Looking to lower your monthly grocery expenses? Here’s the breakdown on how to save money with a bread machine!
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In a Nutshell
The amount of money you can save varies depending on how much bread you normally buy, what kind of bread you buy, and how much you invest in a bread machine. New bread machines can be quite expensive but thankfully they resale for much lower costs at thrift stores and Facebook Marketplace. It’s possible to make homemade bread without a bread machine for even more savings but a bread machine can make loaves more consistent in appearance, and cut down on active work time, and mess. Like any appliance, a bread machine can be a learning curve so be prepared for mistakes and experiments.
Can you actually save money with a bread machine? This is a question that has been on my mind for most of the last year as I’ve tried to cut down my family’s grocery budget. Because bread is thankfully not that expensive, I’ve focused on learning the basics of grocery cost comparison, making meals out of what I have on hand, and trying to cut down larger costs areas like meats. Now that I’ve done (although not mastered) these things, I’ve moved on to bread.
How Much Money Can You Save with a Bread Machine?
The amount of money you can save with a bread machine depends on what kind of bread you normally buy and how long it lasts you. I normally buy Great Value white bread from Walmart for $1.42 or at Aldi for $1.29. Both are 20oz packages and last my family about a week. That means we’re going through about 4 loaves per month or $5.68 just in sandwich bread. It’s certainly not a huge amount, but every penny counts! If you’re buying a pricier bread or have a bigger family you may be saving even more.
A bread machine doesn’t just make sandwich bread though! A bread machine can also help make doughs like pizza dough. My family typically has 2-3 pizza nights per month and because my boys are young yet we only need to cook one pizza but I know we’ll need more pizza (and more bread) as they get bigger.
Is it Expensive to Start Making Homemade Bread?
It doesn’t need to be! White sandwich bread recipes contain water, salt, sugar, flour, and yeast. These are relatively cheap especially in bulk. Fancier breads may have more ingredients. You will also need some form or storage for your bread like plastic bags or a bread box. Additionally you’ll need to make sure you have a bread knife for cutting your bread. A serrated bread knife is usually included in most knife block sets. Without a bread machine, the upfront cost of starting to make your own bread is relatively low.
Disadvantages to Homemade Bread
If you’re reading this post, it’s likely because you are already interested in making bread but want to make sure it’s a good fit for you. You know the advantages, so I’ll just list the disadvantages to homemade bread.
- Appearance: Your bread will probably look more “artisan style” than perfectly shaped store-bought bread.
- Shelf Life: Without Preservatives homemade bread does not last as long as store bought bread. However, many people prefer the idea of eating less preservatives for health reasons.
- Consistency: If you’re making a homemade bread without a bread machine, you’re not going to get two loaves that look the same.
- Clean up: Because of the kneading, proving, and baking, making your own homemade bread can make a floury mess and extra dishes in your kitchen
- Time: Making homemade bread at home can take close to 3 hours.
Do you need a Bread Machine to Make Homemade Bread?
No, you do not need a bread machine to make homemade bread. However, a bread machine is much less work and mess. I have tried making a variety of breads in the oven but there seem to be too many variables for this scatterbrained mom of littles to keep track of. I’ve messed up proving times, cook times, and kneaded both too much and too little. A bread machine does all the mixing, proving, and baking for you taking the variables (including you) out of the equation! If you’re experienced or someone with an eye for detail and time on their hands you may find you prefer to make homemade bread in the oven.
Is a Bread Machine Worth the Cost?
It depends on how much you use it. A quick look on Amazon will show you new bread machines can cost anywhere from $75 to $400. You’d have to be REALLY dedicated to making your own bread and dough for the next few years to make that price anywhere near worth the savings. I was able to find an old bread machine for $15 on Facebook Marketplace. For me, that means I can pay for the machine with the cost savings of just sandwich bread in under 3 months. If you don’t want to save money with a bread machine as much as you want to experience the health benefits of homemade bread, you may be willing to spend more on a bread machine.
Disadvantages to Bread Machines
- Cost: new bread machines can cost anywhere from $75-400. Check garage sales and Facebook Marketplace for deals!
- Machine Size: yet another bulky kitchen appliance to take up precious counter space
- Loaf Size: The loaf sizes make for less slices of bread than some store bought loaves
- Noise: Depending on the quality of the bread machine, it may be quite loud.
Advantages to Making Homemade Bread in a Bread Machine
- Smell: Who doesn’t love the smell of fresh baked bread?
- No Mess: The machine mixes, proves, kneads, and bakes bread in a single pan
- Timer Feature: Set up the ingredients in the morning but without starting the process until later so your bread is fresh when dinner is ready
- Heat Output: A bread machine cooks the bread effectively, but doesn’t heat your kitchen in the same way that heating up your oven does.
Mistakes I’ve Made With My Bread Machine
I’ve only had my bread machine for about two months and have already made a few mistakes. Hopefully you can learn from them! On my very first loaf I pulled it out to cool but got distracted with the kids and errands that it ended up being out too long and getting slightly stale. I also cut that loaf into slices that were just a little too big so sandwiches were extra chewy. Oof! Another time I forgot to re-insert the paddle in the bottom of the pan so the dough didn’t get mixed. Thankfully it only took me 10 minutes to notice and I was able to pour everything out, re-insert the paddle, pour it back in and restart the machine.
Will I Continue to Save Money with a Bread Machine?
So far I’ve really enjoyed the taste and smell of fresh homemade bread in my home. Set up and clean up for my bread machine is a snap so there’s really no extra time added in my day except that I need to be home at the time the bread is done. The bread has consistently worked well for sandwiches and toast (once I got the slice size right). I see myself continuing to use my bread machine as a money saving hack. Will I sometimes still buy bread at the store? Probably. But I think I’ll continue to make most of our bread and doughs homemade at least for this next year. I hope to experiment with other types of breads too!
Have you used a bread machine before? Did you love it or hate it?