Is it cheaper to make or buy bread, homemade savings 40-400$

Buying fresh bread from the store is quick and easy, although making bread at home is not complicated either. Having fun while making it and tearing off that freshly baked crust is just out of this world. 

Are you sometimes asking yourself if store-bought bread is cheaper than homemade bread? The answer is, homemade bread is significantly cheaper. The next time when you consider making bread at home or buying it in the store, think again because making bread at home can save you a fair amount of money, especially in the long run.

The highest difference in price and with it most savings has rye bread with 8.57$. The lowest difference in price has sourdough bread, which is 0.35$. The research shows that homemade bread is cheaper than store-bought bread. The analysis is made for 6 most common bread types. The table shows a price comparison of store-bought bread vs homemade bread together with monthly and yearly savings from 12$-105$ if you make bread at home.

Table last updated (June 2020)

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Monthly and yearly savings are calculated on an average bread consumption basis. Americans consume an average of 53 pounds of bread a year.

In general, cooking at home is cheaper than eating out. Check out how to save from 1720$ to 4303$ with homemade food.

Price comparison and breakdown for 6 most common homemade bread types

We took into consideration 6 most common bread types: white bread, whole wheat bread, rye bread, sourdough bread, french bread, and multigrain bread.

Some bread recipes for these loaves of bread were taken from dedicated food bloggers (baking a moment, the stay home chef, the clever carrot, I heart naptime, seasons and suppers) that make their recipes with love and perfection and some of the recipes are our own. We make bread at home for years, and we buy it only once or twice a year. Our favorite is multigrain bread and white bread.

How is the price for homemade bread calculated

Each recipe contains ingredients together with the measurement. Original ingredient measurements are presented in a standard format such as cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, etc. We took the standard format and converted it to grams in weight. This way, we could calculate the sum weight of unbaked bread. For each ingredient, an average price was taken from Walmart and Amazon store and later matched to ingredient weight in the recipe. All prices were summed up. This is how we got an average price for one bread type. In the end, we subtracted the percentage of moisture lost in the backing process to get the end weight of baked bread.

1. Measurement to grams: we calculated each measurement in grams to get the sum quantity of ingredients for an unbaked loaf of bread.
2. Average product price: For each ingredient, we checked the latest prices online and calculated the average price of the products.
3. Price per ingredient: The price for each ingredient is calculated to match the amount used in the recipe.
4. Weight of ingredients and sum weight unbaked: We converted the measurement in the recipe for each ingredient to the same denominator by using USDA nutrition database. in order to get the total weight of the loaf, we summed all ingredients in grams.
5. Sum weight baked: each bread losses moisture in the baking process. That is why the percentage of weight was taken from the sum weight of unbaked bread. The percentages differ for each bread type. This is how we got the end weight of baked bread loaf.
6. Electricity cost: we calculated electricity cost if the bread would be baked in an oven. Ovens use 1000 to 5000 watts, with an average modern oven using around 2400 watts on medium to high heat. The calculation also includes the average electricity rate in the USA which is 13.19 cents per kilowatt-hour (updated April 2020)
7. Time cost: We did not include time cost into the calculation. Making bread doesn’t take a few hours. You can make it in around 15 minutes. The time to make it includes: preparing the dough, which takes about 10 minutes, 4 minutes to shape it, and 1 minute to put it on the tray before baking and of the tray after baking. 

I’ve written a complete “is it cheaper” analysis of the most popular foods cooks make at home.

(BREAD, PIZZA, PASTA, FRIES, BEEF JERKY, LASAGNA, CHEESECAKE, GRANOLA BARS, GLUTEN-FREE BREAD, MAYONNAISE, GNOCCHI, GUACAMOLE, GROUND BEEF,  BROWNIES, HUMMUS)

I outlined the costs and buying guides for the ultimate savings.

How much do individual ingredients for homemade bread cost and the prices for homemade bread

Homemade white bread price calculation

Homemade whole wheat bread price calculation

Homemade rye bread price calculation

Homemade sourdough bread price calculation

Homemade french bread price calculation

Homemade multigrain bread price calculation

Does making bread at home save money – homemade bread vs store-bought bread 

The table shows that homemade bread is cheaper than store-bought bread. The prices for store-bought bread are calculated as an average price for a specific bread type and further per ounce. You can get much more expensive bread in the stores and also some cheaper ones.

Each homemade bread is a few cents or dollars cheaper. But if you calculate the price difference for a whole month or even a year, you can see considerable savings in favor of homemade bread.

Monthly and yearly savings are calculated on an average bread consumption basis. Americans consume an average of 53 pounds of bread a year.

If your favorite bread is rye bread, you could save up to 454$ dollars a year if you make it yourself. But if you are a sourdough bread lover, then your savings will only be up to 12$ a year if you make homemade sourdough bread.

For the family of four, the saving start to rise significantly per year if you make homemade bread. A family of four can save up to 1816$ if they would only buy rye bread or up to 91$ a year if this family is a sourdough bread lover.

Is it better to make hand made bread or make it with a bread machine

Making your bread at home is very easy. The fear of not knowing how to knead bread is redundant. If you make basic white or whole wheat bread, the procedure is relatively simple. You can mix the dough with your hands or a sturdy spatula in a bowl; this way, you won’t even get your hands dirty. If you don’t use a mixing bowl, you can put the ingredients on a kitchen surface and mix everything with your hands, followed by kneading the dough.

After the dough is kneaded, you need to raise it for about an hour, depending on the dough mixture and bread type. After the dough has doubled in size, put it on a tray. Preheat the oven and put it into a hot oven for about 30-45 minutes. When the bread crust is golden brown, the bread is ready.

On the other hand, bread machines are very convenient. You can put all ingredients in a bread pan, select the right program for the bread you want to make, and press the start button. The machine will do everything from mixing to kneading, rising, and baking. 

Usually, the best time to make bread in a bread machine is right before you go to sleep. Put all ingredients in a bread machine, turn on the power, and go to sleep. When you wake up, a nice loaf of warm bread will be waiting for you. All you need to do is take some butter and coffee and have yourself a fantastic breakfast with homemade bread.

3 best bread machines we recommend for making bread in a bread machine

Here are the best three bread machines we would recommend:

Cuisinart Bread Maker, Up To 2lb Loaf, New Compact Automatic

Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus Breadmaker, 2 lb. loaf of bread, Stainless Steel/Black

Hamilton Beach 2 lb Digital Bread Maker, Programmable, 12 Settings

Conclusion

Homemade or store-bought, all bread is delicious. But if you check the prices, you will soon consider making your bread at home. The price comparison of the most common bread types we made suggests that you should start making homemade bread, especially if you are on a tight budget. Soon after you start making homemade bread, you will never go back to store-bought bread again.

I’ve written a complete “is it cheaper” analysis of the most popular foods cooks make at home.

(BREAD, PIZZA, PASTA, FRIES, BEEF JERKY, LASAGNA, CHEESECAKE, GRANOLA BARS, GLUTEN-FREE BREAD, MAYONNAISE, GNOCCHI, GUACAMOLE, GROUND BEEF,  BROWNIES, HUMMUS)

I outlined the costs and buying guides for the ultimate savings.

* The prices for ingredients and products in our tables are average prices take from various websites. The prices are not taken directly from Amazon.
* Pro family chef utilizes affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of our product links, Pro family chef will receive a small commission at no cost to you. This helps support us, and allows us to keep providing tips, reviews, guides, and content for you.