What is more economical. Baking your own bread or buy it from outside?

1. 0

   nayaz1625posted 12 years ago

   What is more economical. Baking your own bread or buy it from outside?
   
   I was thinking of baking bread myself rather than going out and buy them outside every day. However, what is bithering me is whether that will be economical. I'll have to switch on my oven for a few loaves only while at the bakery there is mass production. Also, I am not expert in making bread, I would rather rely on recipes obtained from the web. What should I do?

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2. 81

   vox vocisposted 12 years ago

   I bake my own bread. It may not be more economical, but it's definitely healthier. I know someone who works as a baker - if people only knew how bread was made in most bakeries! They often use the cheapest flour, milk powder and I learned that there's even such a thing as egg powder! I sometimes make bread with the help of a baking machine and sometimes in the oven. The electricity bill hasn't killed me yet LOL

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3. 67

   happypuppyposted 12 years ago

   Most likely it's more expensive to bake your own bread.  However, it's worthwhile to make it at home because it's healthier and you can control the ingredients.

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4. 67

   Bretsukiposted 12 years ago

   In a direct comparrison, if you consider time, use of equipment and wear and tear on your kitchen. Then a bought loaf of bread at the supermarket is way below you minimum cost.
   
   But home made bread is fun, it tastes good, it makes the house smell wonderful and if you knead the bread yourself it is a great stress easer and saves you a trip to the gym for weight training.
   
   In short homemade bread is a wonderful thing, but much more expensive. You should learn the skills of breadmaking though, it can be an involved technical process, but I guarantee when you get it right you will have lots of fun baking all kinds of breads and be the envy of almost everyone when you tell them your bread is home-made.

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5. 64

   Recipe Galposted 12 years ago

   I'm going to disagree and say that you could make bread at home for cheaper than you could buy it at the store.  You might have some upfront costs that would make it more expensive at first, but once you got going I think it might cost less.
   
   Take a look at some basic sourdough recipes.  They don't have many ingredients.  Once you get a starter going, you'll never have to buy more yeast.  If you were to buy flour and your other ingredients in bulk, I think you really could save some money.
   
   If you want to make something beyond just basic bread though, you're probably better off buying it at the store.  Fancy or artisan loaves with special ingredients are going to cost more to make. 
   
   Another consideration is time, like you said.  I would love to make my own bread, but I just don't have the time to do it.  I've heard people get a system going and that it doesn't take as much time after that.  While you are getting things figured out though, it could be very time consuming!
   
   Good luck to you!

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