Homemade Bread vs Store Bought – What’s Differences?

What would you vote for if we had a poll to choose between handmade bread and store-bought bread? We are fairly certain that homemade would win by a wide margin!

Nothing compares the flavor, satisfaction, and pure happiness of biting into a warm slice of freshly baked handmade bread. Even better when topped with melting butter or a generous smear of your favorite marmalade!

A fresh loaf of bread, especially handmade bread, has a nostalgic and satisfying quality about it. It transforms into a gourmet experience that is well worth the effort!

However, many of us lose out on this amazing experience on a regular basis. And, for the most part, bread is bread. Whether it comes from a supermarket, a bakery, or is handmade. We don’t know the difference, don’t care, or just don’t have the time or energy to create our own.

Unfortunately, as technology advances and demand grows, producers are contaminating our bread. And this is bad for our health.

Let’s look at the differences between handmade and store-bought bread and why you might consider switching!

Homemade bread

This Honey Whole Wheat Bread was the product of my experiment. A perfect analogy wouldn’t work here, but this is the kind of bread I’d bake for my loved ones. I get twice as much bread for my time with this recipe. The use of a bread machine is unnecessary.

Ingredients

The following items make up this loaf of bread:

• Whole wheat flour
• All purpose flour
• Yeast
• Salt
• Honey
• Butter

Compared to store-bought bread, this one has a far shorter list of ingredients and less additives. That is not to say that anything is good or terrible, by the way. This handmade bread lacks the nutritional enhancements of its store-bought counterpart.

This bread also has simple components that I normally keep in the house. It’s quite acceptable to skip the yeast sometimes.

Nutrition

• 198 calories for 2 slices
• 43 grams of carbs
• 3 grams of fiber
• 6 grams of sugars
• 6 grams of protein

This bread boasts double the fiber and almost as much protein as store-bought options. This might help you feel satisfied for longer.

The use of whole wheat flour has a significant role in this. An excellent strategy to increase your fiber intake, whole grain flours are less likely to have their nutritional value diminished than white flour.

What are the advantages of homemade bread?

1. A house with homemade bread smells great. Your home smells great.” Visitors to my house often say this. My husband loves cooking bread, and it smells great! Homemade bread smells great and makes a house smell like home.
2. Plastic packing waste reduced. Have you considered how much bread the shop packages? Some packaging is hard to reuse or recycle. Many bread bags wind up in the trash, adding to our waste.
3. Healthy homemade bread is possible. When preparing bread, you pick its healthiness. Eating more homemade bread helped me lose weight and feel healthier. Has significant health advantages.
4. Whole wheat bread is high in fiber. I reduce white flour and increase wheat to instantly manage my kids’ constipation. Whole wheat bread helps with toilet issues.
5. Homemade bread builds memories. I enjoyed watching the dough spin in the bread machine from a chair. While shaping the loaves, my mom would give me dough to form. It always pleased me to watch my bread forms come out of the oven. I cherish these enjoyable memories!
6. Delicious homemade bread! People went wild about my mom’s bread during fundraisers. Make friends quickly by baking fresh bread.
7. Making homemade bread is cheaper than buying it in stores. I calculated the cost of making my mom’s bread recipe at Walmart and have included the figures below.

What are the disadvantages of Homemade Bread?

1. Buying bread from the grocery is faster. Store-bought bread is enticing because of its ease. It takes a long time to make homemade bread. Mix all ingredients, kneed the dough, shape loaves, let them rise, and bake.
2. The homemade bread may not come out as desired. I’ve failed at breadmaking numerous times. I’ve undercooked, overdone, mismixed dough, and more. Many things may go wrong.
3. No preservatives mean homemade bread molds quicker than retail bread. I plan for handmade bread to last a week outside the fridge. Note: Homemade bread can last two weeks in the fridge.
4. You may need a bread mixer. Hand-kneading dough takes time and effort. While a bread mixer can speed up this process, it can also be expensive.
5. Warming your oven makes your house heated in summer. Heat from ovens is huge. This can be fantastic in winter but terrible in summer. Hope you enjoy the heat.
6. You must keep flour, yeast, etc. If you seldom bake, stock up at the supermarket.
7. Freshly cooked homemade bread is excellent. Homemade bread degrades quicker than retail bread. Mum’s bread became tougher and dryer after a few days. However, this cool bread box will keep your bread fresher.

Store-bought bread

I used Aldi brand regular white commercial bread for this experiment. Aldi offers a plethora of bread options, but I wanted to keep this section simple. It was the least expensive loaf and appeared to be the most popular.

Ingredients

When you glance at the ingredient list, you will notice a number of terms that you may not be able to pronounce. And other individuals believe that “if you can’t pronounce it, don’t consume it.”

But, to be honest, it’s not as frightening as it appears. Let me explain some of this to you.

• Niacin: Vitamin B3
• Thiamin mononitrate: Vitamin B1
• Riboflavin: Vitamin B2
• Folic acid: Vitamin B9
• Calcium sulfate: Dough conditioner/strengthener, increases shelf life
• Diammonium phosphate: A nutrient for yeast

This bread contains vitamins as well as stabilizers to extend its shelf life. It’s also produced using white flour rather than whole wheat flour, which means it’s devoid of certain nutrients and fiber.

Some people are concerned about preservatives in food, which is understandable. You must do what is best for yourself and your family. Preservatives have a terrible reputation, but they can come in handy if you can’t go to your local grocery shop and need your food to keep longer.

Nutrition

• 130 calories for 2 slices
• 25 grams of carbs
• 1 gram of fiber
• 3 grams of added sugar
• 4 grams of protein

Nothing here is “good” or “evil,” simply knowledge for you. If you want to improve your fiber consumption, you can try a different type of bread.

Aside from that, the nutritional value is not poor. This bread has additional vitamins, which is beneficial if you don’t receive enough.

You just need to understand what your body requires and what to purchase to fuel it!

What are the advantages of Store-bought bread?

• Convenience – Store-bought bread is readily available and doesn’t require any preparation time.
• Consistency – The ingredients and baking process are carefully controlled, so the taste and texture will be consistent between loaves.
• Variety – Stores offer a wide selection of bread types like wheat, white, sourdough, etc. to choose from.
• Longer shelf life – Processed breads last longer before going stale compared to homemade bread.

So in summary, store-bought bread provides convenience while homemade bread is fresher and contains fewer additives. It depends on your preferences.

What are the disadvantages of Store-bought bread?

• Less fresh – Store-bought breads often contain preservatives to increase shelf life, making them not as fresh as homemade bread.
• More processing – They contain more processed ingredients like bleached flour, stabilizers, and other additives.
• Lower nutrition – Processing can remove some of the natural fiber, vitamins and minerals compared to homemade breads.
• Contains additives – Ingredients like dough conditioners and preservatives are added for texture and shelf stability.
• More expensive – Store-bought bread tends to cost more per loaf than homemade bread made with basic ingredients.
• May not be as tasty – The taste and texture is not as delicious or crunchy as bread baked at home.

Which is better for you?

The final question: Which is best? Store-bought or homemade?

My non-professional opinion:

Make homemade bread if you have time and your family consumes a lot.

If you’re short on time or money, buy store-bought.

There is no “healthiest” bread since our definition of “healthy” varies. Your healthier bread may require fiber, but mine does not.

Even though handmade bread tastes better than store-bought, I normally buy a loaf most weeks. Everything depends on my mood.

You might make a loaf for special occasions to test whether you enjoy it. Nothing beats homemade bread.

Regardless, I hope this makes sense. In the end, making or buying bread is a personal choice, and this should help you understand the differences, Happy cooking at Layla’s Authentic Spanish Restaurant

FAQs

Is homemade bread healthier than store bought?

Homemade bread is generally healthier than store bought as it contains fewer ingredients and less preservatives. You control exactly what goes into it making it easier to avoid unhealthy additives.

Is homemade bread more expensive?

While the ingredients themselves may be similarly priced, homemade bread works out cheaper in the long run. Store bought bread has extra costs for packaging, shipping and shelf life extending techniques built into the price.

Is it hard to make bread at home?

Making basic homemade bread is easy and straightforward. It requires only a few inexpensive ingredients and minimal equipment. Some practice is needed to get familiar with techniques like kneading and shaping but most recipes are very straightforward.

Can I freeze homemade bread?

Yes, homemade bread can be frozen to extend its shelf life. Allow the bread to cool completely before freezing. It’s best to freeze bread in a sealed freezer bag or container. Thaw frozen bread at room temperature before serving.

What kind of flour is best for bread?

All-purpose flour is the most common flour used for homemade bread and will give good results. For a lighter crumb, consider using bread flour which has a higher protein content. Whole wheat and other alternative flours can also be used but may require adjustments to recipes.