Bread maker vs bought bread ££££

babymassage

Has anyone done a comparison on the cost of making the average loaf in a bread machine and buying a loaf from the bakers / bakery shelf at supermarket? Can do it myself but thought I'd save myself the trouble if someone else has done it!!
Thanks in advance.
Jenny

The_Nickster

As long as you buy seperate ingredients then yes it can be substantially cheaper.

Remember that the bread will go stale more quickly. Unless you can eat the whole loaf in a couple of days freeze part of the loaf until you are ready to eat it..

Wishfairy

It's not as cheap as buying the cheap white tesco's bread but it is far more filling and tastey so probably better value.

You can also use it to make pizza bases etc so it saves there too.

I'm just waiting to find one in a charity shop or car boot sale!

kolakube_

I was given mine as a gift so didn't have to calculate first...I wouldn't have bought one myself but only because I am so short of money. Wishfairy is right, it makes great pizza bases (I think the readymade ones are cardboardy). It's not just comparing it to the bread you normally buy but other things, like often I will make a cheap but tasty soup or stew and eat it with quick homemade bread, nobody feels they're missing out but it costs very little. My kids will eat homemade bread as a treat which is cheaper and healthier than bought cakes or whatever. You don't need to buy special "breadmaker" flour mixes either, just the individual ingredients (oops, Nickster said this I think) hth

jg

If you are able to buy the flour in 25k bags, you can save even more. Cash & carry or health food store, typically, but shop around. Maybe even from a mill directly.

Sarahsaver

Pizza bases can be made with ordinary 'value' plain flour - i.e. not bread flour, therefore reducing the cost.
also you can flavour the bread with anything and its worth experimenting, a tablespoon of marmalade makes it sweet and soft, marmite makes a nice taste and colour if you are into marmite! A small chopped onion and a handful of grated cheese, and you nearly have a whole meal in loaf form!!! ;D
Some tesco value porridge oats on the top for an interesting topping. Im not sure if its cheaper than getting the cheap supermarket bread but it sure is nicer, and theres no point getting something yukky just because its cheap!

Edinburghlass_2

I have used the Tesco ready mix breads cost about 70p, not cheaper than buying a loaf but less electricity than using a breadmaker and only takes about an hour for a tasty loaf.

Oh and a tasty recipe I watched on Jamie Oliver once, boil a couple of eggs, cook off some sausages and bacon and place in the centre of your dough then fold into a crusty loaf shape before baking and voila your breakfast in one slice.

VelvetGlove

Mum has a breadmaker & after she has made the dough in it she has found the best thing to do to get 'normal' shaped bread is to whip it out of the machine & pop it into the oven to cook. The bread is a lot more tasty than the shop bought & you know exactly what has gone into it.

They have used it for pizza bases as well & when I asked her the other day she was very glad she had bought it


(Tip from mum - if you don't like really hard crusts then when it has cooked in the over, bring it out of the tin then brush the top with melted butter, this sinks into the crust & leaves is as quite soft)

mistral_2

Can I recommend the Panasonic Bread maker which has been well reviewed and I bought one.

As with everything Panasonic a briliant product

System

May's Which? magazine has a test of bread-makers.

They concluded that it's not an expensive way to bake in the long run, as one of their Best Buy machines is just £40. Testers found the best ones hassle-free & they liked the bread produced. But some of the others produced really horrible-sounding bread e.g, the Anthony Worrall-Thompson produced "grey, soggy" bread which after just a day tasted "rancid and mouldy"

Best Buy machines were Panasonic SD253 £90
Morphy Richards Cooltouch Fastbake 48280 £40
Team International BBA52 Rapido £50

System

Free yeast - you can get free fresh yeast from the bakeries of Tesco and Asda - I have done this many times and have used it in my bread maker and it worked just as well as the freeze dried yeast - so you can save money by getting your yeast for free - personally I prefer to use fresh yeast as it makes the bread taste better - keep your yeast in your fridge once you get it to stop it fermenting. Get some and experiment with your bread maker I substituted the same amount of dry yeast for fresh yeast and it worked - be careful not to add too much! Go the the bakery dept at your local supermarket and just ask for it - they are very helpful and have never refused me!!!