The cost of Baked goods
One of the things that the pandemic did for the cooking and baking industry was to get people back into baking bread. I was lucky enough to live in a part of Massachusetts that was rich in bakeries and bread was realistically priced. Fast forward a few years and we are now living down south in North Carolina, Covid-19 is still around but wow has the price of baked goods sky rocketed! A loaf of national brand bread costs on average $5.00 and Artisan Breads are now cost you $9.00 respectively. Tortillas used to be an inexpensive staple item, not now, an 8 pack of flour tortillas will set you back $5.00 and that’s the small taco size. On average my costs to bake a loaf of bread is around 25¢, that’s right twenty-five cents! And tortillas, hold on to your hat - it costs me about 10¢ to make 30 taco size tortillas. Lets talk other staple items like English Muffins and Bagels - pre-pandemic I could buy these breakfast staples for 99¢ for a 6 pack, now I’m looking at paying $5.50 for the same items. English Muffins much like Brioche Buns I thought would be super complicated but I discovered that just wasn’t the case. My “go to” source for bread recipes is King Arthur Baking Company, you’ll find a plethora of bread recipes to suit your every need plus many other things.
It was when I realized that I could easily spend $50.00 on just bread items on one shopping trip that I had my wake up call. I started making my own bread, pasta and even artisan breads like brioche burger and hotdog buns, focaccia and ciabatta . You’re thinking that it takes time to make bread- yes and no. Most time involved is in the rising of the bread and you can do other things at that time. Don’t want to wait around? Invest in a bread machine, it can do a lot more than you think. I received one a year ago as a gift and I use that thing at least 3 times a week, I find it an invaluable kitchen appliance.
I grew up having a mother who made breads and pastas from scratch, I already had the knowledge I just had to brush off my skills and get back into the swing of things. English Muffins are one of the easiest breads to make and Brioche Buns are not as intimidating to make as you may think either. While I many types of flour now, it’s not necessary to have more than all purpose and bread flour in your pantry. King Arthur Baking Company has all the answers and they can guide you in the right direction.
Now with all of that said, my latest loaf of bread is done baking and the aroma is heavenly.