I guess pretty much any bread knife is a bifl one, but in the twenty odd years i’ve had this, i keep thinking to myself that this knife is awesome basically any time i use it. That’s why i want to recommend it. When I bought it it was quite cheap too, does not seem to be the case anymore. Is a Victorinox 5.2930.26
In terms of ingredients it’s super cheap. I make sourdough, so it’s just the cost of flour and salt. Back of envelope math tells me the electricity is probably less than C$1 even if I preheat a stone for an hour and bake a single loaf.
It takes enough time that it all depends on how you value your time. It’s probably something like 30m of work spread out over a couple of days in a bunch of steps. I find it (mostly) relaxing, and it fits into my routine, so I don’t really worry about the time. If I wanted to save time that badly I could drink instant coffee, get rid of all my houseplants, etc.
Good to know. I may have to revisit this idea.