Cost of Refrigerator Dough Vs. Buying Bread

Time

• While refrigerator bread dough requires less of your time to make when compared to making bread from scratch, as there is no mixing and kneading involved, there is still a time factor. Refrigerator bread dough is typically ready to bake immediately after removing from the packaging, while freezer dough requires rising time. When calculating the cost of refrigerator dough versus prebaked bread, factor in your time required for preparing, baking and cleanup.

Energy

• It takes energy and an oven to bake the bread, and both cost money. Obviously, if you were purchasing an oven just for baking your own bread, you would have to bake a lot of bread before you recouped the cost of the oven. It is possible you never would recoup the expense, considering it is often possible to purchase a loaf of bread on sale for less than the cost of refrigerator dough. Factor in the cost of the energy to run your oven, as well as the wear and tear on the oven.

Packaging

• Packaging costs affect the cost of refrigerated bread dough. For example, the manufacturer's costs for packaging individual loaves of bread in a cardboard tube with metal lids may be higher than bread dough packaged three loaves to a bag. Yet bread dough sold in plastic bags as opposed to sturdier airtight packaging typically sells in the freezer section, as opposed to the refrigerator section. Unless packaged in an airtight container, raw bread dough spoils quickly. If your desire is to bake your own bread dough to save money, you may realize more savings by purchasing the bread dough in the freezer section, as opposed to the refrigerator section of the grocery store, or using a mix.

Sales

• The bottom line in savings is often determined case by case. You may save money with premade bread during one shopping trip, and on refrigerator dough on another. The cost per loaf of bread varies considerably, depending on if you purchase the bread in the bakery section of a supermarket, when on sale, a generic brand or if using a coupon. Refrigerator bread dough is also subject to price fluctuations, typically influenced by sales and coupon savings. When comparing prices of two similar loaf breads, check the weight of the finished product. The lesser priced product may also be less in size.