Be More Energy Efficient When You Bake

One of the biggest consumers of electricity in your home is your electric oven. If you do a lot of baking, you definitely use a lot of electricity. Here are some energy efficient baking tips for you to keep in mind when you turn your oven on:

1.      Don't preheat the oven too soon

If you want to save money on your electric bill, it's not wise to preheat your oven too much in advance. So, turn on your oven to the correct temperature no more than 10 minutes ahead of when you need to use it. Ten minutes is more than enough time for your oven to preheat.

Here is another tip to help keep your electric bill in check. When you are baking bread, you can raise the bread dough in the cold oven and then just turn on the oven to the correct temperature once the bread is raised. You don't even have to take the bread out of the oven. Just add about 7 minutes to your total baking time.

2.     Buy a Convection Oven

A convection oven uses a fan to distribute hot air throughout the interior of the oven. Because the warm air is moving, it removes the thin layer of air that surrounds and insulates the food while it is cooking in the oven. You will be able to cook baked goods a lot faster and at a lower temperature. Using a convection oven will save you money.

3.      Don't open the oven door and peek at your food

When you open the oven door, you let out a lot of the heat. The oven then has to heat up the electric coils again to bring the oven up to the temperature it was before you opened the door. Open the door to put the food in and then use your oven light and the window to check your food.

4.      Properly maintain your oven

If you don't keep your oven clean and in good working order, it will not work efficiently. You should clean your oven at least twice a year. And, if you have a self-cleaning oven, this should not take much time at all.

5.      Solar-powered ovens

You can install solar panels to run some of your high-energy appliances like your oven or you can actually buy a solar-powered oven. They are sometimes called "sun ovens" and they cost between $200 and $400, on average. They work without electricity. They contain an aluminum reflective surface that is heated by the sun and then creates heat around the food.

6.      Insulated hot box

An insulated hot box is something you can actually make yourself. It works on the same principle as a solar oven. All you need is an insulted box. You can line a cardboard box with straw, towels or any type of insulating material or you can actually use a cooler that has insulated sides. You place the box in the sun and it bakes the food real slow. This works very well for baked goods because they bake nicely at a slow temperature.

7.      Use better bake ware

All bake ware is not created equal. Some is more efficient than others. For baking bread and cakes, use glass or Pyrex bake ware as they cook faster than metal does. Using a pizza stone for cookies is better than using a cookie sheet. The pizza stone retains the heat longer and your cookies will cook through to the center better.

Remember, if you want to save money and live the green lifestyle, you can by doing some very easy and inexpensive things. Baking more environmentally friendly is one of those things that are easy and inexpensive to do.

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