Is homemade bread REALLY cheaper?

Hapless_2

there is no comparison when it comes to taste. but for bread mixes have tyou tried lidls? they had some recently for £1 each but it made 2 big loaves and they were granary or seeded.

lynzpower

I always bang on about how long ago a shop bought ( say warbys) loaf was made.

I will tell you right now it will have been baked at least 7, if not 10 days before it hits the supermarket shelves, 4 days on shelf, a week in your bread bin. almost 3 weeks "life" in it. How has this "life" been created- preservatives, chemicals and salt. No thanks!

Also my BM does cakes and jam as well, we use ours daily and its the best thing thats ever happened in my kitchen!

shell2001

My DD's have eczma on the back of their legs, since using the BM and not buying processed bread it has virtually disappeared on DD1 and DD2 is much improved, especially since I started using Doves organice wholemeal flour.

I agree with Lynne about the amount of chemicals in shop bought stuff. m After a couple of days home-made bread starts to go mouldy but look at the long shelf life on the supermarket loaves - scary:eek: .

Home made bread all the way here. As for cost I make an organic wholemeal or stoneground loaf for 50p at most (inc electric).

HopeElizzy

When we first started using our BM we costed out how much it was to make a wholemeal loaf which is the kind we regularly eat. It was 27p which at the time was the same price as a Tesco value loaf. I know which I'd rather eat!

Since I started using the BM I've been accosted by several mum's at the school gates. They're wanting to know what bread my dd has her sandwiches made from as their child has said they want bread like that!:D .....and also cakes like that as well since I recently made some in the BM!
It makes me feel good to be able to say exactly what my little ones are eating.

flourgirl

I use the same ingredients as thriftlady, (25p) but use a breadmaker, the 11/2lb loaf is usually 10 good slices or 10 medium breadbuns, which I have in the oven as we speak! It smells divine, I know which I prefer..

brucie24

My wife just brought up the subject of HM bread and a BM today.

With the price of food sky rocketing but also those of raw ingredients just wondered if anyone could offer an updated comparison.

I wonder also what the 'shelf life' of BM bread is (assuming we don't eat it as soon as it comes out of the machine:D )?

Kaz2904

The longest my bm bread ever lasts is being made fresh one evening after kids are in bed, used for sarnies and toast the next day, we may have some left the next morning if it's a week day. Weekends it'll last about 10 minutes.

moanymoany

squeaky wrote: »

I use cheap and cheerful value plain flour at 29p per pack (makes three loaves) and I get my yeast free from the bakery section of my local supermarket.

So the only extra costs for ingredients on top of that are sugar, salt and (optional) oil or fats.

I also use the water left over from boiling potatoes which helps make light bread and means that you don't have to use vitamin C tablets to help the plain flour to rise because it has a lower gluten content than strong bread flour.

So I reckon on regularly making a loaf for not much more than 12p.

Of course - this takes skill, determination, and knowledge of the game

Not something to be tried as a first attempt - it's best to get to know your breadmaker first before you start doing serious cheats like these

I've used both value flour and proper white bread flour and I haven't noticed any difference. Usually I use Tesco wholemeal breadflour because we like that sort of bread. If you don't like 'solid' wholemeal bread mixing wholemeal and value plain flour should make a lovely loaf.

I read that in every three slices of commercial bread there is a teaspoon of salt, I only use 1 teaspoon per loaf. There are all sorts of chemicals in there. My bread only goes stale - only once have I had any mould on it.

I bought a loaf a few weeks ago, I had run out of hm. It seemed so poor in comparison, yet it was the 'finest' loaf we always ate before.

[Deleted User]

I use organic stoneground flour and yes it is massively cheaper than the equivalent, if you could buy it and I couldn`t buy it locally plus I know exactly what is in my hm bread.

lizzyb1812

Hi Brucie24

You're right in saying that the cost of ingredients has gone up, as have most foodstuffs. But supermarkets are so keen to keep our business that you can usually find ingredients for bread at prices similar to those of a couple of years ago - I bought Lidl bread flour last weekend (this flour is generally reckoned to be pretty good) and it was 1p cheaper per bag than it was 3 years ago. Yeast costs the same as it used to and the sugar/salt/oil you use are in very small quantities.

It's cheaper to make bread in a bread-maker as far as using electricity/gas is concerned - especially so now that electricity and gas prices have gone up so much. So the big cost is the breadmaker. I've seen these offered and requested on my local freecycle and at bootsales, so that might be an option. Ask relatives/friends who may have one they will loan you for a while to try. Get the cheajest one you can find on e-bay to try - you can always sell it on.

Home-made bread is generally superior in taste, and almost certainly superior nutritionally - both because of the extras you can add and the additives you don't! There are two of us and the loaf is finished before it can go mouldy. The last couple of slices are sometimes a bit dry but they still make good toast - and we don't wrap our loaves at all, just bung them in the breadbin. And for a real gourmet's opinion - my dog won't eat bought in bread unless it's buttered, whilst the home-made stuff goes down plain:rotfl:

Weighing ingredients and setting the programme takes 5 minutes maximum. The breadmaker takes up a bit of cupboard/counter space, as do the ingredients. But the smell of baking bread is lovely and you feel like a real cook when you make your own bread, even in a breadmaker. Try it, you might like it and you'll certainly save money.

HTH

Lizzyb1812