All About The Bread Loaf
And how prices of it can be worked around
I see many people using a loaf of bread’s price as their personal metric for inflation lately. So I thought it timely to look at the cost of a generic loaf of sandwich bread from 2016 and compare that with the cost of making a loaf of bread from scratch at home today, and wrap it up with that loaf of bread’s store price today. For this I will be using average national price data.
Cost of a Store-Bought Loaf of Bread in 2016
In 2016, the average cost of a loaf of white bread in the U.S. was $2.30.
Cost of Homemade Bread in 2024
Calculating the cost of homemade bread involves the prices of flour, yeast, salt, and optional ingredients like sugar and oil.
Flour (All-Purpose, 5 lbs): Average cost is about $3.00. For a loaf, you need roughly 3 cups or about 0.94 lbs. Cost per loaf: $0.56.
Yeast (Active Dry, one packet): A jar costing around $5 for 4 ounces. Each loaf requires about 2.5 teaspoons, making the cost per loaf: $0.52.
Salt (26 oz): Costs about $0.50, with a teaspoon per loaf making the cost per loaf less than $0.01.
Optional ingredients:
Sugar (1 lb): Costs about $2.50, with a tablespoon per loaf making the cost negligible.
Oil (Vegetable, 48 oz): Costs about $2.50, with a tablespoon per loaf also negligible.
Cost of a Store-Bought Loaf of Bread in 2024
Given inflation and rising food prices, the cost of a standard loaf of sandwich bread in 2024 has increased. For the purpose of this comparison, the latest data is for 2023, so we will use that. That average is $3.00, recognizing that actual prices can vary widely.
Total Cost Comparison
Store-Bought in 2016: $2.30
Homemade in 2024: Flour ($0.56) + Yeast ($0.52) + Salt (<$0.01) = $1.09 (excluding optional ingredients due to their negligible cost)
Store-Bought in 2024: Estimated at $3.00
Conclusion
Making bread at home in 2024 is significantly less expensive than buying a store-bought loaf, both when compared to 2016 prices and against current prices. This underscores the cost-effectiveness of home bread-making, not just in today’s economic climate, but though times both good and bad.