A new month, a new challenge. Last month’s deli meat and cheese challenge got me thinking about how much bread I go through. With all those sandwiches I decided to make this month’s challenge about plastic-free bread and other bakery items.
So what’s the plan for going plastic-free with breads? Well, my best options center around making my own breads and/or finding a local bakery that will let me bring in my own bags. To add another layer of difficulty to this challenge, I’m also gluten-sensitive. Not only do I have to find local eco-friendly bakeries, but I also have to find ones with a gluten-free option. Thankfully, I’ve been able to eat sourdough (in moderation), so I’ll still be able to get something at the bakery even if they don’t have gluten-free.
Gluten-Free Breads
For those of you who don’t know, many gluten-free breads tend to have more plastic packaging than regular bread. They sometimes have an air-tight packaging layer inside a regular bread bag. I think this is to keep them from drying out too quickly. This makes bread one of my regular plastic waste loads that I’d like to address.
On a plus note, the shops in my area have gluten-free breads packaged in regular bread bags. This is a perk because my local recycling center has a bin at their facility for the “film” plastics. So technically, I could reduce my plastic waste load by taking the bread bags to the recycling center (which is what I currently do). But I hear so many mixed reports about the effectiveness of plastic recycling (npr.org). So for this month’s challenge, I will use recycling as a last resort and focus on plastic-free options. After filling out my Monthly Challenge Worksheet, here’s the breakdown of what my options and personal priorities look like for this month’s challenge.
RRRR Options for Plastic-Free Bread
- Recycling is an option but I’d like to save that as a last resort.
- Reducing would probably be an option if I wasn’t gluten-free since I could purchase the bread that comes in (mostly) paper bags. But I have yet to see that option for GF bread
- Reusable bags are an option if I can find a bakery – preferably with GF options or at least sourdough – that doesn’t have prepackaged bread.
- Refuse/Alternate option for this would be to make my own bread. This would be the most plastic-free option but also the most time-intensive.
Potential impact of plastic-free bread
In one month, I go through an average of 4 loaves of sliced bread, 1 packet of pita bread, 2 packages of muffins, and 1 sleeve of bagels, and when we enter soup season I’ll be adding at least one regular loaf. That’s 7 bags and 2 packages of plastic per month. If I get the double-lined GF sliced breads that number goes up to 11 bags and 2 plastic packages per month.
Ideally, success for this month’s challenge would be not to buy any bakery items in plastic. My more realistic goal, however, would be to purchase no more than 2 bags of bread. I say this because it’s been a while since I made bread and I never really mastered the art of the GF loaf. So, I will try to find a bakery ASAP in case I need a backup for my bread-making. With all that in mind, the game plan for this month is to use up any GF bread kits I already have, find plastic-free GF flour, find local bakeries, and start making my own bread and muffins.
Potential Problems with this month’s challenge
I feel pretty good about this game plan. I know I can get sourdough at the farmers market and Panera, and I’ll search for other bakeries in my area. The big problems are going to revolve around making the bread myself. First of all, there’s the learning curve. Then the time it takes to make bread and create a routine. Having to keep a spot on the counter clear for the continual baking I’ll likely be doing. Not to mention that many of the recipes call for using a stand mixer. I just remembered that I gave away my stand mixer during my downsizing… WHOOPS. Looks like I’ll really be making bread by hand.
I’ll keep you all posted on how things go with all this! In the meantime, here is another article by Plastic Free July on buying plastic-free bread.
Do you have a favorite GF or sourdough bread recipe? Please feel free to share it in the comments below!
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