Selling and marketing
Sourdough Price Sheet: Columns, Costs, and Margin (2026)
Build a sourdough price sheet that shows cost per loaf, your hours, and the margin left after both.
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A sourdough price sheet is not a menu for customers. It is the page where you prove to yourself that a loaf pays. Once the columns are set, pricing a new loaf takes a few minutes instead of a whole evening.
What goes on a sourdough price sheet
Every line on the sheet answers one question: what did this loaf cost me. Group the lines into four buckets so nothing hides in the middle. Ingredients, packaging, your time, and the overhead that runs whether you bake or not. Then add two more lines, the price you charge and the margin left over.
What to remember
- Ingredients: flour, water, salt, starter, and any add ins.
- Packaging: bags, labels, ties, and boxes.
- Labor: the hands on hours, priced at a rate you choose.
- Overhead: power, market fees, and your share of the kitchen.
- Then the price, and the margin left after all four.
Written numbers beat remembered ones. When a customer asks why a loaf is $16, you can point at the sheet instead of defending a feeling. The same page tells you which loaf to drop when your week gets full, and which one to bake more of.
A price sheet is not a recipe card. It does not need grams, hydration, or timing. It needs money in, money out, and the difference between them.
Cost one loaf before you name a price
Start with a batch, because one loaf hides the small costs. A sourdough loaf takes 24 to 48 hours from mix to wrap, according to BakeProfit’s pricing guide, but most of that is waiting, not working. Count only the hours your hands are busy. Waiting time is not a cost you can charge for.
Here is a batch of four loaves. Ingredients and packaging run $4 a loaf, inside the $3 to $5 range above. Two hours of hands on work at the rate you pay yourself, say $15 an hour, adds $30. Power, bags, and your share of the market fee add $6. That is $52 for four loaves, or $13 each. At $16 a loaf you collect $64 and keep $12, which is $3 a loaf after ingredients, labor, and overhead.
Artisan markets charge $10 to $18 for sourdough bread, according to the same pricing guide, so a $16 loaf sits inside what buyers already pay. That is the check on your price. If your sheet says you need $22 to make it worth baking, the loaf or the recipe has to change.
Your hourly rate is your call. Pick a number you would accept for an hour of your time and use it on every sheet. The exact figure matters less than having one, because a missing rate is how a low price quietly pays you nothing.
Overhead is the part most sheets miss. It is the power for a long bake, the market table fee, the extra bag you hand out, and the slice of your kitchen you use for cooling racks. Spread it across the batch so each loaf carries its share.
Packaging is easy to forget because it arrives in a big box. Break it down to the loaf. A bag, a label, a tie, and a box if you deliver. Add them up once and the number stays the same for months.
Three calculators that do the math for you
If you would rather not build the sheet by hand, three free calculators take the same inputs. Each one asks for something slightly different, so pick the one that matches the numbers you already track. You can still keep your own sheet next to it.
What each free sourdough pricing calculator takes in and gives back.
| Calculator | What it works out |
|---|---|
| Sourdough Starter | True cost per loaf from ingredients, labor, packaging, and market fees, plus a suggested retail price and monthly micro bakery profit |
| DoughPlan | True cost per loaf and a profitable price, from ingredient cost, baking time, and overhead |
| BakeProfit | Price per loaf from ingredient costs, hours, overhead, and complexity, plus profit margin and effective hourly rate |
Mistakes that cost you money
The second mistake is quoting before you cost. A price you text at the market table is hard to raise next month. Write the number down first, then send it.
The third mistake is leaving the sheet in a drawer. Flour, bags, and market fees change, and a sheet from last spring shows a margin you may no longer earn. Check it before every order week, not once a year.
The fourth mistake is paying yourself nothing and calling the rest profit. If your hours are not on the sheet, a busy week can look successful while your bank account stays flat.
Build the sheet in five steps
Five steps, and the sheet is done. Do it once for your best selling loaf, then copy the layout for everything else you bake.
List your ingredients
Write the cost of each ingredient in the batch, then divide by the number of loaves.
Add packaging
Bags, labels, ties, and boxes, priced per loaf.
Price your hours
Pick the rate you pay yourself and multiply it by the hands on time for the batch.
Spread the overhead
Power, market fees, and kitchen costs, divided across the batch.
Set the price and read the margin
Subtract the total cost from the price. If the margin is thin, change the loaf or the price, not your pay.
Keep the sheet working after the first sale
Update the sheet when a supplier changes a price, and read it before you post a price. How to price sourdough loaves walks through the same math for a single loaf. A sourdough price list is the customer facing version of the same numbers, and the average price of sourdough shows what your area already pays.
A sheet that lives on your phone is easier to trust than one in a notebook at home. When you are standing at the market and someone asks for a custom order, you can check the margin before you answer.
If you want the rest of the selling side, the selling guides cover labels, local rules, and first orders. How to sell sourdough locally is the next step once the sheet is finished.
Common questions
What should a sourdough price sheet include?
Four buckets: ingredients, packaging, your hands on hours, and overhead like power and market fees. Add the price you charge and the margin left after all four. If a line is missing, the margin you see is not real. Keep it to one page so you actually use it.
How do I price a loaf if I do not know my hourly rate?
Pick a number you would accept for an hour of your time, then use it on every sheet. The point is not the exact rate. It is that your hours appear as a cost, so a low price cannot quietly pay you nothing.
How often should I update the sheet?
Check it whenever a supplier changes a price, and again before each market or order week. Flour and packaging move slowly, but they do move. A sheet from last season can show a margin you no longer earn. Five minutes saves a bad week.
Can I use a free calculator instead of building a sheet?
Yes. The Sourdough Starter calculator takes ingredients, labor, packaging, and market fees and returns a true cost per loaf plus a suggested retail price. DoughPlan and BakeProfit do similar work with slightly different inputs. Use one, then keep your own sheet so you can see the lines.
What margin should I aim for on a loaf?
There is no single number that fits every kitchen. Work the sheet, look at the margin, and decide whether the hours are worth it at that price. If the margin is thin, raise the price, shrink the loaf, or cut a cost you control.
Sources
This is general information about pricing your own baking, not legal, tax, or accounting advice. Check your own state rules before you sell.