How Baking Bread Saves Money

So is it worth it to bake your own bread? It really depends. Yes, bread baking takes some planning, and it can be a time-consuming process. However, much of the time is hands off, with the yeast doing the work. Home-baked bread can also be a much healthier alternative to store-bought, and it is vastly cheaper than bread purchased from a bakery.

Here's a quick break down of the savings from baking your own loaf of bread using the no-knead recipe. The recipe uses 3 cups of flour, which bought without a sale, is an average of $3 for 5 lbs. Yeast is 1.29 to 1.50 for three packets, each containing 2.25 teaspoons. Salt is $1 for a huge container, so we'll count that as a freebie. The recipe uses 1/4 teaspoon of salt and yeast. So with 2 cups equal to a pound of flour, the cost of the flour is approximately 0.90 cents. The cost of the yeast is approximately 5 cents. The cost of even an on-sale, cheap quality loaf of bread is $2, but this recipe can be made at home, with minimal effort, for less than a buck! 

Without the benefit of no preservatives and much better taste, baking your own bread is much easier on your wallet. Any thoughts or comments?

Homemade Croutons

Nothing makes a salad more flavorful (or if you're not a fan of salads, tolerable) than some delicious, crunchy croutons. But did you know that you can make these at home, easily, while at the same time using valuable food that you might otherwise throw out? You can!

Getting rid of leftovers the tasty way!

You will need:

Bread -- homemade or store-bought*

Spray olive oil

garlic salt

pepper

other seasonings of your choice

*Not moldy, but stale or close to stale. Leftover bagels are my favorite and can create some very interesting flavors, but any bread is fine. Note that the texture of the bread will reflect in the texture of the croutons.

Heat the oven to 425 degrees.

While it is heating, cut the bread into 1-inch squares.

Spray a baking sheet with the olive oil, and spread the bread squares onto it.

Spray the squares lightly, then sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper and any other spices that you feel like -- paprika, chili powder, lemon pepper, parmesean cheese, curry powder -- the possibilities are open!

Bake for 15 minutes, then enjoy on a salad, soup, or as a snack by themselves! Will keep for a week in an airtight container.