The everyday choices you make in the kitchen—what to bake, what ingredients to use, and what tools to use—add up and contribute to your overall environmental impact. And we get it, reducing your climate footprint can seem daunting. Where do you even start?
We're here to help by sharing simple steps you can take today to make your baking more sustainable. They may feel small, but these significant changes can add up to big things over time. The key is to just keep doing them and remember that the work we do to make the kitchen a more sustainable place is all cumulative. Get started with these seven tips for becoming a greener baker.
Christina's dough
1) Reuse your parchment paper
In use Parchment paper every day in the Test Kitchen. But while it is perfect for lining sheet pan, cake panand much more, there is a downside: parchment paper is not recyclable or compostable due to the silicone coating that makes it non-sticky.
But that doesn't mean you have to throw it away every time you use it: Parchment can be reused many times. Baker and blogger PJ Hamel says she's used a single piece over a dozen times, running it over and over until it's charred. (Parchment tends to melt when baking at temperatures above 425°F for long periods, such as when you are making crusty bread.)
There are times when reusing the parchment isn't advisable, such as if you've used it to roll out raw dough or it's too difficult to wipe off. PJ's post, You can reuse parchment more than you thinkdescribes how to reduce waste while making the most of this kitchen staple.
Photography by Danielle Sykes; Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
2) Choose a regeneratively grown flour
It's easy to forget that flour starts with a plant (usually wheat) growing in a field. There are many ways wheat can be planted, grown and harvested, ranging from conventional practices that till the soil and use chemicals to prevent pests. regenerative agriculturewhich aims to restore natural resources and actively improve the land.
Support healthy soils, ecosystems and farming communities by baking with flour milled from regeneratively grown wheat. This includes our new Mix the flour with the regeneratively raised climate and ours White whole wheat flourboth of which are milled from wheat grown with regenerative farming practices like cover planting and crop rotations, minimizing chemical fertilizer use, no/restricted tillage and more.
Both flours can be used in any recipe that calls for whole wheat flour, or substituted for 25% all-purpose flour in your favorite bakes. The climate blend adds flavor, earthiness and softness to baked goods such as muffin, sconesAND sandwich bread, while white whole wheat flour is milder in flavor and lighter in color than other whole wheat varieties. It is ideal in recipes like waffles, biscuitsAND crusty bread.
Learn more about regeneratively grown wheat and our commitment to sustainable farming practices on our site Grain site for good.
Anne Mientka
3) Bake with plant-based milk
As bakers, we love our cheesecakes: butter, milk and cream are the key elements. However, there is an environmental cost to using these animal products. research shows that plant-based milk results in fewer greenhouse gas emissions, uses less water and requires less land to produce than dairy milk, so switching to a non-dairy alternative can be a beneficial change.
The dairy aisle is bursting with plant-based milks, and it can feel overwhelming to choose between soy, oat, almond, coconut milk and other non-dairy options. It turns out that some of these milks have more benefits than others, with oat and soy milk having the smaller environmental footprints.
Of course, there are nuances to consider, such as whether you're choosing an organic variety and where and how the plants used to make the milk were grown. Staff owner Tatiana Bautista dives into the pros and cons of regular plant-based milk in this post: What is the most environmentally friendly plant-based milk for baking??
Mark Weinberg
4) Do not cover the bread dough with plastic
We always try to keep single-use plastic comes out of our oven: Drains resources, fills landfills, threatens waterways and soil health, and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.
When baking, you may find yourself frequently reaching for plastic wrap to cover your bread dough. But thankfully, there are many alternatives. Store your dough in a clean place bucket for raising the dough, or cover the puff pastry bowl with a plate or a pan. If your dough is not too thin (such as traditional most sandwich bread), you can even leave it on the counter and use a large, inverted bowl to cover it. This will keep it from drying out, and if you use a glass bowl, you can still see its progress as it rises.
If your dough undergoes its final rise in a pan, there are also many options. Many sizes of baking pans come with reusable covers, such as 9″ x 13″ pan. (great for cinnamon rolls) or a sheet pan (perfect for focaccia). If you are trying to cover a shaped piece of sandwich bread, use one reusable bowl cover that leaves plenty of room for the dough to expand. Reusable wrap (coated with beeswax or soy wax to prevent drying) is also a great all-purpose option.
Andrew Janjigian
5) Do not open the oven door during baking
This is both a baking reminder and a resilience tip. Every time you open the oven door, whether it's to look at your bread or to rotate your cookies, a significant amount of heat is lost. This is not good for your baking, especially for sensitive recipes like souffle AND cream puff, because they need consistent heat throughout the baking process. But it's also not good for your oven's energy use: Every time the temperature drops, your oven has to deal with it by increasing energy consumption.
That doesn't mean you can't rotate the pans for even browning – just be careful to do so as efficiently as possible and check your roasts by looking through the glass door with the interior light on as a step seen. (This is the time to give the oven door a good clean to remove any debris that might make it difficult to see inside.)
Photography by Rick Holbrook; Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
6) Freeze excess eggs instead of throwing them away
It can be easy to stockpile eggs, just to keep them close to their expiration date while they're sitting idle in the refrigerator. Or maybe you made a big batch pastry cream and find yourself with leftover egg whites you don't know how to use. Of course, you can make an omelette. Or, save those eggs by freezing them: It's more sustainable to save leftovers instead of creating waste and then buying more.
There are a few things you should know (like don't freeze eggs in their shells) — for details, see our post on how to freeze extra eggs for baking.
Photography by Danielle Sykes; Food styling by Kaitlin Wayne
7) Improve leftover bread to avoid food waste
Many of us have ended up with half a loaf of bread left over longer than intended. It can feel dry and stale, leaving you tempted to throw it away. But instead of throwing it away, use it in your cooking and baking. (In some cases, it's actually ideal for the bread to be slightly stale so it can absorb other ingredients.) Some options you can make with your leftover bread:
For more ideas on how to become a more environmentally conscious baker, see our page Guide to sustainable baking.
Cover photo by Danielle Sykes; food styling by Kaitlin Wayne.
