Sourdough On A Budget: Easy + Cheap Sourdough Bread At Home

As the world we live in changes, you might have wondered how to make sourdough bread on a budget. Whether you are just looking to reduce your household expenditure or love the challenge of baking on a budget, here you'll find lots of tips and tricks to bake a lovely loaf of sourdough bread on a budget.

I've also included my sourdough bread recipe (on a budget) at the end of the post. You can bake good bread on a budget!

The fact is that getting back to basics has become very popular, particularly in the last few years.

But often simple hobbies can come with expensive price tags. This post aims to help you bake sourdough bread on a budget, without fancy tools or equipment, at least until you're ready to take the next step or take your hobby to the next level.

How To Bake Sourdough On A Budget

Here are my top 10 tips for baking sourdough bread on a budget:

1. Buy a starter or get one from a friend
2. Buy flour on sale or in bulk or look at cheaper alternatives
3. Use a bowl, colander or ricotta basket for a banneton
4. Look at alternatives for parchment paper
5. Search thrift stores for Dutch Ovens & Clay Bakers
6. Use a sharp knife or razor blade to slash the top of the dough
7. Practice with "half" loaves to save on ingredient costs
8. Bake 2 loaves at a time & freeze one to save time & electricity
9. Explore cold start process for energy cost reduction
10. Do your research to avoid wasting ingredients on failed bakes

Is It Cheaper To Make Your Own Sourdough?

Yes it's cheaper to make your own sourdough at home, as oppose to buying it from a bakery.

When you consider that sourdough is literally just flour, water and salt (including the sourdough culture), then depending on the type of flour you use, you could bake a loaf for as little as $1.

However, this cost does not include feeding your sourdough starter, your time or labor or the cost of electricity of equipment.

So if you look solely at the ingredients, it is cheaper to make your own sourdough. But if you bring other factors into it - it might not be as cheap.

This post aims to show you how you can bake a classic sourdough loaf with a little work and no fancy equipment.

The only recommended sourdough gear in this post will be things you already have at home or can source from a thrift store. Things like a kitchen scale, bench scraper, wire rack, wooden spoon and a large bowl for your bread dough are also handy and things you probably already have on hand.

If you don't have a kitchen scale on hand I strongly suggest you do invest in one. You can get them from as little as $10 and it's well worth the effort as it will ensure you have consistency in your sourdough baking and you're measuring exact ingredients with accuracy and no waste - which is important when you're trying to save money. You can read more about the benefits of weighing your ingredients here.

How Much Does It Cost To Make A Loaf of Sourdough Bread?

At its most basic calculation, a loaf of sourdough bread costs between $1 and $2 to bake at home (depending on the type of flour you use). If you add in your time/labor, as well as energy costs, you could be looking at anywhere from $5 to $20 a loaf. And then add the cost of equipment like dough whisks, Dutch Ovens and bannetons and you really have blown the budget!

Most home bakers wouldn't add in the cost of labor or electricity simply because they are baking for enjoyment, flavor or even to ensure they know what is actually in their bread.

How Do You Make Sourdough Bread on a Budget?

To make sourdough bread on a budget you need to ensure that you are getting the best deal on your flour and making the most of the equipment you already have in your kitchen cupboards.

I also recommend purchasing a sourdough starter or acquiring one from a friend or neighborhood share group so that you don't have to pay for flour to establish your sourdough starter.

Let's look at how to bake sourdough bread on a budget in more detail:

Buy A Sourdough Starter (Instead of Making One)

If you are baking sourdough bread on a budget I recommend buying a sourdough starter. Yes that's right, it's actually cheaper to purchase a ready made sourdough starter than spend money on flour to establish a wild yeast colony yourself.

If you really want to be budget friendly, see if you can get one from a friend or "buy nothing" group on Facebook.

I've written a guide to weighing up the pros and cons of sourdough starters - and how to decide whether you should buy one or make one here.

Buying a starter is also a really good idea if you're a busy mom trying to bake sourdough.

How Much Do Sourdough Starters Cost?

You can buy an established sourdough starter from Breadtopia for around $13. Once you receive it in the mail, you'll need to use around 200g of flour to activate it (full instructions here) and get it ready for baking. This will cost around $1, depending on the type of flour you use.

It is cheaper to pay $13 for an active sourdough starter that you can feed maybe 3 or 4 times before it's ready for baking - costing you a total of perhaps $15 than to establish a sourdough starter yourself.

Establishing a sourdough starter from scratch can take up to 3 to 4 months before you actually have a viable, usable starter that makes decent, edible sourdough bread. If you feed your starter twice a day for say 12 weeks that would be 16.8kg of flour (if you fed it 50g at each feed). You could also just make a smaller sourdough starter (and use less flour at each feed).

So you can see how purchasing one or of course, acquiring one for free, would be the more budget friendly option. Now of course, I teach people to make their own sourdough starter from scratch - so I'm all for the challenge of making something yourself - so don't discount this option entirely, but it is good to look at the overall cost of things so you can make an informed decision.

Sourcing Flour for Budget Sourdough

The average sourdough loaf takes 500g of flour, plus a few feeds for your sourdough starter at 50g each. So let's say 600g of flour. If you are making a loaf a day, this will add up to 4.2kg of flour a week. Now it doesn't sound a lot, but it sure can add up over a year. So to bake sourdough on a budget, you'll need to source the best flour at a budget price.

The type of flour you choose for sourdough is important. Bread flour is best due to its high protein content, however it is possible to use All Purpose Flour with a few tweaks. Whole wheat flour is also popular for sourdough bread, but can be expensive when compared with white flour.

The trick here is to look at the different flours available and what will give you the best bang for your buck. The brand of flour you choose will make a difference.

King Arthur Bread Flour is really popular with sourdough bakers and home bakers alike (at least in the United States), however it is often priced much higher and you can often find similar alternatives with a lower price point. A little effort goes a long way, even when researching your flour for sourdough!

Another alternative is to buy a softer flour (like an all purpose) and add a small amount of vital wheat gluten.

The cost of your flour is really going to depend on where in the world you live and what is readily available to you. Remember if you do buy your flour in bulk to save money, you'll need a reliable method to store your flour and keep it fresh.

You may also want to have some rice flour on hand for dusting your proofing basket. Rice flour can be really cheap to buy at your local Asian grocer or you can even make your own if you have a food processor at home.

Banneton on a Budget

If you want to start small and then buy things as you need them, using something you already have on hand in your kitchen cupboard for a proofing basket is one of the easiest ways to save money when baking sourdough bread.

I've written an extensive list of proofing basket alternatives here. Some of the most popular alternatives are using a bowl, a small colander or even a ricotta basket. These are things that you might already have on hand in your kitchen. You can even use a tea towel and rubber band!

It is important to use something that will support your sourdough while it rests. Choosing something that allows your dough to spread out too much will cause problems when you go to bake your bread.

Another money saving tip is to use a plastic bag to cover your banneton while the dough rests. I often use the plastic bags I get from the supermarket when I buy apples or oranges and repurpose them. This will reduce your need for using plastic wrap as the bag can also be used to cover your dough while it bulk ferments too.

Alternatives To Parchment Paper

If you are using a sheet of parchment paper every time you bake sourdough, this can cost a pretty penny. Particular if you're using a more expensive brand, as is often necessary to stop it sticking to your dough whilst baking.

Investing in a silicone sling can avoid constantly buying rolls of parchment paper, but you might also be able to use a bread peel. You'll find a full guide to using alternatives to parchment paper here.

Search Thrift Stores for Equipment

I've seen so many people in my Facebook Group find amazing sourdough baking equipment for bargain prices in their local thrift store! From clay bakers to Dutch Ovens, casserole pots and bannetons and everything in between. Even good a quality large mixing bowl and baking stone!

There's no limit to what people donate to thrift stores, particularly if those items are from abandoned hobbies (hello sourdough bread baking). But their loss is definitely your gain!! So before you consider buying new, definitely see what you can find second hand.

Even asking family and friends if they have a Dutch Oven sitting at the back of their kitchen cupboards you could use - you just never know if you don't ask!

If you really can't find a Large Dutch Oven or pot at your thrift store you can use these alternatives to baking sourdough without a Dutch Oven.

Use A Sharp Knife or Razor

A baker's lame is the best way to slash or score your sourdough bread before baking. But if you aren't interested in fancy designs and you're just giving your bread one or two utility scores, then a sharp knife or even razors from the hardware store work perfectly. A serrated knife is great for slicing sourdough bread once it's baked, but not for slashing your dough.

Bake "Half Loaves"

This is a good idea, particularly when you're just starting out with sourdough. Halve the recipe you're baking (or split it into two loaves). This way you are minimising the ingredients you're using (and if the bread fails, you haven't wasted so much). This is a great way to practice sourdough without the extra cost.

Another tip is not to use extra ingredients - so stick to your flour, water, salt - at least for the first few bakes. While olive oil and a pinch of sugar can be useful additions to your sourdough, to keep costs low, stick to the basics.

Bake to Freeze

Once you're a bit more established as a sourdough baker, you can bake 2 or even 3 loaves at a time to save money. You really use the same amount of time and labor to prepare two loaves as would one, so you may as well, right?

Then if you don't need 2 loaves, place one in the freezer for another day. Baking 2 or even 3 loaves at a time reduces not only your labor, but also your energy costs since the oven is already on and preheated.

Many home bakes utilise the hot oven for multiple sourdough bakes, saving them time and money in the long run. And you never know when that extra loaf in the freezer will come in handy!

You'll find my guide to baking multiple sourdough loaves at once here and a full guide to freezing sourdough bread here.

Explore Cold Start Method

Now if you've been following me for a while, you'll know I absolutely implore that you need a hot Dutch Oven to bake your sourdough bread - and I absolutely stand by that!

However, as this is a post about baking sourdough on a budget, it would be remiss of me to leave out the issue of energy costs. Preheating your oven and then baking sourdough can mean that your oven is on for up to 2 hours, which is quite a long time, particurlarly if you're only baking one loaf at a time (which is why it can be better for your hip pocket to bake two or more in one bake).

But if you really are struggling with energy costs, you may want to explore using a cold start for your sourdough bread as opposed to a hot oven. I have included this option in the recipe at the end of this post. Alternatively, you could bake sourdough bread in a slow cooker to reduce your energy costs.

Using a cold start method means loading your bread dough into a cold oven and then turning it on rather than using a preheated oven. You can either use a baking stone or a Dutch Oven or even enamel turkey roaster (these are often found at thrift stores).

There are definitely a few tweaks you will need to make to ensure that you get good results from this method. You don't want all your hard work to go to waste!

You'll find some further information on this method in the recipe card at the end of this post.

Increase Your Sourdough Knowledge

This might sound like a crazy suggestion, however, the more you know about the nuances of sourdough baking, the better chance you have of baking successful loaves straight off the bat. This decreases your chance of wasting time, flour and electricity - all of which will ultimately cost you money.

Understanding terms like bulk fermentation, oven spring and ambient temperature will stand you in good stead for baking sourdough loaves with high rise. This sourdough glossary is a great place to start building your sourdough knowledge.

Things like baking sourdough at high altitude can be a real challenge. However, with a bit of know how, you can still bake amazing sourdough. It just takes a few tweaks (and you can find my full guide to baking sourdough at altitude here).

Or perhaps you really want to get an open crumb sourdough. Understanding what you need to tweak in order to bake the bread you want will allow you to bake better bread sooner, which will save you money in the long run.

Best Sourdough Recipes On A Budget

When baking homemade sourdough bread on a budget, you need easy sourdough recipes with minimal ingredients. Recipes that utilise the discard you create are also a great way to minimise waste and save you cash. Here are my favorite budget sourdough recipes for you to try:

• Sourdough English Muffins
• Sourdough Crumpets
• Sourdough Discard Pizza Dough
• Sourdough Focaccia Bread
• Sourdough Overnight Bagels
• The Easiest Sourdough Discard Bread Ever!

Share the sourdough love!