To work out what a loaf costs, start with the cost of the dough per kilo (every ingredient in the batch divided by the total dough weight), divide the batch cost by the loaves you actually get after bench loss, then add the oven, the bag, your time and your share of overheads. Flour is rarely the biggest cost in a craft loaf; a half-empty oven and the hours of work weigh more.
Step 1: dough cost per kilo
Write down every ingredient in one batch with its weight and its cost from your invoice. Add them up. Then weigh the whole dough, water included, and divide.
Dough cost per kilo = ingredient cost ÷ kilos of dough
If you work in baker's percentages (flour is 100% and everything else is a share of it), the sum is quicker and you can change the batch size without redoing anything. The guide on baker's percentages for costing dough explains it.
Step 2: scaling weight and bench loss
You decide how much dough goes into each loaf: the scaling weight. But you never get every gram of the batch out. Some stays stuck to the tub, the bench and your hands. That is bench loss, and you measure it yourself: weigh the dough coming out of the mixer, then weigh what you divide into pieces.
Loaves you get = (total dough − bench loss) ÷ scaling weight
That is why the cost per loaf is the cost of the whole batch divided by the loaves you got, not the scaling weight times the cost per kilo. The guide on recipe yield shows how to measure it properly.
Step 3: bake loss
In the oven, bread loses water and weighs less. That loss does not change the cost per loaf: you paid for the same dough. It matters in two cases:
- If you state a weight on the label or the board, it has to be the baked weight.
- If you sell by weight, the cost per kilo is on the baked bread: loaf cost ÷ kilos it weighs out of the oven.
Weigh a few loaves going in and coming out. That is your loss, for your oven and your recipe.
Step 4: the oven
The oven costs money by the hour, full or half empty. Work out your hourly energy cost: if your oven draws 4 kWh in an hour and you pay $0.30 per kWh, that is 4 × 0.30 = $1.20 an hour. Multiply by preheat plus bake time and divide by the loaves that went in.
With a full oven, each loaf carries little. With a half-full one, it carries double. The guide on oven time and energy per tray goes into the detail.
Step 5: bag, time and overheads
- Bag and label: per loaf.
- Your time: the hours of hands-on work (mixing, folding, shaping, baking, cleaning), not the hours the dough sits proving. Price them at what you would pay someone.
- Overheads: your share of rent, utilities and other monthly costs, spread across the loaves. That brings you to the loaded cost.
Worked example: an 800 g sourdough loaf
You bake 800 g sourdough loaves. Here is your batch, at the prices on your last invoice:
| Ingredient | Weight | Baker's % | Price | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bread flour | 2,000 g | 80% | $1.40 per kg | $2.80 |
| Whole wheat flour | 500 g | 20% | $1.80 per kg | $0.90 |
| Water | 1,800 g | 72% | (counted as zero) | $0.00 |
| Starter (250 g flour + 250 g water) | 500 g | 20% | $0.35 | |
| Salt | 50 g | 2% | $1.00 per kg | $0.05 |
| Total | 4,850 g | $4.10 |
Dough cost: 4.10 ÷ 4.85 = $0.85 per kilo.
Loaves you get: you measure 50 g of bench loss. 4,850 − 50 = 4,800 g. 4,800 ÷ 800 = 6 loaves.
Dough per loaf: 4.10 ÷ 6 = $0.68.
Oven: your deck oven takes all 6 loaves at once. You preheat for 45 minutes and bake for 45: 1.5 hours. At $1.20 an hour, that is $1.80. Across 6 loaves: $0.30 each.
Bag and label: $0.40.
Your time: 1.5 hours of hands-on work for the whole batch, at $18 an hour: $27. Across 6: $4.50 per loaf.
| Item | Per loaf |
|---|---|
| Dough | $0.68 |
| Oven | $0.30 |
| Bag and label | $0.40 |
| Labour | $4.50 |
| Direct cost | $5.88 |
| Overheads | $0.60 |
| Loaded cost | $6.48 |
Bake loss: the loaf goes in at 800 g and comes out at 680 g. If you sell by weight, your cost is 6.48 ÷ 0.68 = $9.53 per kilo of baked bread. And do not call it an "800 g loaf" on the board.
Price: if you want to keep 55% of the price before tax, divide 6.48 ÷ 0.45 = $14.40.
What moves the cost of your loaf most
Look at the table. The dough, which is what bakers compare most, is about a tenth of the loaded cost. Labour is most of it.
- Bake bigger batches if you can sell them. Mixing and shaping 12 loaves does not take twice as long as 6, so labour per loaf falls. The guide on how batch size changes your cost per unit shows the sum.
- Keep the oven full. If only 3 loaves fitted at once, you would need two bakes: 45 + 90 = 135 minutes, $2.70 of energy, $0.45 a loaf instead of $0.30. Fill gaps with other products in the same bake.
- Compare flour per kilo. A big sack is often cheaper per kilo than small bags, but check with the unit price tool before you fill your storeroom.
With the cost of the loaf in hand, the guide on how to price bakery products takes you to the counter price and the wholesale price.
Do it with the calculator
In the food cost calculator you enter your batch, the bench loss and how many loaves you get, and it gives you the cost per loaf and the price you need for the margin you want.
Frequently asked questions
Does bake loss make each loaf cost more?
Not per loaf, because the loaf that comes out is the same one that went in, minus some water. It matters if you sell by weight or print a weight on the label: then you have to use the baked weight.
Does water count in the dough cost?
Its cost is usually so small you can call it zero, but its weight counts. Divide the ingredient cost by the total dough weight, water included.
How do I work out the oven's energy cost?
Find out what your oven uses per hour and what you pay per unit of gas or electricity. Multiply by the preheat plus bake time for the batch, then divide by the loaves that went in.
Do I have to count my own time if I bake the bread myself?
Yes. Put your hours in at what you would pay someone else to do the job. Otherwise the day you hire help, the bread stops making money overnight.