I like to figure out how much the various meals I make actually cost me. This lets me know if I am actually making something that is more expensive than I think it is. If it turns out that the meal is more expensive than previously thought I generally remove it from the meal cycle and prepare it less regularly.
This week I decided to figure out how much it is to make one cup of the gluten free flour mix from Artisanal Gluten Free Cooking.
I rounded to the nearest dollar for the cost of the different flours (using Maui pricing), divided the cost per bag by the number of servings per bag in the measurement the recipe uses, then I added up how much the measured amount cost.
In the end I found that I spend around $1.20 per cup of gluten free flour on this blend.
That’s quite a lot when you think about it. Going gluten free does drive your costs up if you buy prepared foods and substitute gluten free products for gluten filled products. This is why I usually avoid the substitutes and go for whole foods like vegetables, grains, and meats. I rarely bake a loaf of bread, but I know some gluten free families bake one to two loaves a week (depending on family size).
Wanting to know how my $1.20 compared to regular wheat flour I googled the cost of one cup of non organic, white all purpose flour. According to the writer at Grocery Cart Challenge one cup of flour costs about $0.24 cents. A mere quarter!
Then, comparing the blend to ready made blends was the next step. Bob’s Red Mill’s Gluten Free All Purpose Flour (on their website, not on Maui) costs $1.12 per cup. It most likely costs more on Maui as most things do.
Unfortunately The Pure Pantry doesn’t list serving size in cups or spoons. They measure their servings in number of pancakes per serving on the mixes. So, all I can say is that they run about $9.00 on Maui per 1.4 pounds. Reminder: This Product is Organic. The Bob’s Red Mill is about the same weight but is not organic. The Artisanal Blend price will vary based on whether your ingredients are organic or not. Mine are not, and are usually the Bob’s Red Mill brand.
King Arthur’s new blend is $8.00 for a 1.5 pound box.
Shocking isn’t it? Now you know why I don’t tend to put up a lot of cakes, breads, sweets, muffins, etc. It’s simply not economical. In these times most people are looking to lower their bills, including the grocery bill. One way to do that is to simply remove the substitutes, the snacks, and the sweets. My tip is for you to eat all natural, nutrient dense foods. Your wallet, and your body will thank you.
Hi Amanda,
This is a great post. I think most people understand that some aspects of gluten-free cooking (especially the baking) can be more expensive than conventional cooking, but to quantify with clear numbers is very illuminating. Gluten-free baking is certainly a pricier undertaking than wheat-based baking, though I suspect that GF baking from scratch at home is still less expensive than buying pre-made store-bought GF specialty foods.
I do think your wheat flour estimate of $0.05 is low. A 5-lb bag of General Mills Gold Medal All Purpose Enriched Bleached Flour runs about $2.80, and yields about 3 1/3 cups per pound. That works out to about 17-18 cents per cup. King Arthur sells a 10-lb bag, which yields 37-38 cups, for $8.50. That works out to about 23 cents per cup. Either way, though, it’s clear that GF flour blends are still significantly more expensive than their wheat-based counterparts.
Have you also looked at comparing the per cup cost of using more expensive GF flour options, such as almond and coconut? It’d also be interesting to try and pro-rate the price per cup of different flour blends on the basis of their nutrient density, or their performance. But that quickly gets quite complicated!
Again, great post!
Cheers, Pete
Thanks again for the reply Pete. It’s so nice to have someone saying something!
I have adjusted the price according to another source for the regular wheat flour. The author quoted her flour to cost out to $0.24 per cup.
I haven’t looked at comparing the cost for the more expensive flours, but that could definitely be something to look into. I don’t typically use the more expensive flours because I can’t afford to do so on my budget. I would love to get into using coconut flour and almond meal more, but the price is simply too high for me at the moment. However, I do believe in paying a little more to get a lot more for the body. I’ll give the prices a look and maybe add to this post, or do another, at a later time.
I recommend your book to others all of the time! Especially those just starting out say they can learn more about making flour mixes and baking gluten free. Having one blend makes things a lot easier than having 25 flour types on hand for different recipes (I’m working on building up to 25 though…LOL).
Much Aloha,
Amanda
Great post. I figure out the cost of ingredients because I’m charging customers for them. The real rub with gluten-free ingredients is that creating blends that increase the nutritional value of your gluten-free baking, means using more expensive flours. I’ve recently run across an amazing gluten-free flour that I can bake breads with alone (and get phenomenal protein/nutrient levels and lower carb counts), but it runs about $6 per pound.
For most of the Bob’s Red Mill flours here on Maui I end up paying $5 for 1.5 pounds.
Aloha,
Amanda
Hi Amanda,
Great post. There is a lot of math in these comments, I’m impressed:) Another option to put on your radar is Kinnikinnick. They are a Canadian company that has not only gluten-free flour ($7.99 for 2lbs 3 ounces) but Soya flour for $3.34 and sweet rice flour for $6.67. Both are 2lbs 2 ounces.
Cook on!
Dave
Mahalo (Thank you) David for your comment. I will give Kinnikinnick a look online. The brand has ready made products in the freezers at a couple of stores on the island, but I’ve never seen their flour blends or straight flours.
I’ve heard that the Kinnikinnick aren’t very nutritious as they use a lot of white rice flour, but they could be worth trying out.
Aloha,
Amanda
I know it costs a lot and you have to do a lot of baking so I usually just buy mixes because I do not do much baking.
I actually don’t bake a ton, so I could essentially buy mixes. However, I do like putting the love and time into it.