Bread baking is what made me fall in love with being in the kitchen. This may surprise my readers as baked bread recipes are rarely shared here, but it’s true. I love everything about the process of baking bread. The therapeutic kneading, stirring, shaping, and then sitting back as it rises into beautiful mounds of glory in the oven is a process that stirs my creative soul.
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Of course, eating freshly baked bread is definitely a highlight too! When my mother started grinding her own whole wheat and baking homemade bread in my childhood, we would wait with bated breath to have our hot-out-of-the-oven slice slathered with butter and homemade strawberry freezer jam. I thought my mother was a crazy good cook (and still do).
Us kids who formally enjoyed our sliced supermarket bread, ate my mom’s whole wheat, healthier version like there was no tomorrow.
But there is another advantage to baking your own bread – it can save you a lot of money.
While there are a lot of variables, here is a quick rundown.
- The average cost of whole wheat bread in the U.S. is $2.00, but many healthier versions (long fermented sourdough, sprouted grain bread, etc.) can be $3-5 dollar a loaf. The gluten-free versions we find (and feel use acceptable ingredients) run from $5-7 dollars a loaf (or more).
- The average loaf of bread uses one pound of flour.
- If you are a bulk buyer, from my local co-op (Azure Standard), I can currently buy a 50 pound bag of organic hard wheat berries for, $32.40, which is $.64 a pound. (Average cost of unbleached white flour is .$52 a pound). Yeast (or sourdough starter), honey, and coconut oil bought at Costco is only going to add a little cost as you only use small amounts per loaf. This means that you can make a loaf, using organic ingredients, for around $1. This saves you at least one dollar a loaf, but even up to two to four dollars a loaf!
- The average person eats just under 80 loafs of bread a year. That means you can save between $80 to $320 dollars a year per person! For a family of four that would equal a savings of $320 to $1,280 per year!
While gluten-free baking is more expensive, your savings will be similar because store-bought gluten-free food is very expensive. Plus, I have found that it tastes way better than store-bought.
I find that many people are nervous about baking bread, but it’s really not as hard as you may think. Many people who don’t enjoy the whole bread making process like to use a bread machine. A machine that mixes, kneads and bakes a loaf of bread takes a lot of the fear and work out of it. I have not bought one yet since I don’t like using a lot of nonstick pans (which all the of the bread machines that I am aware of use). However, if you are buying a lot of storebought bread, they are very likely made in nonstick pans anyways.
So, if a bread machine helps you not only save money but make bread with good ingredients, then I say, go for it! Many people find them second hand for very little. When buying them new they run from inexpensive to a couple hundred dollars. This bread maker, West Bend 2 Lb. Breadmaker
Another method that is super simple, has gotten rave reviews, and is very easy to adapt to the “soaking” or “fermenting” bread making process is the Five Minute Bread technique. This method takes very little time and effort, yet produces beautiful results. The two books that use this method are Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients
With these types of techniques you can achieve bakery worthy bread with very little invested money or time. A win-win, right?
I hope that I have convinced you that making your own bread is worth it. Because baking bread is such a beautiful process that I love, because it saves me money while being nutritionally superior, one of the goals for myself, and then to share on this blog are some good gluten-free whole grain bread recipes.
What about you? Have you, or do you bake your own bread? Why or why not?
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I rarely bake bread because we mostly avoid grains altogether, but I do make one or two batches a year. I use the slow rise method with spelt and let it ferment and rise until it smells pretty beery, usually two or three day. It bakes up so sour and wonderful. Absolutely the easiest way to make bread.
Andrea,
Can you detail what the slow rise method is? Is it merely just letting it rise longer than normal? On the counter? In the fridge? I would love details, or a link to a place that details it! I have spelt and was wanting to try it in bread, but wasn’t sure how it would turn out. We are avoiding all wheat in our home right now!
Thanks so much!!
Sorry I wasn’t clear. I use the no-knead method from Jim Lahey as published by Mark Bittman in The New York Times. Search no-knead bread and you will find zillions of links.
Spelt is an ancient form of wheat! It is neither wheat free nor glutenfree. Absolutely true, refer to any u celiac society site, nine celiacs in my extended family so far.L Same goes for other grains like triticale, kamut, farro, semolina..
What’s wrong with gluten? It’s a very healthy protein. Unless your intolerant wheat is good shit and I encourage you to enjoy it’s healthy nutrients. It’s also high in fiber which helps you not overeat.
Oh how I would love to bake bread. I sure have tried, only to come up with many loafs of heavy door stops.
My family is gluten free, we ferment and soak everything for health reasons. I really look forward to your gluten free bread recipes. It is very hard to come up with wheat free, healthy lunches for picky eating kids at schools that are nut free and therefore almond flour is out.
What’s wrong with gluten? It’s a very healthy protein. Unless your intolerant wheat is good shit and I encourage you to enjoy it’s healthy nutrients. It’s also high in fiber which helps you not overeat.
i began a sourdough starter more than 2 years ago but most just make things like pizza crust, english muffins, etc. I was intimidated to make bread! But at the beginning of this year i made it my goal to learn to make sourdough bread. i have succeeded! my favorite recipe uses 100% spelt flour.
i stick mostly with the no-knead bread method, as i am a busy mama with two little ones under the age of 2. when you don’t have to knead, bread is easier to make than alternatives like english muffins and such. and it definitely helps save money!
*made things* 🙂
Can you share your recipe with us as I really want a no knead sourdough bread with spelt? I tried a new recipe last week and it was a total flop.
King Arthur flour website has a great recipe for no knead bread that to me is more fool proof than any I have tried. http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/no-knead-crusty-white-bread-recipe
It works with the substituting one cup whole wheat in for one cup of the white. Because bread is not a big part of our diet, I do not feel bad using the I bleached white flour and because this is a sort of European slow rise bread, it is kinder on the gut.
I meant “unbleached white flour” !
Ah…bread. I love to make gluten free bread. Alas..my son is not only gluten free, casein free and soy free but also YEAST free. It is so difficult to produce a truly delicious bread with all if those “free” requirements. Chebe has a mix I can leave the cheese out of and end up with small, light, chewy loaves. But my own, totally from scratch? No. It bums me out.
I’ve been bread baking for about 2-3 years, and I love it. I also like the long slow rise (with a reduced amount of commercial yeast), usually in the fridge. I use my bread machine for kneading only.
My next step will be sourdough. And I’d love to try the stretch and fold method in place of kneading someday too.
I just made 4 loaves of sourdough bread today! I use half whole grain spelt, & rye, and also use up leftover grains in it, this time it was 2 1/2 cups of cooked whole grain quinoa. My sourdough starter is so much happier and bubblier now that it’s spring. We have an ingested kitchen and the bread baking got slow. Like REALLY slow. I love leftover grain bread!!
Unheated** we have an unheated outdoor kitchen! That auto-correct will getcha!
HAHAHA! I was wondering what on earth an ingested kitchen is. That is so funny!
I have been so intimidated by making bread, but discovered the 5 min method a couple months ago and have found it so easy that I make it for meal-time breads. What I’m trying to making happen right now is sandwich bread so I can actually kick the habit of the store bought stuff. I ordered a Pullman pan and when that comes, I plan to start in. But it’s so much more intimidating to do sandwich bread!!! What do you do for that Kimi? My kids are basically your kids ages. Do you have a soft recipe, or have you taught them to adjust? The soft sandwich bread recipe in Healthy Bread in 5 min/day calls for part white flour. I really want to do 100% whole grain and still have it be soft.
I’m also grinding my own grain, which I was also very intimidated by, but am now hooked.
For many years I ground our own grains and baked our own homemade bread. Since having to go gluten free I have found it much better to make our own gluten free breads, muffins etc. Most store bought ones are full of ingredients that case me concern and I can make them for much less, especially for a family of 5. I am currently restricted from bread at all but make gluten free bread and things for the rest of the family. I would love it if you would share gluten free bread recipes or have some sort of link up for a gluten free bread recipes exchange.
I have a bread maker and am indifferent about it. I found that I indeed was spending MORE to make bread than to just buy a loaf . I pay $1.49-$1.69 for generic wheat sandwich, sometimes I “splurge” and get fancier breads, but NEVER spend more than $3 per loaf. Yeast is about 75 cents per pack/loaf, whole wheat flour is about $1 per pound, use about 1.5 pounds per loaf. Other ingredients just drive up the cost so I rarely do anything other than basic breads. I also noticed that if the bread isn’t eaten right away, it gets stale very quickly, sometimes in less then 12 hours. A homemade loaf barely makes it thru 1 meal vs. 1 week for the stuff I buy. I still have the bread maker, and I go in phases with using it. If a have a day off and nowhere to be at a certain time (maybe once or twice a month), I will spend time on some homemade stuff and am more inclined to bust out the bread maker for a loaf to go with dinner. I can see how sprouted, fancy grains, gluten free, etc. would be cheaper to make at home, but for just a plain loaf of bread, it actually costs a bit more to do it from scratch. Interesting article though!
Pam,
Two dollars is the national average right now. 🙂 Any “fancier” breads in our area are at least three dollars, from what I’ve seen, so I think it depends on where you live.
I’ve found that adding about two tablespoons of oil will help keep bread longer, however sourdough keeps really well, so that is my preference. Yeast can be terrible expensive, so I buy it in bulk, when using it. It helps cut down the cost tremendously!
But yes, if you are into buying the healthier breads in the store, that’s where they really get expensive.
What makes the real difference is actually making the bread yourself for the superior health benefits, which includes grinding your own wheat. If I were to buy a close equivalent (although not freshly ground) at the store it would cost $4 per loaf. Store bought flour lacks in nutrition, as in the whole wheat variety the oils and vitamin content begins to spoil once ground and exposed to the air. Also, it is much more expensive when purchased in the store due to the smaller quantity and store overhead. The key would be to buy in bulk. Sue Becker has a fantastic talk on CD about wheat which she will send for free I think. Maybe it’s online now; either way it is on her site http://www.breadbeckers.com . Buying products through them is more expensive than if you found a local co-op like Kimi has spoken of before, but they have a lot of experience with bread, etc. The yeast will last a long time once a bulk pack is opened if you keep it in a jar in the fridge.
I really just wanted to encourage you, because even if you did spend a little more than you are now, it is like purchasing health insurance because what you make -when following certain principles – will be so much healthier 🙂
Gosh, even the grocery brand sourdough loaves cost $4 here. Can’t believe you can get decent bread for $2 unless you go for the cheap bargain crap.
You can save tons of money on yeast by buying large bags. It keeps very well in the freezer with no loss of effectiveness. I’ve been doing this for years and always bake my own bread.
Thanks for this great post! 🙂 The taste of freshly baked goods cannot be matched! Take a look at baked good recipes that are perfect for tea time at sweetlittleluxuries.com
Do you have any good recipes for GF bread? So many of them are complicated, or use what seems like a billion different obscure ingredients. When I ate wheat, I made my own bread. It was great. Simple, relaxing, super cheap, and delicious. When I went GF, I started buying it because the cost/time/convenience ratio seemed turned on its head.
I suggest anyone that is intimidated to try the whose process start with a bread machine first. My husband and I absolutely love ours. My Son and his family are going gluten and yeast free for awhile and she is still using her bread machine. Many have options that would adapt well to specialty breads, time delayed kneading and etc. If you are not ready to commit to an expensive one, check out the second hand stores. I was amazed at how many I found when I was looking for a replacement part for mine. The options are endless with the dough settings, I have made pasta, bread sticks, rolls, pretzels, bagels, cinnamon rolls and of course bread. (yes, I know these are not all healthy foods, but you can make them “healthier”)! One of my favorite activities with my grand kids is to let them shape The dough into whatever they want and decorate with seeds before we bake. They love it. Happy baking!
*whole process-
If you are intimidated by making bread – try this (No Machines). No Knead approach will take about 15 minutes of your time over 24 hours (lots of time letting the dough do what it does best). The recipe is really forgiving (Forgiving Bread).
2-1/4 cups white flour (bread flour or all purpose)
1 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp salt
1 cup water.
Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly with a spatula. Add the water and mix it together – simply getting all the flour wet.
Cover the mixing bowl with a towel and let it sit on your kitchen counter for 8-18 hours. It will turn wet and sticky.
When you are about 100 minutes from baking time (very flexible), stir the dough with the handle end of a wooden spoon (or equivalent). You want to stretch and pull the dough (almost like a dough hook) 3 or 4 times.
I bake my bread in an oven proof casserole pan that has a cover. Oil the pan and then dump the dough from the mixing bowl to the baking pan. Let it rise for 60-100 minutes.
After dough has doubled (or tripled), place covered pan in cold oven and set to 425 for 30 minutes.
Next – uncover pan for an additional 10 minutes.
Bread is done when internal temp exceeds 200 degrees.
Dump onto cooling rack. Ideally, you will not cut the loaf until it has totally cooled – about an hour. But, who can resist fresh bread. Just know that your ‘crumb’ won’t be as good as it will be if you wait. Prematurely cut bread will have a spongy crumb.
The loaf will be a little smaller than a pound. The thicker the crust, the longer it will last uncut. Once cut, you must eat it within 3 days. Great as toast also.
That’s the basic recipe – some more hints?
the smaller the footprint of the pan, the taller the loaf.
the dough is really wet – but resist adding more flour along the way.
this works with bread flour or all purpose flour.
If you use whole wheat flour, the rise will diminish – and the bread will be heavier. Try the white flour first and find out how good white bread can be.
you will get more oven rise if you place the dough in a hot baking pan (or dutch oven), but who wants to deal with a 425 degree heavy pan?
for a treat, next loaf, add a half teaspoon each of thyme and rosemary with the other dry ingredients.
Enjoy.
And, remember, for less than the price of 6 little yeast envelopes, you can buy a pound of yeast at Costco.
Have no fear. long rise, forgiving recipe/process. works around your schedule.
That’s a nice breakdown, but what about electricity? Baking bread requires around 30-45min of baking time plus some preheating time. According to one site I can’t remember, using an electricity oven at 450 for one hour is about 16$. What are your thoughts on this?
It’s more like 16 cents. I bake 3- 5 loaves at t time so that’s 3-5 cents per loaf added for electricity.
I live in Hawaii, so a lot of our food stuff is shipped in from the US mainland. There is a Love’s Bakery here, and I am not sure if they contract to make other brands (I would think they do), but a loaf of the cheapest “on sale” white bread here is about $2.75-$3.50. And that is plain old ‘foam rubber’ American style bread.
I began making Artisan bread a few years ago, as my mom baked, and I had a European wife at one time who taught me the value of good bread. I went with the Artisan as it is super easy and I am too lazy to knead. I love the crusty outer shell, the chewy texture, rich flavour, and the sturdiness of it.