The NET Bible notes, from the 5 Hebrew scholars who translated the Torah, are helpful on this topic:
tn The English verb “create” captures well the meaning of the Hebrew term in this context. The verb בָּרָא (baraʾ) always describes the divine activity of fashioning something new, fresh, and perfect. The verb does not necessarily describe creation out of nothing (see, for example, v. 27, where it refers to the creation of man); it often stresses forming anew, reforming, renewing (see Ps 51:10; Isa 43:15; 65:17).
Edit: I added a link to the NET Bible Genesis 1, but I don’t know why the link includes that particular quote in the box. Please ignore it.