Bread Cost Effectiveness

[SayJay]

I am just starting to phase out gluten as we speak, the cost of things are quite surprising really. I was wondering how big of cost difference is there between buying pre-packaged gluten free bread mix, and making your own from scratch (I assume buying made bread is much more expensive). Also since there are alot of ingredients to making from scratch, are there any places to go to get any kind of deals or is it all the same??

Please please help me out, this bread hurdle is the last thing keeping me from really quitting gluten.

[tarnalberry]

For many of us, myself included, it's simpler to just get rid of bread. There are lots of things to eat besides sandwiches!

[scarlett77]

I am just starting to phase out gluten as we speak, the cost of things are quite surprising really. I was wondering how big of cost difference is there between buying pre-packaged gluten free bread mix, and making your own from scratch (I assume buying made bread is much more expensive). Also since there are alot of ingredients to making from scratch, are there any places to go to get any kind of deals or is it all the same??

Please please help me out, this bread hurdle is the last thing keeping me from really quitting gluten.

For me I have found:

Pamela's Bread mix is about $26.54 for 6 packages which comes out to $4.42 per package (or per loaf).

Udi's bread can range from $3.39 to $5.99 depending on where and any sales going on. If you buy in bulk from Whole Foods they usually give you a discount and the average price you pay is about $4.04 per loaf.

Now I like fresh made bread so occasionally I get the mix, but I typically buy Udi's in bulk when it goes on sale. I try to use it as sparingly as possible though. I try to keep it simple most of the time with bread free options. Oh and another option is Chebe where you can buy the mix online in bulk for $18.62 (8pkgs). Typically I will use two packages at a time for things like flat bread, pizza, tortillas, etc to feed a family of 5. So roughly my cost is $4.66 a meal on that. I also use that for dinner rolls and bread sticks though and I only need one package to make those.

Buying flours and mixing them yourself will most likely be the cheapest per loaf. The initial cost is terrible and then you having to worry about storing it properly, but may be worth it if you would like to make bread often. I don't have the time and don't incorporate bread as often so I stick with pre-made and mixes.

[Takala]

I am just starting to phase out gluten as we speak, the cost of things are quite surprising really. I was wondering how big of cost difference is there between buying pre-packaged gluten free bread mix, and making your own from scratch (I assume buying made bread is much more expensive). Also since there are alot of ingredients to making from scratch, are there any places to go to get any kind of deals or is it all the same??

Please please help me out, this bread hurdle is the last thing keeping me from really quitting gluten.

_____________

Depends on what you end up using as ingredients and what your tastes in baked goods is, plus whether or not you like to bake and experiment, or just want to get it over with.

Some people just want to buy a pre made mix and dump the thing in the stand mixer with the eggs and liquid, or into the bread machine, and have bread show up an hour later. Others discover they either don't like or cannot tolerate one or more of the common ingredients used in gluten free baking and they end up customizing their ingredients.

Your local health food store, non chain, may be the best place to find ingredients, and a few regular groceries also have gluten free or specialty aisles. Some farmer's markets or wholesale co opts might also have ingredients, but you need to check for cross contamination. Some people buy things like rice or sorghum flour from ethnic stores. Whole Foods is really expensive and I won't use them regularly, only for any item I cannot find anywhere else, because of that and because of the attitude of the CEO. The local store has the worst layout I've ever seen for trying to find specific gluten free items, by design- I don't have that much patience to play hide and seek for groceries.

When I see what I think is a good deal on something, I stock up. The cashier may be astonished I'm buying 10 lbs of almonds, but since I'm going to turn that into 10 pounds of almond meal at $2.99 a pound, vs. $10 to even $14 a pound almond flour retail, I'm saving a lot of money. Ditto for things like buying olive oil in the big 4 liter can instead of the tiny, expensive bottles. I store almost everything in the freezer or refrigerator so it does not go buggy or rancid. That also saves me multiple shopping trips.

I will take bags of gluten free single ingredient flours and dump them into one big giant ziplock bag or container to make my own mixes, using proportions instead of cups, if I find a combination I like to use a lot. I also have lined up a row of ziplocks and filled each with my own "mix" for certain things, as I am measuring it out, so I can just grab a bag and add the liquid ingredients later.

Mail order from specialty vendors is another way to find bulk gluten free items.

Yes, the cost of gluten free cooking can be more expensive, the more you rely on pre packaged goods and the less on basic raw ingredients. However, compared to being on multiple medications for the various diseases that go along with untreated celiac or gluten intolerance, and having to go to the doctor's office frequently, it's not very expensive at all.

[MelindaLee]

I will Udi's (online you can get a coupon for $1 off). I also make bread in my bread machine (very simple) I have used Bob's Red Mill mix which was good. I tried Namaste (sp???) but I didn't care for that. I also found a recipe for Our Favorite Whit Bread on the back of the bag of Bob's Red Mill Potatoe Starch. That has been my favorite homemade so far. But....I am new to this, too.

[Jestgar]

For many of us, myself included, it's simpler to just get rid of bread. There are lots of things to eat besides sandwiches!

I also don't do bread. It's just not worth it with all the other food options around (cracker snacks, rice wraps, tortillas, lettuce wraps, slice of meat wrapped around cheese, etc).

[Juliebove]

I tried making my own bread both from scratch and from mixes. I quit doing that. Why? Mostly they didn't work. I should add that we are dairy and egg free as well. I do sometimes make the zucchini bread recipe on this website. It works quite well. I sub in flax for the eggs.

I had a cupboard full of different kinds of flour. I would buy something and then couldn't remember what I bought it for. The stuff would all go bad before I could use it. Eventually I threw it all out and started over again.

What I bought was a four flour mix that can be used for a variety of things. Also some rice flour. Can't remember now if it is white or brown. Also bought sweet rice flour. I use that mainly for gravies. But also for other things. If I do come across some recipe I want to try, I might buy other types of flour. But I will think long and hard about it before I do!

Daughter likes the Ener-G Rice Starch bread. Occasionally I buy it in loaves. The loaves keep for longer. They are hermetically sealed and they will keep for at least a year (probably longer) after they are first baked. The problem with the loaves is that it is not often that she will eat a whole loaf before it goes bad. This summer she was taking dance camps so packed a sandwich every day. The last 2 to 4 slices would usually be thrown out, but this was still more economical than buying the 2 slice packs.

However, most of the time I do buy the 2 slice packs. Why? I never know when she might want bread. She might go for weeks without wanting any. Then she might want a couple of slices. She mainly eats it as cinnamon toast. Or sometimes she will just rip it into bite sized pieces and dip it in maple syrup. Once in a while she will eat a sandwich. But not too often. Yes, it is expensive to buy the bread this way. But I am not having to throw bread away. And it will keep for usually a couple of months when packaged this way. Alas, I have to mail order it so it's always a shot in the dark. Sometimes I will order 24 2 slice packs only to discover that they all expire in 6 days. Most of the time I get lucky.

For the meals we eat at home, I try to plan things that do not require bread. Yes, a sandwich used to make for a quick meal. But no longer. Now I buy pre-cooked rice and canned chicken. That's our quick meal.

Tonight we had pasta with red sauce and some added ground beef that I had previously cooked and put in the freezer. I used to do this with chicken breast as well but daughter prefers canned. She also likes instant mashed potatoes. Those are quick to fix as well.

[RiceGuy]

I look at it this way; Homemade gluten-free bread from scratch is cheaper than buying a decent whole wheat bread at the supermarket, so it doesn't seem so bad to me. Never have I liked "white bread", so I use only whole food flours, no empty carb starches. Good ingredients do cost more, but they are very nutritious. I can buy a pound of bean flour for less than most whole dry beans, so it can actually save money. Besides, once you get the hang of it, there's nothing better than freshly made! But I enjoy experimental baking a lot, and things usually turn out fine. Sure, there were a lot of flops early on, but I ate them anyway. I find it is the texture which makes for most of the difference between something not turning out as expected, and something which does. And I've also found that if the texture isn't right for the thing I was trying to make, the recipe is often a good start toward something else! I buy most of the ingredients over the Internet. Mostly from Open Original Shared Link. The cost of most things locally is comparatively high, and the selection just doesn't compare.