is home baking cheaper?

zippychick

Hi Caroline

I've merged this with a similar thread about the cost of home made baking to help other users
thanks
Zip

randomer

We have managed not to add huge amounts to debt and had a reasonable time. Both teens had OK gifts and seem happy enough.

Now onwards.......just spent over £20 in M&S on a few bits. That has to stop.
Can't quite get into the home baking mode. Is it more economical?

Pitlanepiglet

I think home baking is economical and, as importantly, I know what has gone into my baking.

We bake bread in the breadmaker mainly but occasionally by hand, we go through phases when we don't and there is always bread in the freezer. I'm not sure what our homemade bread costs but Tesco Value Wholemeal is 47p a load ATM but I know what we make has only got nice things in it and we don't have to go to the shops and get it!

I make cakes in mid sized roasting tins (lined with greaseproof paper!) as traybakes, stick fudge or butter icing on the top, cut into reasonable sized pieces (would vary if small people around) and then I freeze them and take out what we need every few days. I do the same with biscuits, hobnobs etc. There are three of us and we don't eat enough cake etc. to use it fresh.

Linda32

randomer wrote: »

Now onwards.......just spent over £20 in M&S on a few bits. That has to stop.
Can't quite get into the home baking mode. Is it more economical?

Yes Yes Yes, it really is

And much easier than you think once you are organised. Trust me, if I can do it then you can, I'm sure

What sort of meals do you like to eat, well, what did you buy from M&S, not being nosy it just that that will give us an idea of what you would like to make.

Alot of people on here, me included, will say that HM is far superior to M&S food and alot cheaper as well.
I've heard HM compared to Supermarkets Finest ranges which gives you an idea.

ifonlyitwaseasier

oh yes it is, but be warned, if you start on the recipes from the old style board (look up twinks hobnobs) then you'll eat them all!!!!

LondonDreamer

randomer wrote: »

Can't quite get into the home baking mode. Is it more economical?

To be honest, it depends what you're comparing. Like for like usually works out cheaper. As a poster above said, homemade compares most directly to the "Finest" style ranges. But if you never purchase top line products, it's not the fairest comparison from a purely financial standpoint.

As an example, my most often made cookies cost around £1.20 (ingredients only) per batch of 18 cookies the last time I made them, so about 7p each. Although this cost can go up to £1.80 depending on the ingredients used, e.g. adding nuts which can be expensive. Similar cookies from the fresh bakery section cost 20-35p each so on paper, it appears much cheaper to bake at home. BUT I wouldn't ever buy the premade version of my cookies since they're expensive. When you compare with what I would purchase (value plain chocolate digestives, 45p per pack) the homemade option actually ends up the more expensive choice, even though it's not a direct comparison ingredients wise.

What I would suggest is making a list of what you're buying premade, find some recipes and do some costings. Then you can find if it's actually going to be cheaper for you. There are more benefits to homemade than just the cost though, which is why I continue to bake.

popxcore

how economical is depends on how many people you're baking for

but generally yes it is, and the more you cook in one go the more you save on power costs

Pink.

Baking can be cheaper than shop bought, but sometimes I find it hard to compete price-wise with mass produced shop bought snacks (which are often full of rubish in my opinion, but still appeal to my children ). However if you're comparing like for like eg healthyish biscuits decent cakes etc, homebaking does come out cheaper, as it's certainly better quality and at least you know exactly what ingredients have gone into it.

As there's an existing thread discussing this I've merged the threads to keep the opinions together.

Pink

Linda32

Hi,

Just to add to my post above and the costings aspect.

I mostly make tea time meals from scratch.

So to compare, what I make from scratch is pretty much the same as the ready meals where you can get 5 for £4.00 or something like that.
Pasta bakes/cottage pies/pies/spag bol etc

Its deffently possible to make these sort of meals much cheaper.

A sausage casserole is a particular fav. A packet of 8 sausages at £2.00 (currently at Mr S) and various root veg. This make two casseroles or about 8 portions along with spuds and veg.

wssla00

One of the reasons I find it cheaper is because I stay out of the shop. I keep on hand flour sugar cocoa etc on hand at all times so if I get a sweet tooth I can make something up. Why is this cheaper? Because if I am hungry and want something sweet, then go into a supermarket to buy a cake, I ALWAYS end up with other bits and bobs in my trolley. By having the ingredients on hand, I can always make something and don't have to brave my terrible control in the supermarket!!