How Much Does it Cost to Make Bread?
Last Updated July 23, 2021 – Originally Published June 4, 2017
We all know that the bread coming out of your bread machine is better than the bread you buy at the store. However, have you ever wondered how much it costs to make a loaf of bread in your bread machine?
I know I have. So I’ve analyzed the cost of making my bread with my bread machine. In fact, I’ve done this several times over the years. The most recent was in February 2021.
The recipe I use most frequently is for a two-pound loaf of sour milk bread. I make it with regular (not sour) milk and I make a loaf or two a week.
By the way, this is an excellent bread machine recipe. The bread turns out a perfectly every time, and it’s quick to put together because it doesn’t have a lot of ingredients.
You should know that we buy in bulk whenever we can.
We buy bread flour at CHEF’STORE (formerly Cash&Carry Smart Foodservice Warehouse) or Costco Business Center. (Wondering how we store all that flour? Check out this article for dealing with buying, and storing, bulk flour)
Storing a lot of flour is SO much easier with Gamma Lids!
The salt, sugar, oil and yeast all come from Costco.
The milk sometimes comes from Costco, but frequently we get it at our local IGA grocery store.
Admittedly, this isn’t a perfect analysis. We haven’t allowed for the cost of electricity to run the machine or the bread machine itself. However, even these rough numbers show that once you have a bread machine, you can make great bread for much less money than you’d pay at the store.
Thanks to The Man of the House (TMOTH) for his help with this. He does the number crunching for the analysis.
2021 Cost of Making Bread in a Bread Machine
In February 2021 we did another analysis and got a big surprise. Our cost of making a loaf of bread fell to only 77 cents per loaf! This is down from 83 cents per loaf in 2020.
The difference was mostly because I bought one ingredient at Costco instead of the grocery store.
We usually buy milk at the local grocery store. However, when we ran this analysis, we’d just gone to Costco and bought milk there. Milk is one of the most expensive ingredients in the recipe, so it made an enormous difference.
The lesson here is that it really pays to buy in bulk when you can!
Buying Bread at the Grocery Store
I went to my local IGA and got these prices at the start of March 2021.
Franz Old Fashioned Buttermilk bread was $5.19 per loaf. That’s the same as it was in February 2020.
In 2017, the price was $2.49 on sale.
Sara Lee Artesano Bread was on sale for $2.59 per loaf. The regular price was $3.69 per loaf.
In February 2020, a 20-ounce loaf of Sara Lee Artesano Bread was on sale for $2.79. The regular price was $3.69.
In 2017, the price was $3.29.
Oroweat Country Buttermilk Bread was $5.09 per loaf. That’s the same as it was in February 2020.
I don’t have a 2017 price from my local grocery. However, in 2017 Amazon Fresh was charging $3.99 for it.
Again, the 2021 cost of making a loaf of sour milk bread with my bread machine was just 77 cents!
2020 Cost of Making Bread in a Bread Machine
Our cost for making bread in the bread machine was only 83 cents per loaf in 2020!
The big story here is how much bread prices at the grocery store jumped from 2017 to 2020.
Buying Bread at the Grocery Store 2020 vs. 2017
Franz Old Fashioned Buttermilk bread – In February 2020 a 24-ounce loaf cost $5.19. (In 2017, the price was $2.49 on sale. )
Sara Lee Artesano Bread – In February 2020, a 20-ounce loaf was on sale for $2.79. The regular price was $3.69. (In 2017, the price was $3.29.)
Oroweat Country Buttermilk Bread – In February 2020 a 24-ounce loaf cost $5.09. (I don’t have a 2017 price from my local grocery. However, in 2017 Amazon Fresh was charging $3.99 for it.)
Again, the 2020 cost of making a loaf of sour milk bread with my bread machine was 83 cents!
2017 Cost of Making Bread in a Bread Machine
Let’s get right to it! Here are the numbers for making a loaf of bread at home from 2017.
Yes, you’re reading it correctly. In 2017, it cost us just 85 cents to make a loaf of bread.
A Different Spin on the Same Recipe
Kim, a loyal reader of this blog, saw my cost analysis and kindly sent me her costs for the same bread recipe. (You can see her original comment below.) Kim uses soy milk and Himalayan salt in her bread. She doesn’t buy her groceries in bulk. Here’s what it costs her to make a loaf of bread.
How Does this Compare to the Grocery Store?
So how do these costs compare with the cost of bread purchased at the grocery store or Amazon Fresh?
- 6/13/2017 – a 24 ounce loaf of Franz Old Fashioned Buttermilk bread cost $2.49 on sale at IGA. Amazon Fresh sold it for $3.09.
- 6/13/2017 – a 20 ounce loaf of Sara Lee Artesano Bread cost $3.49 at IGA. Amazon Fresh sold it for $3.29.
- 6/14/2017 – a 24 ounce loaf of Oroweat Country Buttermilk Bread on Amazon Fresh cost $3.99.
Both my bread and Kim’s bread were less expensive than bread purchased at the grocery store or at Amazon.
Kim showed an important benefit of having a bread machine. A bread machine gives people the freedom to have bread exactly the way they want it.
Cost of Homemade Bread
Key Points:
- In 2021 it cost me 77 cents to make a two-pound loaf of sour milk bread. This is much less expensive than comparable loaves of bread from the grocery store.
- The cost per loaf is down from the 2020 cost of 83 cents.
- It pays to buy bread ingredients in bulk
- Remember that a bread machine gives people the freedom to have bread exactly the way they want it.
