How to reduce your family’s bread bill in half - bake it yourself
Last updated 19:39, Thursday, 08 May 2008
THE average family could knock £100 off their annual food bill by baking their own bread.
That’s the view of Caroline Dale, marketing manager at Carr’s Flour, Silloth
“Based on a normal family consumption of four loaves a week, the savings quickly mount up,” said Caroline, who explained that a quality, home-made white loaf can be baked for 66p, which is about half the cost of a shop-bought loaf.
This figure includes the cost of the electricity when using an automatic breadmaker.
With food prices rising at their highest level for years it amounts to an annual saving of about £100 for the average family in the UK.
“You also have the added advantage of knowing exactly what has gone into the loaf and there’s nothing more delicious and nutritious than freshly made bread,” added Mrs Dale.
Increased sales of Carr’s Strong White Breadmaker flour, which is produced at the company’s Silloth mill, suggest that households are indeed baking more bread at home.
“Sales of our bread flour are 15 per cent up on last year,” she said.
“All the evidence points to more and more families dusting down their breadmakers and baking their own loaves to cut their shopping bills.”
In 2002/03 sales of breadmakers rocketed in the UK. Carr’s flour responded by producing a range of specially milled flours for using in automatic breadmakers.
A bag of Carrs Breadmaker Strong White Flour currently retails at approximately £1.30 – enough to make three loaves.
The 66p figure also takes into account the cost of additional ingredients such as yeast and butter.
A survey by The Grocer magazine revealed that the average cost of a weekly family shop covering 100 staple products has shot up by almost £15.
This is at a time when households are already facing hikes in petrol prices and huge rises in energy bills.
“It’s a difficult time for more and more families and baking bread at home is a proven way of saving money without compromising on quality,” added Mrs Dale.
