We're with you... when we have the time, spending our Sundays making bread so we have delicious sandwich bread all week is amazing. However, if we go away for the weekend or have Sunday plans, making bread anytime during the week is almost impossible, and we usually just go without bread, and eat other things for our lunches, but sometimes we do buy store-bought bread... it's just never as good.

I'm sorry to be critical here, but one thing about this series always bugs me...does it ever come down on the side of buy?

Not that I'm against making--I totally agree that pretty much everything is better, healthier, and generally cheaper homemade. But the things I don't make from scratch aren't because I think they're better bought (ok...I confess...I've kinda never had a homemade brownie that was better than boxed *ducks*) but because I make decisions about what to use my "make" time on.

Most of us, unless we're full-time cooks or maybe full-time homemakers sans kids would spend all day cooking if we made from scratch everything that is good to make from scratch.

I would get the point of this series more if it maybe differentiated between things that are WAY better homemade or surprisingly don't take any more time than buying or something...as is, I don't really get the point..."cooking is good"? I think most of us here already agree!

Make in the dead of winter when it's freezing outside, but for sure buy in the summer. There's no way in hell I'm turning on my oven long enough to bake bread in July!

We (2 adults, no kids) have full-time corporate jobs each with 1-hour+ commutes still make sandwich bread when we can find the time... it's totally underestimated how good homemade bread is... we buy other things that are definitely better and cheaper to make, but bread is just one thing we "splurge" hours of free time to be able to have... yummm...

Homemade bread is wonderful to have on hand, and I really enjoy kneading the dough. The whole process is relaxing. But I now have an infant who does not understand that yeast has a schedule to keep, so I only make bread occasionally. However, my husband and I still aren't in the habit of buying sandwich bread. I don't know why.

I have not bought bread in many years. I make it many different ways - sometimes in the bread machine (I only use the dough cycle, then take it out to shape, rise again, and bake in the oven), the stand mixer, or the no-knead method. It justs tastes better, and I feel is healthier.

I've made my own bread, and it is better!!! I like making a double batch, and freezing half the dough so I only have to do the whole shebang every 2 weeks. we do have a farmer's market right outside my work every week, and if they have my fave bread, I'll by it for simplicity sake...but yeah, no more grocery store bread for us.

I agree with make also....but I use a bread machine. Its less expensive than heating up the oven for one loaf of bread. Also I can make bread in the summer with out adding more heat to an already overheated house.

I love that I can throw all the ingredients in there late on Sunday night and have bread waiting for us in the morning.

@Kat88 - You make a really good point. I think it's tough because when you do a side-by-side comparison like this, most often everything except for convenience DOES seem to come down on the side of "make." At least it seems so to me.

But you're right that for most of us (even us food writers!), we just don't have the time, resources, or energy to truly make EVERYTHING. It's a pickle. I'll definitely keep what you said in mind as we go forward this this series and do a better job of emphasizing when it seems like convenience wins out over the other factors.

Your cost comparison also doesn't take into account the price for purchasing the appropriate pan or the electricity/gas to do the baking.

I'd love to bake my own bread but my kitchen isn't equipped.

The reason we don't eat bread is because we haven't found a shop-bought sandwich bread that we like, and I'm too lazy to make my own. We sometimes buy a baguette, but end up throwing most of it as it's only good on the day of purchase.

@pyh... i've always been against bread machines, rice cookers, etc. but you do have a good point about heating up the house. my boyfriend and i spent our whole sunday cooking/baking for the week so we didn't have to turn on the oven or stove in our 350sf apartment because it gets sooooo hot! we could deal for one day, but it surely would be nice to be able to make homemade bread without the heat... i'm convinced... i'll be getting a bread machine in the near future now :D

@BrianneA, on the other hand, the price of transportation wasn't taken into account in the cost of store-bought bread. Nor the price of impulse buys while you're at the store...

There are delicious breads sold in the bakery section of my local supermarket.

I make my own bread because of the "additives" to the store bought bread. It is hard to find bread with out lots of other not so good for you "stuff" in it

Considering it ranges from 110 to 117 degrees in the summer here in Arizona, the bread machine is the ONLY way to go if you're going to make homemade.

One of the things I like about store-bought bread is the uniformity of slices. Does anyone have tips on slicing your own bread? I don't think I really want to shell out for a bread-slicing machine.

The problem with these cost comparisons is that you're saying that your time and effort are worth nothing.

I still buy bread because then I know it will be edible. I know, I just need more practice.

I've been working hard to make my own bread for the past little while. Last week, I hadn't made any bread so I caved and got some from the store, and even some of my worst attempts at homemade bread are better than the store stuff. I was surprised at the difference. So, it's back to homemade for me.

We do about half-and-half. I vastly prefer homemade bread (and am happy to make it), but my husband slightly prefers store-bought --- mostly because the slices are so perfect and standardized for sandwich-making. We're lucky that our locally owned corner store carries good breads from a local bakery.

I don't even mind making bread in the summer, except for a brief stretch in July or August. I just make the dough ahead using a reduced amount of yeast and stash it in the fridge until nightfall. Just punch it down once or twice during the day, then shape, raise, and bake it late at night when the kitchen is cool and empty.

My boyfriend and I have recently taken to baking our own bread. I rarely ever eat bread and never bought it at the store because I didn't want to waste it. Homemade bread seems to be more versatile too, and it really isn't that difficult or takes too much time, especially if you freeze some of the batter.

We concluded that it cost us a little less than a dollar a loaf. This way, I feel like i'm wasting less money if I don't eat it all. Plus, it's fresher, tastes better, and doesn't have all those additives in it. I will enjoy making more types of bread in the future and may even get a bread machine when I get a good job!

@Kat88, I'm with you. Obviously we're all here, so we all love food and cooking, but I just plain old would not have the time to make bread every week. I make it for special occasions and I love doing it, but the cost and taste in no way outweigh the convenience of store-bought bread.

I recently bought a bread maker so I've been making breads and doughs fairly frequently these days. I have a long ways to go before I save enough to pay off my investment but I think its been worth it so far.

Great discussion here. I see the point about these columns leaning towards 'make' too often...but a lot of times the comments help hash out how much of an inconvenience making certain items really is. Learning readers' tips and tricks, and finding new reliable recipes, are part of the reason I like these articles.

Emma, I appreciate your response to Kat88. I've been feeling the same way she has about this feature. It's no slam on you...homemade anything is almost always tastier, healthier and cheaper than an equivalent store bought item, but I don't feel that time and effort are given the weight they deserve in these comparisons. Plus, it seems to defeat the point of the question if "buy" never edges out "make."

We always joke that our home made bread costs half as much, but we eat twice as much so it comes out even.

I live in Tanzania and make everything (tortillas, pitas, ravioli, sprinkles, caramel sauce, tomato sauce, chicken stock... etc.) from scratch out of necessity. I have to drive 30 minutes to get store-bought sandwich bread that is edible and still, I never make it. I have never found a homemade bread recipe that makes good sandwich bread. It's always too dense. I tried the No-Knead recipe at least twice, but all I ever got was a flavorless brick! I don't get why everyone is so crazy about that recipe. I would much rather knead some dough than deal with the big glob that recipe produces!

I've made some terrible bread in my day and while I know it's "easy" to make bread, I'm sure I'm not the only person on earth who's f'ed it up. So I'm totally not buying the idea that that homemade bread is ipso facto the best bread. It's just not necessarily true.

Buy. I'd really like to see this same comparison done with whole wheat bread - it's much harder to do yourself and still have it come out well. I'm all for the occasional loaf of no-knead bread once in a while, but white flour is white flour, no matter who made it. I have yet to find a whole grain recipe that comes out as well as what I can buy (Trader Joe's Multi Grain is my fav - 6 grams of fiber per slice!).

just an aside for Kat88...I always thought boxed brownie mixes were better, until I found this recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/intensely-chocolate-cocoa-brownies-118242
It is *almost* as quick as using a box mix, too.

I prefer homemade bread (except for certain things such as peanut butter sandwiches), but we usually just buy it. When I do make it, this recipe is great for sandwiches: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/bread-machine-bread-easy-as-can-be-recipe
It is not too dense and slices easily. I make the dough in the bread machine, and then bake it in a 9" pain de mie (or pullman) pan. The lid on the pan helps make a perfectly smooth rectangular loaf. Leftovers make awesome French toast :)

A true cost analysis would include the cost of utilities used in baking v. the driving time, gas, & time at the grocery store. Then there's the hidden costs, the impact on the planet - delivery trucks using gas, & packaging.

In any case, I vastly prefer the bread I bake to anything I can buy; less salt, no corn syrup empty calories, better taste. If I'm in too much of a hurry for bread, I bake biscuits. That takes much less time than a trip to the store.

I've been making my own bread for 3 years now and it really kills me to have to buy it when I'm short on time. I have a recipe that makes 2 loaves at a time so I keep one frozen which reduces the number of times I have to make it each month. It just tastes better and I like the process. I'll always make time for it.

Along the lines of some of the previous comments, if you value your time even at US minimum wage ($7.25/hr), then the homemade loaf costs $11.54, not including the planning ahead and waiting elements.

I enjoy baking my own bread sometimes, and would say in that case that the time cost is not necessarily relevant. But if I'm baking because I have to or else we can't have sandwiches this week, then that's a job I wouldn't otherwise be doing, and the value of that time should be considered.

Of course, as Barefoot noted, there are hidden costs to the store-bought bread, too.

It's not that I hate the idea of this kind of comparison, I just think it's more complicated than it seems at first blush. And the "my time" factor is going to be different for each person.

Both. I have a stand mixer, and so turning out a loaf of whole wheat sandwich bread is really fairly easy, and only a 3-hour process.

But as others have said, I don't always want to turn on my oven. My bedroom is right above the kitchen. Plus, where I live in Oregon, we have a fantastic bread company out of Portland--Dave's Killer Bread/Naturebake--that makes great sandwich loaves. There are also a couple of local bakeries where I live that make amazing bread.

We use the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day main bread recipe and we love it. I make pitas, pecan rolls (decadent) and pizza with it. But if we want sandwich rolls for po'boys or something, sure we will buy it as I am not a bread roll maker. The only thing we are snobs about is Wonder Bread. That stuff is nasty.

When I make no-knead bread (on weekends) I find it isn't as good the next day, so I have to buy store bread too as I don't have time make bread every day...

for every internet user who's following the no-knead bread meme, there's dozens of home cooks who gladly knead their own bread day after day. I think this automatic comparison with a "trendy bread" was a little flawed. Though, I would still advocate making one's own bread - I have never minded getting my hands (or stand mixer, when I'm at my parents') dirty and making bread as it's been made for generations. No knead bread is a messy, long process which reaps good, but not great results.
Play with several real recipes, and experiment with different raising agents and you'll be laughing.

What I can't understand is why all of you don't make a bunch of the dough or bake several loaves, then put the excess in the freezer? Even when I buy store bread I freeze a couple of extra loaves so that way I can just pull a loaf out of the freezer and thaw. Tastes exactly the same. Baking several loaves at a time really cuts down the costs. I can fit 8 loaves in my oven at the same time. We normally go through a loaf of bread, sometimes 2 per week.

I just had to add a bit more to that. Invest in a deep freezer. I have 2 deep freezers and a side by side fridge/freezer in my kitchen.