If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll probably be tempted to buy all the baking ingredients in the supermarket to make the ultimate baking session. Well, we can’t have that.
First, it’ll break your wallet. Second, making an excessive amount of pastries isn’t practical, as you’ll end up with too much waste.
So, what can you do? That’s what this post is for. I’ll explore mindful eating and waste reduction in baking.
Let’s get right to it!
1 – Plan Your Baking Sessions Ahead of Time
You’d be surprised how many home bakers buy ingredients without identifying how they’ll use them. They just go: “Oh, that looks delicious. I might use it at some point,” and they never do.
That’s pretty much the main reason behind food waste. So, what should you do? Simple! Plan your baking sessions ahead of time, preferably a week.
I know most people don’t know how to do that, but it’s easier than you think. Ask yourself the following questions:
- How many people are you baking for?
- What do you want to make this week?
- How many baked goodies are you making?
- What ingredients do you need?
- What are the ideal portions of each ingredient?
Once you’ve answered all these questions, open your fridge, freezer, and shelves. Identify all the ingredients you have and the ones you need to make the pastries you want.
2 – Store Your Ingredients/Pastries Properly
There’s no point in buying the right portions of each component if they’ll go bad in a couple of days. So, you want to make sure your ingredients are stored properly.
You can’t just put them all in your pantry and expect them to stay fresh. Different ingredients require different storage circumstances.
For example, your pantry might work for storing baking powder and baking soda. However, butter, cream cheese, and heavy cream belong in the fridge.
It’s not just about the ingredients, you know. You also have to store your baked goodies properly to extend their shelf life and minimize food waste.
This one is a bit tricky because pastries are more difficult to store. Like raw ingredients, though, the storing method will differ depending on the type of pastry you have and how long you want to preserve them.
For Brownies, you want to store them at room temperature in an airtight container. That should keep them fresh for about five days.
If you want to keep them for longer, put them in a freezer bag and throw them in the freezer. They should last for about three months.
For cakes, however, you can wrap them in a plastic bag, and they’ll last a day or two. You can also wrap them and put them in the freezer if you want to preserve their lifespan for months.
3 – Repurpose Your Ingredients
Here’s a quick question: You’re making Turkey sandwiches for dinner, and you have leftover bread. What do you do with it? Do you throw it out?
No! If you want to reduce food waste, you should start repurposing your leftover ingredients. You can use that hypothetical bread to make bread pudding.
You have overripe bananas? I can’t think of a better way to make banana bread. Ultimately, you can use most of your leftover ingredients in other baking recipes.
Repurposing won’t always be that straightforward, but you can always find something to do with your ingredients if you think outside the box.
4 – Compost Surplus Pastries
Picture this: You started your baking session strong. You measured your ingredients accurately, and the batter came together nicely.
You put your mixture in the oven and waited for it to bake. You took your cake out of the oven—but you slipped, and it fell on the floor.
Now what? Well, there’s no saving that dessert, but you can put it to good use as compost.
I know the idea isn’t conventional, but it’s still viable. Breaking down pastries and adding them to your soil can enrich it, prompting it to produce higher-quality crops.
5 – Donating Your Goodies
So, you’ve made a patch of cookies, but you didn’t measure the ingredients properly and ended up making more than you could eat.
You could store them in the freezer and eat them the next day, but if you don’t want to, you can donate them to any nearby food bank.
As long as your cookies are safe to eat, the workers will serve them to those in need. So, you’ll have gotten rid of the excess cookies and helped make someone’s day.
Final Thoughts
Mindful eating and waste reduction in baking isn’t easy, but it’s not hard, either. All you have to do is measure your pastries carefully, store your ingredients properly, and repurpose your goodies.
You might need some time to get used to this new lifestyle, but once you do, it’ll be second nature.
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.