Buying bread in bulk has been fabulous for the budget over the last couple years. Then I discovered bakery outlets and felt like I hit the jackpot of all things bread related. Portland and the surrounding area has a variety of bread outlet stores that offer discounted bread. Availability is hit and miss with these stores, but helps stretch the budget considerably.
Dave’s Healthy Bread Store offers a discount on their frozen selection when you purchase twelve or more loaves. I grab a dozen loaves every six weeks and keep them in the freezer. I unthaw the bread by placing it on the counter the night before and it is ready for sandwiches the next morning. This amazing bread runs around $4 at the grocery store. Check out the twelve loaves I picked up this week for around $21:
Franz Bakery Outlet carries a variety of products, including loaves of bread, buns, rolls and more. You can even tour the bakery in downtown Portland. Our family loves the smell of fresh baked bread every Sunday as we pass by the factory!
Oroweat Bakery Outlet carries bread, bagels, hamburger and hotdog buns, English muffins, rolls, donuts and more. Most items cost between $1 and $2, but now and then they significantly mark down products if they receive a surplus of items. Check out what Angela was able to find a couple months ago for only $2:
Now it’s your turn. What is your favorite item to buy in bulk at bread outlet stores?
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I love, love, love the orowheat outlet. One time they had overstock of Dave’s Killer bread and were selling for $1 a loaf—happy day! Lots of great deals all the time on things that expire the same day. Person who works there said they donate everything past date to food bank as bread is still fresh 7 days past due date. We have found this to be true and haven’t needed to stick everything in the freezer if it’s something we’ll eat within the week.
LOVE the Orowheat Thrift Store!! I can usually get all of our 100% whole wheat bread for $1 per loaf – within a few days of expiration. I throw them in the freezer and pull them out when we need a new loaf. It’s $3-4 at the store for the exact same thing.
I also love to get sandwich rolls or buttermilk bread on occasion.
Price- and selection-wise, I think Oroweat has it over Franz by far.
Oroweat sells most breads for $1.65 ($1.48 if you buy 5 or more),but they also have an extensive selection of $1 loaves, donuts, muffins, etc., and sometimes things that are 2 or 3 for $1. Plus they have a 10% senior (age 55) discount all the time; Franz’s is Weds and Sun only. Oro also has a punch card that gives you a $1 product after $30 in accumulated purchases. I shopped at Franz store for years before I discovered Oroweat, and the Franz prices seemed to go up, up, up each time I went.
And the Beaverton Oroweat always has 3-4 different sample cookies out. Franz usually has none or 1. Franz does have a free rack for purchases over a certain amt, but those products are often kind of old.
Yes the donuts, muffins and cookies rock at Oroweat!
Love love love picking up my loaves of frozen Dave’s Killer Bread and stocking my freezer! It’s such a great deal for great bread! My kids love it too!
Every time I’m in Fred Meyer I check the bread aisle for marked down loaves of Country Oven breads. They are usually at least a week before the sell by date, and 79 cents each. They freeze great.
I used to see those occasionally, but not for a long time. Probably depends on the store. When I did see them, they were on the shelf with the full-priced loaves. Don’t think I’ve ever seen them on the bakery clearance rack.
I go to the Franz outlet in Longview and I have seen GF bread there. I am not sure of the price. If you go on Saturday they have a discount rack that has assorted bread for 4/$5, and you get a free loaf for spending over $8.00. The last time I went I ended up with 14 loafs of bread for $14.00. It lasts wonderfully in the freezer, and I love to just pull it out to thaw rather than go to the store when we are out of bread!
I have been curious about this–does anyone ever find gluten free items at any of the bread outlets? We are totally GF family, so we’ve eliminated using bread for most things, but we still love it for sandwiches and school lunches. (Our biggest trick right now is to use GF waffles for school lunch sandwiches–no crusts!)
Yes…have found guten free at the Orowheat outlet sometimes.