This came up in a discussion at work today. I made a meatloaf yesterday and I definitely baked it for almost an hour and a half (it was delicious BTW) but when I said that I “baked a meatloaf”, it just doesn’t sound right to me. Maybe this is a regional thing but when I hear about baking, I think of something with flour in it and it’s probably sweet. So here’s a poll.
Does “baked a meatloaf” sound proper to your ears?
0 voters
Sounds uncommon but still ok. Not what I would say.
Cooked. Though in my case, “destroyed” would be more accurate.
“Baked” sounds a little odd, since meatloaf isn’t the kind of thing I think of when I think of baked goods. But it’s mainly the indefinite article that sounds odd to me. I’d say “made meatloaf” rather than “made a meatloaf” or “baked a meatloaf.”
Made or cooked a meatloaf is what I would say or expect to hear. But baked a meatloaf is cromulent.
Do you bake potatoes?
Fair point.
But it’s not quite the same, since that’s just taking a potato and baking it. There’s more involved in making meatloaf than just taking a meatloaf and baking it.
I have come up with meatloaf recipes since my teens (I was a latchkey kid and taught myself to cook). Like @What_Exit I use the term “make” or “cook” but since all the cooking is done in the oven it is perfectly accurate to call it “baking”.
I think the reason why it seems odd is because “bake” is most often used with sweet and/or starchy items like cookies, cakes, muffins, bread, and so on. Savory dishes, especially meat-based ones, are usually not referred to as being “baked”. I guess you could use the term “roast” in place of “bake” for those foods; looking up the definition of “roast” shows it primarily applies to meat.
Interestingly enough, look up “bake” at Merriam-Webster:
Nothing in the definition excludes meat, but every example is something starchy; bread, cake, potatoes. It’s like there is a secret definition in the English language for baking that we apply subconsciously even though officially that’s not a requirement for the term.
I wouldn’t have an issue with “baked a casserole” although “made” sounds better to my ears.
What about dishes that include both starch and meat? I’m thinking of Italian dishes. I’ve certainly seen recipes for things like baked ziti, baked lasagna, baked spaghetti, etc.
Language is weird. Like if you said “We had baked potatoes with our dinner” I’m picturing a full potato cooked in an oven. If you said “We had roasted potatoes with our dinner” I’m picturing cut up potatoes cooked in an oven.
I agree in general. Baking is usually used for breads and the like, or to specify the method of cooking when there are a variety of common options, like baked scrod as opposed to it being broiled or grilled or steamed, or like potatoes that could be cooked in about 400 significantly different ways. But it’s easy to understand what was meant.
Funny thing is, I have actually said, “I made a baked ziti last night”. Not that I do a lot of cooking. I’m mostly a grill guy. But I have made baked ziti.
It is easier to say than “I created a culinary masterpiece”…but not as accurate.
I tend to say “I cooked…” but not specify what method. But baking a meatloaf sounds perfectly acceptable. I’m in the Midwest if that matters. P.S. I love meatloaf.
There’s a really fascinating rabbit hole you can go down with ESL learners over what things are baked and what things are roasted. They’re identical cooking processes and yet using the wrong word makes food sound incredibly unappetizing such as when you roast a pie or you bake a chicken.
I recall reading some time ago, so I forget where, that folks from 200-odd years ago would consider a large chunk of meat cooked in an oven as “baked” and be confused why we call it “roasting.” Roasting was something done before a fire, on a spit if it was large enough.
Thinking about it, I’d say “I made meatloaf.”
Note that there is no article in that phrase.
But to say that one baked a meatloaf is accurate. So I wouldn’t say someone is wrong to say “I baked a meatloaf.”
Oh, ETA: I love meatloaf too, and now I’m going to make/bake/cook/roast/whatever a meatloaf this weekend.
Yet mashmallows are “toasted”, not “roasted”. Even though that’s exactly what you are describing.
English is freaking weird. 
I would say “baked a meatloaf” just like I bake a steak and kidney pie.