Bake your own bread

An organic whole grain loaf costs 4-5 € in the store. Ingredients (flour, water, yeast, salt) cost 0.80 €. With a simple recipe, your bread is ready in 4 hours, and tastes better.

Step by step

Bakeries calculate: raw materials 1 €, labor + oven + rent + staff 1.50-2 €, profit 1-2 € = 3.50-5 € selling price. When you bake at home, you skip labor and overhead. A classic wheat loaf: 500g flour (~0.50 €) + water (free) + yeast (0.10 €) + salt (0.05 €) + oven electricity (0.15 €) = 0.80 € cost. Feeds 3-4 meals, makes 1.2 kg bread. Baking twice a week saves 350-400 € yearly, no quality loss, usually better.

Step by step

1. Start: quick bread, no kneadingRecipe: 500g flour + 350ml water + 1 tsp yeast + 1 tsp salt. Mix all, into baking pan, 2 hours rise, 40 min bake. No kneading needed.
2. Learn classic recipe (with time flexibility)Classic: starter dough evening (5 min), next morning finish kneading (10 min), shape (5 min), 2 hours rise, 35 min bake.
3. Buy a baking pan or Dutch ovenLarge cast iron Dutch oven (~30 €) or simple baking pan (~5 €). With a lid, bread bakes juicier, steam stays in.
4. Experiment with floursStart: wheat flour type 550. Later: mixed breads (50% rye with wheat). Whole grain is denser but nutritious. Each flour absorbs water differently.
5. Use timing, not rushSet dough morning, bake evening. Or bake evening, morning bake. Rest periods are quality chances, not obstacles.

Worked example

How many loaves do you buy per week? Calculate your bakery savings.