When you make your own bread, the first thing you will notice is the incredible taste. The soft, warm bread is pure happiness.

I've discovered that using a bread machine makes this so easy. There's almost nothing to do. You put your ingredients in the bread pan, turn it on, and you can have a loaf of freshly made bread in about two hours or so.

But, is it less expensive than store bought?

I'll give the best answer: It depends. Ha! Got you!

If you love more artisan like breads, like my Jalapeno Cheddar bread recipe or my Italian Wheat Pesto bread, the cost will absolutely be less if you make it yourself.

If you're making plain regular bread, the cost isn't going to be less. It mostly evens out, or maybe a little more expensive. The benefits, though, are plenty.

You get to smell that fresh bread all through the house. Yes, of course, that's a benefit. Try it. You'll see. Who needs soy wax cubes when you've got bread baking?

You don't have the preservatives and you can make little additions, if you want.

Since I'm a kid, though, I still like my plain white bread. Sometimes, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is the best comfort food there is.

For those times, I need my White Sandwich bread recipe. The bread is sturdy enough to make slicing easy and it will hold up to jelly, peanut butter or even chicken salad.