Do you save money by making your own by making your own bread?

[GatorMama]

A few friends on a board for eco-conscious families make their own bread and have, at times, suggested it might lower food costs. Has anyone else found this is the case? I don't really even know where to begin! We want as many whole grains as possible, but I don't know what sort of packaging too look for or where to buy it. I very recently (this week) acquired a bread machine from a friend that was going to send it to GoodWill... so... I have that (for free!) along with all of the accessories for it... and she said she put yeast and flour in there too that she would no longer need. I kind of feel like I hit the lottery! I just wish I knew where to begin!

Does making bread really save money after having to buy all the ingredients? (FWIW, the bread we normally buy is $2.25/loaf) What do you store it in to keep it fresh? And as mentioned before, what will I need to make yummy whole grain breads and where can I get those items?

PS- does anyone have a recipe for zucchini bread? Zucchini is my most favorite vegetable and I would love a new way to sneak it onto our menu!

 

[MrsPete]

No, you will not save money by making bread. You may make better quality bread or healthier bread, but by the time you've included the ingredients, the electricity to bake it, and your time . . . no, you'll not save money. Since you're trying to include more whole grains, you absolutely can do that -- you're in complete control of what goes into the bread.

If you want to save on bread, the best way to do it is to find a bread outlet -- they're everywhere. I have one very close to my house, and it takes me only about 10 minutes extra on the way home from school to stop there. I can always buy three loaves of sliced bread (not always the same brands or types) for $2, and they have other things for similarly low prices: Some days they might have hot dog buns for .50, another day they might have cookies for .75. Almost always they have the brown bread that's served at Outback Steakhouse; we eat lots of that.

I buy baking supplies at a health food store near me. The things are sold in bulk, and you measure out what you want into a bag. They sell all sorts of whole grains, even things I can't identify, and I'm a cook/baker of some experience. Oddly enough, baking supplies and spices are VERY CHEAP at this store, but other things are outrageously expensive.


Zucchini Wheat Bread; makes one large loaf:

1 cup shredded zucchini
1 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1 1/3 tsp salt
1 1/3 tsp orange peel
5 Tbsp wheat germ
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tsp yeast

Let it whirl around in the bread machine 'til it's mixed, then shape it into a loaf (or rolls) and bake it in your oven. You'll find that bread machines mix fairly well, but the quality of their baking is definitely substandard.

My personal favorite bread book: Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. I might have that title a bit wrong because I'm not looking at the actual book, but it's something like that. I don't bake all the time, but I'm very good at it, and I bake frequently when I'm out of school. I like the method they use -- make a bunch of dough at once, bake a bit each day. It works especially well now that my diabetic husband shouldn't have a whole lot of bread at one time. I only bake what we'll eat at a meal.

Which leads me to a final note: Although you won't get the shelf life of store-bought bread (nor will you get the preservatives in your body), freshness isn't a problem for us. Don't bake loaves and loaves -- just make enough for today.

 

[fakereadhed]

I was going to suggest the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day too. Their basic recipe is just flour, yeast, salt, and water. Haven't worked out how much it is per sandwich size bread loaf, but can't be much. I get my yeast at Costco and keep it in a sealed container in the fridge. I also buy the flour there- half white and half wheat flour. It's easy! No electricity running a bread machine for hours.

It is true that homemade loaves don't last as long, but you can bake many at a time and freeze them.

 

[santa's surpriz]

My grandmother passed away at 99 in 2009. She never bought a loaf of bread in her life! She made it up until shortly before she passed. It was wonderful. There was not a lot of savings in it, but it was her tradition (from the Depression, I suppose.) I tried to keep up with it, however my daughter wanted bread like everyone else's in her lunch (she just finished the 2nd grade.) Now I am forced to get Wonder bread. Even though I read the ingredients, my stomach turns bc I really truly do not understand what it is in it! Homebread is much healthier but not necessarily cheaper than $2.39/ loaf.

 

[Marionnette]

I can bake artisan breads and rolls for less than bakery prices but for regular sandwich breads, the answer is 'no'. I can make healthier sandwich breads with no preservatives or artificial ingredients. But I cannot bake a 12-grain bread for less than Arnold's prices at the outlet.

 

[branv]

If you're talking basic mass-produced bread from the grocery store, it isn't cheaper for us b/c we're just two adults. Plus we try to watch our bread intake due to DH needing to watch his sugar levels (which is quite hard since we LOVE bread ). So one loaf of bread can take a while for us to get through, and when I do make bread (even a small loaf), half of it tends to get stale or moldy before we finish it. I am probably in the minority here, but I've also found that freezing homemade bread changes the texture somewhat, so I tend to avoid that.

Though if you always buy bakery style or organic breads, it can be a savings, but maybe not once you include how much time it takes and what that costs you.

That being said, it is SO worth it for the flavor. Whether you're making artisan or basic bread, the flavor profile is way more enhanced. For instance, I was able to find a recipe that makes a sandwich bread (tender like white bread) but using white whole wheat flour for nutrition. The taste was definitely superior to store bought whole wheat AND it made the most amazing toast. I know that latter part sounds strange, but store-bought bread made into toast is weak and pretty flavorless. This stuff remained sturdy and a little chewy even with butter and jam, was practically a meal in itself, and YUMMY

 

[laura.anne]

My DBF and I make bread from scratch (we'd love to have a bread machine though!). I have found that it saves us money since we only use a four/five ingredient recipe. However, it's not the super savings you tend to see with some other homemade things, like laundry detergent. I would give it a try for a few loaves--enough until your ingredients run out maybe?--and then see if it's for you.

 

[DCLbrideSept2009]

I make my own bread but more for the health aspect than cost savings. I also grind my own flour. Now, if you don't count the cost of my BlendTec blender that I use to grind the wheat ($379 at Costco - but we do a lot of different things with it in addition to grinding wheat).... only factoring the cost of ingredients, I probably do save money.

$65.00 for a 45-pound bucket of hard white wheat. Not sure how many cups of flour I get out of it, but it's quite a bit!

My bread is nothing but wheat flour, yeast, butter, honey, salt and water. I don't use a mixer or bread maker, I do everything by hand. (Although I would love to get a bread maker someday!)

When you buy flour from the store, all the "good stuff" is taken out of it to prolong shelf life. I grind my flour as I need it and put leftovers in the freezer and still try to use it pretty quickly. But all the "good stuff" is in there, making a much healthier loaf of bread.

 

[Jen_in_NH]

As others have said, you won't necessarily save money, but you'll have better bread. GThe only time I found we were saving money with it was when we were making a batch every other day, and using the woodstove to cook it. We could buy things like flour in 50 pound bags without wasting it, so there was some savings there. But the time to do it consistently just got shorter and shorter.

 

[bpesch]

I do make my own bread on occasion but it has nothing to do with saving money, it's strictly because I love the smell and taste of fresh baked bread. I really can't imagine it would save you any money to make your own considering the costs of ingredients and time to make and bake it. And keeping homemade bread fresh is always a challenge because there are no preservatives in it.

 

[miralys]

Making your own bread is like sewing your own clothes. You won't save money doing it. But you will be able to make something that suits your needs and might find you enjoy the hobby. I really enjoyed it a lot, having fresh bread, but had to stop when I learned I couldn't tolerate gluten.

 

[disneymom3]

I am so confused by all of you saying you won't save money. I have a french bread recipe I got from "Feed Your Family on $12 a day" (it's a book.) And it averages out to about 30c per loaf. It's good, just like I would get at Panera or a bakery type place for well over $3.

So, IMO I do save quite a bit of money. For PBJ sandwiches, I do buy Arnold's bread at Walmart for $1.89. I haven't had a lot of luck with higher fiber breads. But for artisan type breads, making it at home is FAR cheaper, at least in this area.

 

[linnell]

Another fan of the Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a Day book, we also have Kneadless Dough - which is the same concept. My husband is the bread baker in the house and we enjoy the yummy fresh bread, but we don't do it to save money.

 

[tink2dw]

1. go to grocery store
2. look for bagged pre-measured mixes for bread machines
3. they have already added all the "best" bread machine ingredients into a handy dandy potion
4. saving you time, expence, and the mess of it
5. only to find a. you don't like it, b. don't have the time, c. it costs more than you thought d. it will only be a nice hobby thing to do for special occasions

 

[disneymom3]

I am so confused by all of you saying you won't save money. I have a french bread recipe I got from "Feed Your Family on $12 a day" (it's a book.) And it averages out to about 30c per loaf. It's good, just like I would get at Panera or a bakery type place for well over $3.

So, IMO I do save quite a bit of money. For PBJ sandwiches, I do buy Arnold's bread at Walmart for $1.89. I haven't had a lot of luck with higher fiber breads. But for artisan type breads, making it at home is FAR cheaper, at least in this area.

I was thinking. I also make focaccia bread for way cheaper than I can buy it. Hmm, I don't ahve a bread machine and I don't count my "time" but it's not much time really spent in actually doing anything with it. Sure time to rise but I go off and do other things. Anyway....

 

[squirrel]

I think it depends on what you put into the bread and if you can get your ingredients on sale.

I have a bread maker, but I only mix it in the machine and then bake in the oven. If I cook it in the bread machine it drys it out.

Here is the recipe I make every week

1 cup + 2 Tbsp Water or Milk
1 Egg
2 Tbsp Oil
2 Tbsp Molasses
1/3 cup Oats
1/3 cup 7 or 8 Grain Cereal
3 cups Whole Wheat Flour
2 tsp Yeast

None of the ingredients are for "bread" so that alone saves $. I also add in a bit of flax seed to mine.

 

[SandrA9810]

I'm not sure how much it costs per loaf, but I make a variety of bread.

I have bread flour, white wheat flour, and all-purpose flour. Bread flour goes by the fastest, because it's usually mixed with the wheat or all-purpose. I buy the jars of yeast, which usually makes about 20 loaves, depending on how much yeast a recipe calls for.

I still haven't found a good white sandwich loaf recipe yet. But I have found that honey wheat turns out fabulous. Although most recipes don't call for it, I add a 1/4 teaspoon of brown sugar, to make sure the yeast rises.

If you can find a store that sells grains by the pound, it would be the easiest way to make a whole grain bread without wasting a lot of money. Usually they run about $1-2 a pound, so check the recipe to see how much it calls for, then buy enough for 1 or 2 breads to try it out.

I use the bread machine to mix and rise the dough. Then I put it in a pan, set the oven to 200-250 for 20 minutes, then turn it up to 375 for 20 more minutes. You can also bake it on a pizza stone or add a pan of water to raise the moisture.
I find my bread machines make the best cakes with basic cake mixes. And I do the baking in the bread machine. Everything else goes in the oven.

 

[kimblebee]

I mainly use my bread maker to make pizza dough and that has saved us money for sure. I don't think we have ordered a pizza in over 2 years and the home made dough is sooo much better than the ordered stuff.

I cup minus one Tablespoon of water
2 T oil
2 1/2 C flour ( I use just regular flour )
1 t salt
1 t sugar
2 1/4 t yeast

I put this all into my bread pan and set the timer for 1 hour 40 minutes. When it is done, knead the dough and let sit for 5 minutes. Next, roll it out to fit pizza pan and let rise for 20-25 minutes. Turn oven to 425 and let it preheat as you top your pizza. Cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes. ENJOY!

 

[quasar4legs]

I also use the artisan bread in 5 minutes but have never bothered to work out the cost of a loaf.
I did it so that we could have preservative free bread.

 

[dis-happy]

I started making bread in Jan. '10 when loaf prices started going up so much. For us, we save a lot of money. I buy the 50# bag of bread flour at Costco for ~$12. I also buy the bulk yeast. The bag of flour lasts about 6 months and I make a loaf of bread approx. every other day (we are a family of 5 including 3 boys). The bread I make turns out great for sandwiches although we are not too much into sandwiches in general---mostly it gets sliced up and used for toast at breakfast. Also, the time factor is practically nil, less than 5 mins. to measure ingredients then press the bread machine button---out comes a perfect loaf of bread every time.

Here is my easy recipe, found on the internet:

1 cup warm water (the Keurig comes in handy here---I dispense the 1 cup size directly into the bread machine pan and wait a few mins. for it to cool)
+ 1-2 Tbls. add'l water
3 Tbls. sugar
Add 2.5 tsp. yeast to warm water w/ sugar and let sit for 5-10 mins (this makes a nice fluffy loaf)

Add:
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tsp. salt,
3 cups flour (I do 2 cups bread flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour usually) (whole wheat flour purchased from WalMart, King Arthur brand)

I use the med. sized loaf setting and hit start.


If you want to do it overnight, place all the wet ingredients in first, along with the salt. After adding the flour, make a well in the top for the yeast, so it stays separate. Set the timer and plan to be awakened by the smell of baking bread early in the morning.

For storing the loaves, I like the Snapware containers at BBB---they have the little flaps on top and there's one size that holds the bread machine bread perfectly (although you turn the loaf on its side). I put it there with a paper towel in the bottom. Let cool thoroughly before storing though.

GL!!!! Hope you enjoy your new bread machine.