened at my local retail park several months back, and it’s fair to say I’ve become a regular visitor. I typically stick to the homeware, beauty and cleaning sections, so I’d completely overlooked the fact there’s an in-store bakery as well. As someone with
a weakness for sweet treats, I thought I’d try a few pastries to see how they measured up. Being partial to baked goods, I’ve tried pastries from most major supermarkets. Lidl tends to be my budget-friendly choice, though I do enjoy the occasional treat from Waitrose and Marks and Spencer. So, I was eager to see how Home Bargains’ prices stacked up, and naturally, how they tasted. The bakery area was fairly small, with everything sold pre-packaged rather than the traditional tongs and bags setup,
which made things simpler. There was a reasonable variety of sweet options including croissants, pain au chocolats, cookies and more, with prices starting from 59p up to roughly £1.50. I would have appreciated seeing some freshly baked bread or baguettes, though maybe my branch had simply sold out. I picked up six items, and the total came to under £6, which seemed reasonable. Here’s what I thought. Kicking things off with one of these lovely and addictive pastries, which I usually purchase from Lidl, my
expectations were high. They tasted identical, boasting a wonderfully sweet filling encased in flaky, chewy and buttery pastry. I do regret not heating it up, as that would have elevated the experience even further. My sole complaint would be that it could benefit from additional pecans on top for extra texture, but otherwise, it was delightful. This was also the most affordable item in the entire selection, priced at just 59p. Rating: 4/5 Following such a promising start, I was quickly brought back down to
reality with this Biscoff-filled croissant. Upon breaking into it, I discovered it was made from an inferior bread-like dough rather than the flaky variety a proper croissant should be. The filling was disappointingly sparse too. Sadly, the taste matched its appearance. It tasted cheap, and the Biscoff filling contributed nothing to the overall enjoyment. It was far too dry, chewy and lacking in flavour, so I probably wouldn’t suggest it, even for devoted Biscoff enthusiasts. Rating: 1/5 Following that was a twin pack of pain
aux chocolats, costing me 99p. After the disappointment of the Biscoff offering, I approached these with caution. Surprisingly, these were a little better. The pastry reassuringly began flaking away in my hand as I examined the chocolate filling, which also looked fairly generous. In terms of flavour, they were just fine. Again, they didn’t deliver that satisfying crunch you’d expect from a quality artisan pastry, though at 99p, I don’t know what I expected. The chocolate itself was average, and a darker variety would have
been better to offset the pastry’s sweetness. Rating: 3/5 Cookies are hugely popular in supermarkets at present, with many retailers competing to develop the most fashionable new flavours. However, nothing beats the classics, and these double chocolate offerings from Home Bargains prove exactly that. Each pack contains five generously-sized but notably thin cookies. Their thinness suggested they’d have a firm, biscuit-like consistency, but they were remarkably soft and chewy, almost enough to fold without snapping. The chocolate chips melted beautifully on the tongue, which was
a delightful experience. Each cookie had a soft, chewy centre with a slightly crunchier exterior – precisely how a cookie should be. These are highly recommended and genuinely rival M&S. Rating: 5/5 Few things evoke childhood memories quite like mini doughnuts. Having eaten them extensively during my younger years, I’m admittedly less keen on them nowadays, though I still wanted to try them. These were forgettable, as far as mini doughnuts go. I thought they had a sugary coating, but instead they had a powdered
sugar finish, which isn’t particularly appealing to me. They also felt dry, and I wasn’t enticed to reach back into the bag for another later that evening. In my view, it’s worthwhile spending slightly more and purchasing them from another supermarket. Rating: 2/5 It’s rare that I choose a savoury pastry, but I love cheese twists, especially from M&S. A colleague insisted I try the Home Bargains alternative, and I’m delighted she did. This was undoubtedly the highlight of the selection. The pastry was wonderfully
buttery and the cheese filling generously weaved through the layers, without being overly rich or intense. It struck the ideal savoury balance, and for roughly half the cost of the M&S equivalent. This would be an excellent snack for the approaching picnic season, so if you enjoy a cheese twist and haven’t sampled the Home Bargains bakery version, I cannot recommend it highly enough. Rating: 5/5
Home Bargains bakery, supermarket pastries, budget food review, Home Bargains cheese twist, shopping review, affordable snacks, bakery taste test