Does anyone make their own bread? I'm now on the gluten free diet and I am wondering which is cheaper? We go through about 4 loaves of white-wheat bread in a month, sometimes 5 loaves. I usually buy them from the wonderbread store at $1.50 a loaf. With gluten free bread, however, I know it will be more expensive. Help?
Thank you all for your input. I've decided that making gluten free bread in bulk is much cheaper than buying it at the store. Although I would save in energy, my children are old enough now that they know how to play by themselves and daddy is around in the evenings and weekends to play with them while I make bread. A loaf of gluten free bread at a 1 lb is close to $4.50 where I can spend $66 for 7 months worth of bread. We eat about 5 loaves of 1.5 lb bread a month and that ends up being about $9.50 a month which is cheaper than buying it at the store.
I think it may be cheaper. Most importantly it is more nutritous. The grain loses all it's nutritional value 1-3 days after it's ground . . .
I highly recommend Ezekiel bread. You can get it in the frozen section of most grocery stores these days. It's made with sprouted grain and although it's very healthy, it tastes amazing. You have to keep this bread frozen. Before discovering this bread I couldn't eat bread or I would pass out (something with blood sugar). But it was explained to me that this bread is almost like eating a salad. There's no flour. I also learned that white bread sticks to your insides like glue and the processed flour is very bad for the body in many ways. Good luck.
I ocnsider myself to be a good cook and I made my first loaf the other day and it was yuck! Bread is not that expensive, just buy it! The time and energy it will save you is well worth it. You need that time to spend with your little ones, not slaving over saving $1.50 for a loaf of bread. Besides after you use the flour, oil, eggs, and whatever else to make it- you've probably spent close to $1 or more in ingredients! I dont think its worth it at all. :o/ Thats just my opinion!
Hi E.,
We are a family of 5, two of which are early teens. I make all of our own bread and we have figured it up that we are saving 80.00 per month. Our family goes through a loaf of bread a day though. Do you have a machine or are you making it by hand? I buy 20lbs of flour per month plus 5 lbs of wheat flour. I also make all our own pizza's and anything like that. 20lbs of flour is pretty cheap at Sam's or BJ's.
If you buy in bulk, making Gluten Free bread yourself is cheaper. It seem like a lot because sprouted grains (I don't know if that's what you're using for your bread) are kinda pricey. But, you can make them yourself. You just have to take the time to do it.
Look up a couple of recipes and shop online for the ingredients to get an estimate of what it will cost vs. buying a loaf. The good thing is that you can make as much as you want, freeze it, and not have to worry about going to the store as much.
I make my own bread, and I find that it is less expensive than buying the organic whole wheat bread. Plus, I find the homemade more filling and satisfying. I use a recipe, not a mix, and use a bread machine.
Concerning gluten-free, there are bagged mixes you can buy for making your own bread. These are a lot easier than gathering the ingredients, because a lot of the gluten-free ingredients are a bit hard to find around here. If you don't have a bread machine, I recommend trying one of the thrift shops around. You can usually get one for $5-$10, while a new one is a significant investment. Expect to pay a lot more than $1.50 for making a loaf of bread though, and know that the texture and taste will be different from Wonder.
Also, Bob's Red Mill has a great gluten-free cookie mix, and I know for sure the commissary sells it. It is very good for gluten-free!
Best of luck - the gluten-free diet takes some getting used to, but there is a lot out there now compared to just a few years ago.
Hi E.! I make all our bread in a bread machine, and if you can swing getting one (ask for one for Christmas!) it is SO worth the five minutes it takes, and will eventually pay for itself. Actually, this is an activity I do every other day or so with my three year old daughter, who loves to help measure and dump the stuff in. The only danger is that you will become so addicted to homemade bread, you won't be able to eat the playdough-y store-bought stuff anymore. Makes the house smell great, too!
So far I am the only one in my house with celiac; I buy separate bread for me and "regular" for my family because it is so much more expensive. So, by myself, I don't need as many loaves of the GF breads. GF food can be hard to find what tastes best, so I use that over cost and may just limit what I buy. For bread I usually get "Food for Life Brown Rice Bread." I like the taste of it and it is available in many grocery stores freezer sections of the "healthy" or "natural" or organic foods now. [Have you had GF bread yet? Just a warning -- it is best toasted or microwaved!]
I want to try making bread again. I tried years ago and it didn't turn out well....I would like to try again though and see if I can do better. I have made some excellent banana breads, so maybe I will give sandwich bread another shot.
I have been on a GF diet for 10 years now; so please let me know if I can be of help!
