Pros and Cons of Homemade vs. Store Bought Bread

It was common in my childhood home to smell of baking bread. My mom would make 4 loaves at a time to feed our large family. One of my favorite things was to take a freshly baked slice and drizzle honey over it; to say it was to die for is an understatement. Although homemade bread was the norm in my family, I found we were the exception. With this realization, I thought it would be fun to ask around for the benefits and disadvantages of homemade bread. Here is what I got.

Pros of Homemade Bread: What are the Benefits of Homemade Bread?

1. You know what ingredients are in every loaf of your homemade bread. Reb B, preservatives, Monoglycerides: these are a few ingredients that you may find in your bread from the store. Many people are becoming more aware of what they are consuming. If you are one of these people, homemade bread is a great option. You will know what ingredients go into each loaf. Do you want to use wheat? You can! Do you want to make it gluten-free or dairy-free? You can! The sky is your limit!
2. Homemade bread makes your house smell so good. Your house smells so good." This is a heard a lot when visitors come to my home. My husband enjoys making bread, and oh, it smells so good! Homemade bread doesn't just have an incredible aroma, but it makes a house smell more like home.
3. Less plastic waste from packaging. Have you ever thought of how much packaging bread the store uses? This packaging can be hard to reuse or recycle. Innumerable bread bags end up going to the dump and adding to our waste problem.
4. Homemade bread can be a lot healthier. If you are making the bread, you choose how healthy you want it. When I was eating more homemade bread, I lost weight easier and felt better in general. It has some great health benefits.
5. If you make the bread with whole wheat, it has a ton of fiber. When my kids are constipated, I cut down on white flour and add more wheat, which will regulate them right away. So if you struggle going to the bathroom whole wheat bread is a helpful remedy. 
6. Homemade bread creates cherished memories. I loved pulling a chair over to the bread mixer and watching the dough spin around and around. Sometimes when my mom was shaping the loaves, she would give me some dough to shape how I wanted. I was always so excited when I got to see my bread shapes come out of the oven. These are some fun memories that I treasure!
7. Homemade bread tastes so good! My mom would bring bread to fundraisers, and people would go crazy over it. If you ever want to make friends fast, learn to bake homemade bread. 
8. It is cheaper to make homemade bread than buy it from the store. Looking through prices at my local Walmart, I figured how much it costs to make a loaf of my mom's bread recipe and documented my findings in the charts below. 

Chart Shows the Price for Whole Wheat Bread

^{* BE CAREFULL: yeast can be so overpriced! Don't fall for their trap. HINT: Although this is a Walmart price, Sam's Club is significantly cheaper}

^{**Make sure to buy honey in bulk if possible! It will save you so much money in the long run}.

Chart Shows the Price for White Bread

^{* BE CAREFULL: yeast can be so overpriced! Don't fall for their trap. HINT: Although this is a Walmart price, Sam's Club is significantly cheaper} 

^{**Make sure to buy honey in bulk if possible! It will save you so much money in the long run}.

Cons of Homemade Bread: What are the disadvantages of Homemade Bread?

1. It takes a lot less time to buy bread from the store. It is so tempting to buy bread at the store because of the convenience. Making homemade bread takes a lot of time before it is ready to eat. You need to combine all ingredients, kneed the dough, shape it into loaves, let loaves rise, and then bake. 
2. Homemade bread may not turn out how you want. I have messed up on making bread so many times. I have undercooked, overcooked, not mixed dough well enough, and so much more. There is a lot that can go wrong. 
3. Homemade bread doesn't have preservatives, so it molds faster than store bread. I usually plan on having our homemade bread only last about a week outside the fridge. Note: By storing your homemade bread in the refrigerator, it could last up to two weeks.
4. You may need to invest in a bread mixer. Kneading dough by hand is time-consuming and a lot more work. A bread mixer will help speed up this process, but it also can cost a small fortune. 
5. Heating your oven makes your house hot in the summer.  Ovens produce tons of heat. This can be a great benefit in the winter but can be a nightmare in the summer. Hopefully, you love the heat.
6. You have to store ingredients like flour, yeast, etc. If you don't bake much, you probably need to run to the store to stock up. 
7. Homemade bread is the best when first baked. Homemade bread loses its quality a lot faster than store bread. After a few days, my mom's bread would be a bit harder and dryer. However, shown bellow is a cool bread box that will keep your bread keeping fresh for longer. 

"Our goal is to help the world make decisions with a list of Pros and Cons. We invite all to add to our lists to help others make the most educated decision possible. We are all in this world together to help each other and learn from what others have learned from their lives journey." - Pros and Cons Team

Written By: Sarah

If you want to learn more here are some resources:

• Less plastic waist from packaging http://sustainablejill.com/why-accept-all-the-plastic-packaging-with-your-bread/
• Homemade bread is a lot cheaper then store bread https://www.sixfiguresunder.com/is-homemade-bread-cheaper/
• Healthier mentally, emotionally, and physically https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/bake-homemade-bread_ca_5ddbe1b1e4b00149f7209f33
• Homemade bread makes your house smell so good. The smell is also shown to improve our mood https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-smell-of-fresh-baked-_n_2058480
• Benefits of eating fiber      https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/fiber/art-20043983
• Homemade bread doesn't have preservatives so it molds faster then store bought bread   https://sciencing.com/breads-mold-faster-8052755.html