Baking paper substitute: These products are more environmentally friendly

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Baking paper replacement: Protect the environment with these alternatives

Baking paper is a classic disposable product that cannot be recycled. But there are sensible alternatives that produce significantly less waste.

Although baking paper is made from paper, it must be disposed of in the general waste. This is due to its coating, which is not water-soluble and therefore unsuitable for paper recycling. Nevertheless, it is used in millions of households because its function is indispensable for many dishes: thanks to its coated surfaces, no food sticks to it, even at a baking temperature of up to 250 degrees. But that doesn’t change the fact that the use of baking paper is – in the truest sense of the word – a waste of time. In the spirit of sustainability, we will present you with five practical alternatives below that produce no or at least less waste.

These alternatives replace baking paper

1. Fat

Simply grease the baking tray with fat. It doesn’t matter whether you use butter or margarine, sunflower oil or coconut oil – anything that greases well is suitable for baking. And it ensures that your dishes don’t burn on the tray. For soft dough (e.g. cakes or pizza), it is important to know that you should also dust the greased tray with a thin layer of flour so that nothing sticks to it.

2. Wafers

So-called baking wafers consist of water, flour and starch – which makes them edible. This small package can be found especially at Christmas time among various gingerbread specialties, but it can also be used for baking cookies. There are round wafers How square wafers in different sizes that do not stick to the baking tray, so you do not need additional baking paper.

3. Greaseproof paper

Conventional sandwich paper is – at first glance – very similar to baking paper and is often used as a substitute for baking paper. Although it does not have a Teflon coating, it is still a useful baking mat. In contrast to the original, sandwich paper has the advantage that it does not contain any plasticizers. However, after baking, it ends up in the trash just like baking paper, so the wear and tear is similar.

4. Permanent baking foil

Free of silicone, permanent baking foils are made of a glass fibre mesh and are coated with polytetrafluoroethylene, better known as Teflon – but unlike ordinary baking paper, they can be used several hundred times. There are ready-made tailored sets in different colorsYou can also use permanent baking foil, which you cut yourself.

5. Silicone mat

Meanwhile, there are also Silicone baking matswhich can be used as a replacement for baking paper. Their smooth surface ensures that nothing sticks to them. After baking, the baking mat can be cleaned by hand – or in the dishwasher, depending on the manufacturer – with detergent and water and reused. If the silicone mat ends up in the trash, its disposal is not harmless for the environment.

That’s why aluminum foil is not a good substitute for baking paper

It used to be common practice to use aluminum foil if there was no baking paper in the house. This is now strongly discouraged and there are several reasons for this: Firstly, the production of aluminum foil uses bauxite, an ore that comes from the rainforest floor and drives the clearing of numerous trees. Secondly, the production of aluminum foil requires a lot of energy – but what is even worse and the real problem is that toxic waste is produced during production. In addition, aluminum is a neurotoxin whose ingredients can be transferred to your food. For this reason, aluminum foil is not a good substitute for baking paper.

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