Cooking, a Love (and future regular post)

Recently while talking with my fiancee, he asked how much it costs me to bake bread from scratch. He was trying to figure out if it was really worth the time of baking it when you could just go to the store and buy a loaf.
I said it was worth it because I like cooking and baking. It was cheaper, but I couldn't tell him exactly how much cheaper. But I felt like (and still feel like) the time and effort are what makes it infinitely better than buying. I love mixing it together, letting it rise, baking it, and eating it fresh from the oven. I get a really satisfying contentment from it.
It's not just bread either, I love baking desserts and cooking dinners. I just like it.
However, he did get me thinking. So I started to calculate how much it costs me to bake and cook the things that I make. I thought maybe perhaps some other people out there would like to know this sort of thing too, so I will be making a regular post of it.
I will be posting the recipes I use, the cost of the ingredients, and how much I get out of the recipe. Keep in mind that I am a single girl, and I shop at Kroger using store brands. Also, one of my pet peeves is when people say 'it cost such and such', but they don't break it down, so I'm going to break it down for you telling you how much each ingredient cost as well as the total cost.
If you have a recipe, or see one on Pinterest, that you'd like me to try and calculate for you, let me know! (again, keep in mind that I'm in grad school, and it might take me a couple weeks to get to it...)

Love you all, if you have a chance you should come over for brownies, peanut butter cookies, or cinnamon bread!

Finally, I know!

One of my hobbies is baking. I love baking, and cooking. I just love food in general.

A favorite of mine is Amish Friendship Bread. I know how to make the starter in case I want to make some bread, but don't have the starter. I love baking the bread and having it for breakfast. I love sharing it with others and passing along starters to friends.

However, something has come up over and over again when I pass the starter and instructions on to others.

"Why can't I use metal bowls or spoons?"

It says not to in all the instructions I've found, but it never explains why. I always just blindly followed the instructions. (The knitter in me quotes the mantra from the Yarn Harlot : Trust the pattern. In this case it's trust the recipe.)

Today, as I was doing some of my online 'work' (yes, I get paid for it, very little but I get paid so it does count as work), I came across a recipe that actually said WHY you don't use metal.

Now, you may laugh, and think I'm a bit slow, but Amish Friendship bread is a sourdough bread (which I already knew) and as such you have to let it ferment, or sour. If you do this with the aid of metal tools, the metal will change the flavor of the dough, causing the bread to taste off.

I don't particularly want to experiment and find out what it tastes like because I quite enjoy it, using my ceramic bowl and wooden spoons. For the rest of you, now you know.