Did you know that cooking accounts for 4% to 5% of the energy you use in your home? And that’s outside the energy you consume for dishwashing, water heating, and refrigeration.
Despite that, using a stove or oven usually doesn’t concern most people when it comes to cooking or baking (myself included).
Still, with the surging energy prices, it may be time to rethink your kitchen approaches and look for ways to cut those bills.
That said, let me share five tried-and-tested energy-saving tips for beginner bakers. Use these kitchen hacks to continue your love for baking without hurting your pockets!
Bake With Your Microwave
Yes, you read that right. You can use your microwave more than reheating leftovers or steaming vegetables, it’s also possible to bake cakes with these convenient appliances.
It sounds bizarre, but baking with your microwave can save you money in the long run. And that’s because microwaves use less energy than electric or gas ovens.
On average, cooking in an oven costs five times more than in a microwave. That means using your microwave for one hour daily would cost 50% to 60% less than baking with an oven!
That’s a huge save on money.
But what about your favorite snacks?
Don’t worry, there are plenty of baked goods you can make in a microwave—from microwave banana pudding to chocolate cakes and yummy brownies.
I, for one, am a massive fan of mug cakes baked in a microwave!
Keep Those Doors Shut!
I don’t know about you, but one of my tendencies when I was still learning baking was opening the oven a bit too much.
Now I know that’s a gigantic rookie mistake if you want to save energy.
You can lose up to 20% of your oven’s energy when you open it while cooking. Not to mention detrimental to the baked goodies.
See, popping your oven door open allows hot air to escape. Then, cool air rushes into the hot space, decreasing the oven’s temperature and messing with your food.
In the worst case, you’ll get an unevenly cooked dessert or a cake with a tremendous crater in its center. Trust me, no one wants to eat a depressingly sunken dessert!
I know it’s tempting, but don’t crack your oven open unless you have a clear purpose. You can take a peak only if you need to rotate your cake or until it’s ready for feasting.
Here’s a pro tip:
You can utilize the oven’s excess heat by turning it off for 5 to 10 minutes before taking the food out. Plus, when finished, you can also open the door and use the heat to warm the room.
How’s that for efficiency?
Look For No-Bake Recipes
Baking doesn’t always mean relying on your oven. Yep, there are no-bake recipes you can learn to cut energy costs and still satisfy your taste buds.
Of course, that’s not the only benefit of learning to make desserts without an oven.
For instance, I love whipping up quick treats for my family. But even I admit that turning on the oven smack in the middle of summer is the last thing I’d want to do.
Thankfully, many delicious desserts do come together without it. Think of pies, trifles, cookies, parfaits, cakes, and more.
So, why not save energy and learn easy-to-make treats without using that costly oven? It’s like hitting two birds with one stone!
Here’s another pro-saving tip:
A little elbow grease is a good thing for any newbie baker. So, why don’t you swap those stand mixers with a good old manual batter mixing?
After all, any food tastes best after a hard day’s labor.
Final Thoughts
There you go. Those are some of the best energy-saving tips you should follow when baking at home.
To recap, you can use a microwave or keep your hands off from opening that oven. Better yet, learn no-bake recipes to cut the energy used for baking altogether!
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.