Economics and Sustainability of Homemade Yeast

May 17

May 17 Economics and Sustainability of Homemade Yeast

Food Systems, Sustainability, Zero Waste

I recently taught myself how to make my own bread and pizza dough and had just perfected sandwich bread and pizza crust recipes. Then COVID-19 hit and yeast, a primary ingredient in fluffy bread recipes, was nowhere to be found. My small supply was dwindling when a friend of mine suggested I make my own yeast. I had never heard of homemade yeast, but found through some Pinterest searches a recipe for starting my own supply. It took about a week to make before it could be used as a rising agent, but I made sourdough bread with the byproduct of the yeast making process in the meantime.

Homemade yeast is a similar wet consistency as sourdough starter instead of the powdery substance found at the store. As a result I struggled at first to substitute the homemade yeast into my recipes. I had hoped to just muddle through until yeast was widely available again and then switch back to dry yeast until I found a great recipe for bread using homemade yeast and learned how to adjust the liquid proportions for my pizza dough. It is a little more time consuming using homemade yeast because you have to plan ahead to feed it before using but seems to result in a better rise and therefore better bread. Another friend asked recently if I was saving money doing this so I decided to do the math.

A 5 pound bag of flour is about $2 and has roughly 18 cups of flour making it about 11 cents per cup. A 3 count package of yeast (the only available packaging at the moment in my grocery store) is $1.89. One of the square packages (costing 63 cents) of yeast is about the equivalent of a cup of homemade yeast. I takes about 11 cups of flour to start homemade yeast, but after it is established most recipes will require just one cup of flour to feed the yeast. After just two batches of breads you will have recouped those 11 cups of flour and will be saving about 52 cents each time you bake.

That might seem like small savings but over the course of a year I will save about $54 using my own yeast instead buying yeast. I also looked at the cost of buying bread from the store versus making my own and again, its cheaper to make my own. Plus my bread tastes better and is healthier without all the preservatives that keep bread from molding for nearly three months at the back of your cupboard. Factoring in the cost of the homemade yeast, flour, small amounts of salt and sugar, a loaf at home costs about 60 cents to make. An average store bought loaf is about $1.50 making it an annual savings of about $47 (assuming one loaf of bread per week).

Another major benefit beyond the economic costs of making your own yeast and bread is its sustainability. Flour can be bought in large quantities and comes in a paper bag which is easy to recycle. Yeast comes in little plastic packages that cannot be recycled or small glass jars. Bread from the store always comes in plastic bags, another packaging that cannot be recycled.

Making homemade bread and yeast may not be for everyone, nor does everyone have the time to do so. But for those looking for a healthier, sustainable, and cheaper option to store bought bread, making your own is the way to go.