How to price bread and pastries

Bread ingredients are cheap — a sourdough loaf may cost under $1 in flour and salt — but bread involves long timelines and oven energy. Count hands-on time as labor, and account for oven energy in overhead.

Sourdough example (6 loaves)

• Flour, salt, starter: $5.40
• Bags & labels: $1.80
• Oven energy & overhead: $3.00
• Hands-on labor 1.5 h × $16: $24
• Total $34.20 → $5.70 per loaf cost → with 40% markup ≈ $8 per loaf

Laminated pastries

Croissants and danishes use a lot of butter and 2–3 days of process. Cost the butter carefully, add 10% waste and price individually ($3–$6 each in many markets).

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