Bread: Cheaper to buy or make?

**BlessedByGod** · 10-05-2009, 04:01 AM

I am new to the frugal lifestyle so if this seems like an 'amateur' question...well it is LOL. My husband and I have to get our grocery budget down to almost nothing. We are looking at about 45.00 a week for our groceries. This means that I need to make just about everything from scratch which I do not mind.

My question is that since I can buy a loaf of bread for .99 isn't it cheaper for me to buy that instead of making my own? Every recipe I have seen calls for a cup of milk and eggs and those are both expensive-ish items. I rarely find coupons for either milk or eggs and I have never been good at slicing up home made bread so I doubt I would get anywhere near the same amount of slices. Maybe if I froze the bread and tried slicing it that way I could get some smaller slices but I'm still not sure It would save me money.

What has been everyone elses experience here?

**known2him5** · 10-05-2009, 06:04 AM

I can't buy a loaf of bread for .99 around here. . . . and if I buy my supplies in bulk/on sale I can make a loaf for about .25 My loaves are smaller than store bought, but they are more filling as well. I have a bread slicing guide that makes slicing a breeze.

**joyofsix** · 10-05-2009, 06:26 AM

You'll have to price it out to know for sure. It depends on costs in your area.

**dean** · 10-05-2009, 07:27 AM

I make my own weekly and freeze it for the week. Much cheaper and you aren't running out for bread every other day. Bulk is the way to go. Or at least that's what I've found to be true.

**monkeywrangler71** · 10-05-2009, 07:43 AM

Eggs and milk are not needed for bread. My recipe is just flour, liquid (I use water), a few spoonfuls of yeast, sugar, and shortening.

You can't cut it frozen, it will dry out if you open it before it is thawed. I found it just took a little practice and a good knife.

For me homemade is chealer.

**monkeywrangler71** · 10-05-2009, 07:48 AM

Stupid typos- cheaper not chealer.

I notice you said 1 cup of milk, and assume that means you were making one loaf at a time. It is cheaper for me to make several loaves at once. If I make 4 loaves I use 1/4 the energy, and I can do it with the same amount of yeast as one loaf.

**Grainlady** · 10-05-2009, 08:25 AM

I make all my breads and baked goods and will add there are a lot of variables to consider beyond cost of the ingredients and cost of baking.

It's much less expensive milling my own flour than purchasing commercial whole wheat flour. Freshly-milled flour is also the only way to get all the valuable nutrition from the wheat. The nutrients and oils in freshly-milled flour begin to degrade as soon as the bran on the grain is cracked open during milling from exposure to oxygen; and it's best to use freshly-milled wholegrain flours within 3-hours of milling.

I get some FREE wheat, so that is VERY cost effective, and can still make a 2-pound enriched loaf of 100% Whole Wheat Bread for around 50-cents if I use my 'expensive' wheat. The cost naturally goes up or down depending on the ingredients I add. If it's just a simple lean dough (flour, water, salt, yeast) for French or Italian breads, it's 25-cents. Enriched breads (additional ingredients like eggs, fat, dairy products, etc.) add to the cost. I mill my own multi-grain cereal blends (from grains/seeds/beans), so they are much less expensive than commercial brands.

Naturally leavened breads (sourdough) are less expensive to make because you don't use bakers' yeast, and don't always use enriching ingredients, other than fat. You use a starter to leaven the bread which is basically water and flour (there are many adaptations to 'starter' that can include other ingredients like dairy or sugar).

If you decide to make your own bread and use bakers' yeast, be sure to buy it in bulk amounts and keep it in the freezer. You'll save money over purchasing the envelopes or even the glass jars of yeast.

Another thing to consider are what healthy ingredients are included? The reason I make all our breads and baked goods using freshly-milled flour is so I can increase the nutrition of homemade bread with a wide variety of ingredients beyond what you can find in commercial breads. So to me, it doesn't matter the price per loaf, but the value of the nutrients and high fiber in the loaf.

I can add ingredients to lower the glycemic impact of the loaf (won't raise the blood sugar as rapidly) and add fiber and other nutrients (chia seeds, freshly-milled multi-grain cereal blends, Hi-Maize Resistant Starch, agave nectar, coconut oil...)

I can control the type of fat used in breads so I don't get any trans fats in our breads. I can control the amount of salt in breads so they are low-sodium.

Breads baked in my Solar Oven cost nothing for utilities. If I can't use the Solar Oven, then I use my Sharp Convection/Microwave oven. I can bake 2 loaves of bread in 25-minutes and NO pre-heating. That's also a great money saver on energy used. If I make some of the Artisan-type breads where I have an extended pre-heating of the oven and baking is done in a very hot 500°F oven, then the cost of utilities would be much more than say, a regular loaf that only requires minimum pre-heating and 35-minutes of baking time. Multiple loaves baked at one time would also lower baking cost.

I use my Zojirushi bread machine for mixing dough, but never bake in it, but it's also more energy efficient to bake in than a regular oven would be.

**2ndGenGranola** · 10-05-2009, 08:42 AM

I also consider the medical factors in the future. If I buy the cheap, no fiber, all white bread for $1 today, what will that do to my health in the long run? Will I have to buy fiber supplements? Will I have to buy a laxative? Will I have to buy caffeine products because that has caused a sugar crash? ...

**Holding Pattern** · 10-05-2009, 09:49 AM

regardless of the price...homemade is much better for you, less preservatives & you know the exact quality.

**KeithBC** · 10-05-2009, 11:53 AM

We prefer homemade bread mostly because we can control the ingredients. Milk and eggs are not necessary in bread (and we don't want them), and of course, we avoid all the emulsifiers and preservatives and other chemical junk that they throw in. We use whole-grain flours, which are much healthier.

If you cost out a basic whole-wheat loaf recipe, you will probably find it is cheaper to make your own.

**kita** · 10-05-2009, 12:35 PM

I'm single and find though that even one loaf of homemade bread will go bad if I am working too many hours. I did find an outlet that sells 7 grain pre-sliced (so I can take out what I need from the freezer) for $1.

**lotsadebt** · 10-05-2009, 12:38 PM

I recently converted to baking my own. I have a bread machine purchased at a garage sale for $17. I get 4 loaves of bread out of a 5# bag of bread flour. I just found the cheapest place for $1.79 a bag, and $2.39 for a jar of yeast. Our favorite recipe has flour, water, salt, 2T butter, and yeast.

My kids LOVE it. They would rather have a fresh slice of bread for a snack. I converted DH for his sandwiches.

I am making it for under 50 cents a loaf. Makes the house smell OH SO GOOD too!

**shoiji** · 10-05-2009, 03:09 PM

I make my own bread. Then again I also have a breadmachine which really makes things easy. Some people also make bread since they can control what goes in it. Many factory made breads contain ingredients I really don't want to eat. I also find that homemade bread is more dense so more filling for me.

I also bought an electric knife at the thriftstore which I use to cut loaves of bread. Really works well. Then I freeze whatever I am not using. Never had any problems defrosting it.

Another thing I enjoy is being able to use all the ingredients to make other things. I made banana bread accidently with bread flour and it came out more dense, which I ended up liking better. Also, I can whip up pizza dough really quick anytime I want. Which I use for pizza, foccacia bread, rolls.

In the end I think homemade bread just tastes better!!

**frugalfranny** · 10-06-2009, 12:31 AM

I have never priced it out.........but how do you put a price on great taste and the wonderful smell it puts in your house.

I don't make my own all the time but in winter I make a fair amount of it.....in my bread machine.

**Judi Dial** · 10-08-2009, 03:19 PM

Kita, If you're not using a loaf of bread fast enough, why not take 1/2 an unsliced loaf (or a sliced one for that matter) and put it in the freezer for a week? Not throwing that food away will probably offset any extra money you'd spend for a more nutritious loaf...just an idea!

I buy bread and make it. If I had a grain mill, I'd be happy to do what grainlady does, but I don't. So I buy flour when it's cheap and freeze it, especially between Columbus Day and Christmas. Then I use it all winter long for making my yogurt bread or sourdough. I prefer the sourdough, but the yogurt bread is faster to make as there's no delay for a 2nd rising.

In spring-fall, there's a local (in town) woman who sells breads at the farm stand where I work, we get our special breads (cinnamon, etc.) from her. Our "daily" bread usualy comes from an aristan bakery in Concord, DH picks up 2 loaves the day he's there every week.

Judi