How can a loaf of wheat bread be this cheap

[Svnla]

What brand was the bread? Around here, the brand name such as Nature's Own, Sara Lee is about $2 per load or higher.

 

[Kaido]

I bought an entire loaf of wheat bread for $0.88 before tax and it got me thinking. Calculating how much it would cost to make a homemade loaf of bread (to save some coins), I found out it will cost about 1 quarter minus a nickel just for a dishwashing tablet to wash the dishes involved with making the bread. There is just no way to beat that price even if you DIY.

In my small biz class, one of the best lesson was the finances for mass production:

1. How much does one Sharpie cost to make? A million dollars.

2. How much does a million Sharpies cost to make? A million dollars.

Mass production is what brings the cost down. Of course, it depends on what you're making, too. I think the last cost-count for no-knead bread was 66 cents a loaf. Around here, Whole Foods charges $4.99 for the same artisan loaf, so there is a cost-savings depending on what you're buying (and with no-knead, it's not like there's any effort involved in making it).

 

[Kaido]

Calculating how much it would cost to make a homemade loaf of bread (to save some coins)

If you are interested in baking bread at home, I highly recommend it. Nothing beats a fresh, warm loaf out of your oven or bread machine. I use both a bread machine & my oven (well, and convection toaster oven). A lot of people who make homemade bread will knock bread machines, but I use mine on a regular basis despite making artisan breads at home. If you're interested in a homemade bread introduction, there are 4 basic ways to make bread:

1. Bread machine
2. No-knead
3. Kneading (by hand or with an electric stand mixer)
4. Batter

Bread machines are very convenient because they do all of the work for you...they knead the dough, they proof the dough (which lets the dough puff up in a warm environment over time), they bake the dough. All you have to do is dump the ingredients in & enjoy bread a few hours later. I like it mainly for RideFree's no-knead bread & for potato bread. For RideFree's bread, it only takes me a couple minutes to prep the machine at night & then I wake up to fresh bread in the morning, which is awesome. Makes the house smell good & gives me something to eat for the day right away...sandwich bread, toast, toad in the hole, meatloaf, etc. If you have yard sales in your area, people often have bread machines up for sale for a few bucks because they're like exercise machines, people buy them but rarely use them.

No-knead bread got popularized about 10 years ago thanks to a NYT article on the procedure. The no-knead method basically trades effort for time. In a nutshell, you use a small amount of yeast & let the dough knead itself over a period of 12 to 24 hours, so all you have to do on the first day is mix the dough with your fingers (literally...only takes a minute tops) & then let it sit overnight. You can enhance the flavor by putting it in the fridge for three days after that initial proofing period. Lots of variations to this method. Serious Eats has a really good explanation of the process: (they boost the bread flavor by doing a 3-day cold fermentation in the fridge, which is a good trick for pizza dough as well)

http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/06/the-food-lab-the-science-of-no-knead-dough.html

You can do some neat things like Panera-style bread bowls with this recipe, or crusty dinner rolls:

http://www.jennycancook.com/recipes/no-knead-crusty-rolls/

There's also "turbo" no-knead bread if you need it same-day:

https://www.youtube.com/user/artisanbreadwithstev/videos

If you like sourdough, you can even make your own starter at home & skip the store-bought yeast:

https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2017/02/06/easy-sourdough-starter

Kneaded breads you can do by hand or with an electric stand mixer like a KitchenAid. This kneads the gluten for you so you don't have to wait until the next day like no-knead bread requires (or four days from the day you prep the dough, if you want to do cold fermentation step). Lots of great recipes. Kneading by hand can be a lot of work, but it's also really fun if you enjoy cooking because it's kind of like a mental off-switch time. If you've ever done woodworking & spent time mindless sanding a wooden project, you'll know what I'm talking about...it can be very relaxing.

Batter breads are another great way to make bread. I like using a handheld electric mixer for these. Stuff like banana bread or zucchini bread can be whipped up really quickly without needing to be kneaded by a stand mixer or by hand, and don't require overnight to setup like no-knead bread. They're basically like a cake mix in how you prep them.

Lately, I have been delving into no-knead bread quite a bit. There are a ton of ways to make it & a ton of neat tools available for getting great results. I actually just pulled out a basic loaf (white flour, water, salt, yeast; basic 24-hour proof) a few minutes ago (weird work schedule right now, so yes I'm making bread at midnight, don't judge me lol). This one I did on my Baking Steel (same idea as a pizza stone, but made from metal) in my oven at 450F for 20 minutes with a cake pan underneath for adding steam from water. Came out pretty good! Really tasty if you toast the slices & load with butter, jam, lemon curd, etc.

No-knead bread is a pretty easy way to jump into homemade bread making because it's really easy & requires minimal tools. You need four ingredients (flour, water, salt, yeast). You need a few tools (large bowl & plastic wrap, an oven, and some kind of heavy oven-safe pot with a lid, like a dutch oven). It takes about 60 seconds of prep work on the first day, and then 60 seconds of prep work the second day (just punching the dough down & forming into a ball), and then you bake it a few hours later. Very simple intro recipe to play with. You can also skip the heavy lidded pot if you don't have one & just use some kind of baking tray, along with a cake pan & half a cup of water to generate steam so that it develops a nice crust. Great way to make peasant loaves, baguettes, etc.

Like any other hobby, it doesn't really become a cost savings once you really get into it because there are a lot of neat tools out there to buy that makes the process easier...Danish dough whisks, proofing bowls with liners, Super Peels, clay bakers, electric stand mixers, different types of flours (or even tools to grind your own from wheat berries), etc. On the flip side, you can make fresh, healthy bread by yourself every day with minimal effort...pretzels, dinner rolls, sandwich loaves, bread bowls for soups, breadsticks, hamburger buns, grinder rolls, you name it. Lots of options for different diets, too...if you're gluten-intolerant, you can use stuff like einkorn flour. If you're Celiac, you can make all kinds of gluten-free bread with stuff like Otto's cassava flour & other wheat-free blends.

Anyway, if you're interested in trying out bread at home, I would definitely recommend it. Modern techniques & tools like the no-knead process & bread machines make it incredibly easy to make homemade bread daily (or as often as you want). Zillions of recipes out there on the Internet thanks to Youtube, Pinterest, and food blogs.

 

[OutHouse]

88 cent bread? that is some low quality shit that looks like swiss cheese from all the air pockets.

sara lee artisan bread is the shit. but its 3 bucks a loaf.

oh and all bread is wheat bread. the dark shit has added sugar like molasses to make it dark which makes it less "healthy"

 

[Herr Kutz]

88 cent bread? that is some low quality shit that looks like swiss cheese from all the air pockets.

sara lee artisan bread is the shit. but its 3 bucks a loaf.

oh and all bread is wheat bread. the dark shit has added sugar like molasses to make it dark which makes it less "healthy"

Enlarged to show texture:

 

[Herr Kutz]

If you are interested in baking bread at home, I highly recommend it. Nothing beats a fresh, warm loaf out of your oven or bread machine. I use both a bread machine & my oven (well, and convection toaster oven). A lot of people who make homemade bread will knock bread machines, but I use mine on a regular basis despite making artisan breads at home. If you're interested in a homemade bread introduction, there are 4 basic ways to make bread:

1. Bread machine
2. No-knead
3. Kneading (by hand or with an electric stand mixer)
4. Batter

Bread machines are very convenient because they do all of the work for you...they knead the dough, they proof the dough (which lets the dough puff up in a warm environment over time), they bake the dough. All you have to do is dump the ingredients in & enjoy bread a few hours later. I like it mainly for RideFree's no-knead bread & for potato bread. For RideFree's bread, it only takes me a couple minutes to prep the machine at night & then I wake up to fresh bread in the morning, which is awesome. Makes the house smell good & gives me something to eat for the day right away...sandwich bread, toast, toad in the hole, meatloaf, etc. If you have yard sales in your area, people often have bread machines up for sale for a few bucks because they're like exercise machines, people buy them but rarely use them.

No-knead bread got popularized about 10 years ago thanks to a NYT article on the procedure. The no-knead method basically trades effort for time. In a nutshell, you use a small amount of yeast & let the dough knead itself over a period of 12 to 24 hours, so all you have to do on the first day is mix the dough with your fingers (literally...only takes a minute tops) & then let it sit overnight. You can enhance the flavor by putting it in the fridge for three days after that initial proofing period. Lots of variations to this method. Serious Eats has a really good explanation of the process: (they boost the bread flavor by doing a 3-day cold fermentation in the fridge, which is a good trick for pizza dough as well)

http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/06/the-food-lab-the-science-of-no-knead-dough.html

You can do some neat things like Panera-style bread bowls with this recipe, or crusty dinner rolls:

http://www.jennycancook.com/recipes/no-knead-crusty-rolls/

There's also "turbo" no-knead bread if you need it same-day:

https://www.youtube.com/user/artisanbreadwithstev/videos

If you like sourdough, you can even make your own starter at home & skip the store-bought yeast:

https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2017/02/06/easy-sourdough-starter

Kneaded breads you can do by hand or with an electric stand mixer like a KitchenAid. This kneads the gluten for you so you don't have to wait until the next day like no-knead bread requires (or four days from the day you prep the dough, if you want to do cold fermentation step). Lots of great recipes. Kneading by hand can be a lot of work, but it's also really fun if you enjoy cooking because it's kind of like a mental off-switch time. If you've ever done woodworking & spent time mindless sanding a wooden project, you'll know what I'm talking about...it can be very relaxing.

Batter breads are another great way to make bread. I like using a handheld electric mixer for these. Stuff like banana bread or zucchini bread can be whipped up really quickly without needing to be kneaded by a stand mixer or by hand, and don't require overnight to setup like no-knead bread. They're basically like a cake mix in how you prep them.

Lately, I have been delving into no-knead bread quite a bit. There are a ton of ways to make it & a ton of neat tools available for getting great results. I actually just pulled out a basic loaf (white flour, water, salt, yeast; basic 24-hour proof) a few minutes ago (weird work schedule right now, so yes I'm making bread at midnight, don't judge me lol). This one I did on my Baking Steel (same idea as a pizza stone, but made from metal) in my oven at 450F for 20 minutes with a cake pan underneath for adding steam from water. Came out pretty good! Really tasty if you toast the slices & load with butter, jam, lemon curd, etc.

No-knead bread is a pretty easy way to jump into homemade bread making because it's really easy & requires minimal tools. You need four ingredients (flour, water, salt, yeast). You need a few tools (large bowl & plastic wrap, an oven, and some kind of heavy oven-safe pot with a lid, like a dutch oven). It takes about 60 seconds of prep work on the first day, and then 60 seconds of prep work the second day (just punching the dough down & forming into a ball), and then you bake it a few hours later. Very simple intro recipe to play with. You can also skip the heavy lidded pot if you don't have one & just use some kind of baking tray, along with a cake pan & half a cup of water to generate steam so that it develops a nice crust. Great way to make peasant loaves, baguettes, etc.

Like any other hobby, it doesn't really become a cost savings once you really get into it because there are a lot of neat tools out there to buy that makes the process easier...Danish dough whisks, proofing bowls with liners, Super Peels, clay bakers, electric stand mixers, different types of flours (or even tools to grind your own from wheat berries), etc. On the flip side, you can make fresh, healthy bread by yourself every day with minimal effort...pretzels, dinner rolls, sandwich loaves, bread bowls for soups, breadsticks, hamburger buns, grinder rolls, you name it. Lots of options for different diets, too...if you're gluten-intolerant, you can use stuff like einkorn flour. If you're Celiac, you can make all kinds of gluten-free bread with stuff like Otto's cassava flour & other wheat-free blends.

Anyway, if you're interested in trying out bread at home, I would definitely recommend it. Modern techniques & tools like the no-knead process & bread machines make it incredibly easy to make homemade bread daily (or as often as you want). Zillions of recipes out there on the Internet thanks to Youtube, Pinterest, and food blogs.

I actually tried making a king cake for the first time which got me thinking about making normal bread too.

The (brioche style) king cake turned out all right but it was much richer than I wanted. What I really need is a lighter brioche recipe.

 

[Newbian]

It's not so much bread as it is sawdust.

 

[ponyo]

Wife is the baker. I don't have the patience to measure out everything exact. She can make different bread like the types found at Paris Baguette. I bought her the Panasonic bread machine which she likes but I wish I bought her the Zojirushi because she says that can do a thing or two which the Panasonic can't do or do as well. I've offered to buy the Zojirushi but she says the Panasonic is fine. The lesson is always buy the best so you don't buyer's remorse.

 

[feralkid]

I didn't even get into calculating the water and electricity costs of running the dishwasher because I simply do not know how much is consumed. What's the normal cost for something like that? I always run the most powerful cycle because my dishwasher has problems cleaning.

It seems this thread is more about your crappy dishwasher and your obsession with tablets, than the price of bread..

 

[NesuD]

Enriched wheat flour, water, whole wheat flour, high fructose corn syrup, yeast, wheat gluten, soybean oil, salt, sodium stearoyl lactylate, ethoxylated mono- and diglycerides, monoglycerides, calcium sulfate, calcium peroxide, soy lecithin, enzymes, calcium carbonate, ammonium sulfate, calcium propionate

So that isn't even whole wheat bread. If it were whole wheat the first ingredient would be whole wheat flour and enriched wheat flour wouldn't even appear in the list. That is basically white bread with some whole wheat flour blended in. If you look at the package it calls it wheat bread not whole wheat bread. Kick that crap to the curb and get the real stuff. The rest of that list looks like a science fair project. Blech!

 

[Kaido]

I actually tried making a king cake for the first time which got me thinking about making normal bread too.

The (brioche style) king cake turned out all right but it was much richer than I wanted. What I really need is a lighter brioche recipe.

Wow nice!!

imo cake is actually harder to make than bread, if you decorate it. Bread is pretty straightforward. Getting into making bread every day is just a matter of scheduling it into your daily routine, whether it's spending 2 minutes dumping in RideFree's recipe into your bread machine the night before or spending 60 seconds mixing no-knead bread the day before & letting it proof for a day. It's seriously such low effort that I don't know why everyone doesn't do it (although it's not like "no-knead" bread is marketed or anything, so you kind of have to discover it first to find out how easy it is to make a really delicious loaf of artisan bread...bread-making was always kind of a daunting idea for me before I got into no-knead a year or two ago).