Cost Analysis of No-Knead Bread

May 7, 2008

This is a cost analysis of the no-knead bread recipe that I posted on Monday. As a student my funds are limited, so I wanted to know if making my own bread was economically advantageous. I know it tastes better, but if it costs too much, it may not be feasible for me to make it frequently. The prices may be slightly different for you due to regional variations, but the cost of ingredients will probably rise with the cost of store-bought bread, so the comparison should be similar.

The ingredients needed for two small loaves of bread or one medium-sized loaf:

• 3 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast (one normal packet)
• 2 1/4 teaspoons of kosher salt

Flour

At the Kroger near my house, a 5 pound bag of flour costs $1.69.

1. 5 lbs x 16 oz/lb = 80 oz of flour per bag

Using the conversion table found here, a cup of all-purpose flour weighs 4 ounces.

1. 4 oz/cup x 3 1/4 cups per batch = 13 oz of flour needed per batch
2. 80 oz per bag / 13 oz per batch = 6.15 batches per bag

I will round this down to six since you might need a little more for dusting your loaf when cutting and baking it. And the cost per batch?

1. $1.69 / 6 batches = $0.28 per batch for flour

Salt

(Note that the price I have is for table salt. Expect kosher to be a little more expensive, but there can’t be too much of a difference.)

A 26 oz container of salt costs $0.59 and using our handy chart, a tablespoon is 2/3 of an ounce. There are three teaspoons to a tablespoon, so:

1. 2 1/4 tsp. per batch x 1/3 tbsp./tsp. = 3/4 of a tablespoon of salt used per batch
2. 3/4 tbsp. per batch / 2/3 oz/tbsp. = .5 oz per batch
3. 26 oz per container / .5 oz per batch = 52 batches per container
4. $0.59 per container / 52 batches per container = $0.011 per batch for salt
   

I’ll go ahead and round that up so it is $0.02 per batch.

Yeast

The yeast is much simpler. Each packet contains 2 1/4 teaspoons and a group of three packets costs $0.97, so it is $0.33 per batch.

Total and Comparison

$0.28 for flour + 0.02 for salt + 0.33 for yeast = $0.63 per batch

So, it is 63 cents per batch of no-knead bread. I know this is not including time, and perhaps more importantly, the cost of electricity to heat your oven, but it is acceptable for now.

Where I live, you can get a 20 oz loaf of sliced, white bread for a dollar. So what is the cost per ounce of each bread?

• No-Knead: $0.63 per batch / 13 oz per batch = $0.048 per oz
• Store-bought: $1.00 per loaf / 20 oz per loaf = $0.05 per oz

So, they are equal at $0.05 per oz when you don’t include the electricity for your oven. I have no idea what an oven costs to run, but either way the electricity would make the homemade loaf a little bit more expensive. Still, they are so close that the great increase in quality from the homemade bread is probably worth the few extra pennies for me.

In a few months I am going to eat only home-baked bread for a month. The cost is nearly equal and it will be much more delicious - I’ll let you know how it turns out.

photo credit: Paco Espinoza

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