How you package bread depends on its crust and how long it will sit before someone eats it. A paper bag, kraft with a window, keeps a crusty loaf's crust crisp but lets it stale faster, so it suits loaves sold and eaten within a day. A plastic bag with a twist tie keeps the crumb soft longest but softens the crust, so it suits sandwich loaves and anything sliced. A microperforated bag lets some moisture out and sits in between, for crusty loaves on a shop shelf for a day or two. Whatever the bag, cool the loaf completely first, or the steam turns to moisture inside the bag. Then the label: what your state's cottage food law or food permit requires, on every loaf. In the example below, a Fresno home baker compares three bags for 120 loaves a week: $8 to $32 a week. Below are the options, the label, the example, and a free cost calculator.
The short version
- Crusty loaves sold the same day: a kraft paper bag, ideally with a window.
- Soft or sliced loaves: a plastic bread bag with a twist tie.
- Crusty loaves on a shelf for a day or two: a microperforated bag.
- Cool loaves completely before bagging.
- Use food-grade bags, bought for food contact.
- Label every loaf with what your state requires; cottage food labels have a set statement.
- Count the bag, the label and the closure in the loaf's cost.
- TaroStack counts bags and labels like ingredients, used in every batch. More below.
The options
| Option | Crust | Crumb | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kraft bag with a window | Stays crisp | Stales faster | Market loaves sold that day |
| Plastic bag and twist tie | Softens | Stays soft longest | Sandwich loaves, sliced bread |
| Microperforated bag | In between | In between | Crusty loaves on a shop shelf |
| Cloth bag | Stays crisp | Stales faster | A reusable upsell, not a wrapper |
Slicing speeds staling, so sliced loaves are best in plastic. A shop that sells your bread for several days will care more about the crumb than the crust.
The label
The label comes from where you sell. A cottage food baker follows the state's cottage label; a licensed bakery follows the federal food label: product name, net weight, ingredients by weight, allergens, and name and place of business. In California, for example, a cottage food label carries "Made in a Home Kitchen" in 12-point type, the registration or permit number and county, your business name, city and zip, and the ingredients and allergens. How each state's label reads is in its own article, such as California cottage food law, and the federal label in food labeling requirements for small business.
An example: three bags, 120 loaves a week
Valley Oak Bakeshop, the made-up home baker in Fresno, California, I use in these examples, sells sourdough at a farmers market and to a coffee shop:
| Option | Parts | Per loaf | 120 loaves a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kraft bag with a window | Bag 22¢, label, closure sticker | $0.27 | $32.44 |
| Plastic bag and twist tie | Bag 3¢, tie, label | $0.07 | $8.32 |
| Microperforated bag | Bag 6¢, label, closure sticker | $0.11 | $13.34 |
The market loaves go in kraft bags, because they're eaten that day and the crust is the point. The coffee shop's loaves sit for a day, so they go in microperforated bags, at $9.55 a week less than kraft for the same 60 loaves. How a loaf is priced is in how to price sourdough bread, and every packaging cost in packaging cost per unit.
Get the calculator
Download the bread packaging calculator. Two sheets: components, each part of each option with its pack price, units, how many a loaf uses and waste; and compare, each option's cost per loaf and per week at your volume, with notes on crust and crumb. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
Bags and labels run out, and a cost per loaf worked out once drifts when the bag supplier raises prices. Two kinds of bag for two channels means two packaging lines to keep straight.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack counts bags and labels like ingredients, used in every batch.
Packaging in the recipe. The bag, the label and the closure are items in each loaf's recipe, so every batch uses them up and the stock goes down.
What it costs. Each batch carries its true cost, packaging included, at the price you paid.
Counted on a phone. A count of bags and labels takes minutes on a phone, even with no signal, and shows what a difference is worth before you post it.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Bags left | Counted when you run out | Used by every batch |
| A loaf's packaging cost | Worked out once | In each batch's true cost |
| Checking what's on the shelf | A guess | A count on a phone |
Recipes, batches and true cost are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.