Organic baking is simpler than organic cooking. The core ingredients, flour, sugar, butter, eggs, milk, are all available organic, and the quality difference in baked goods is often more noticeable than in savory cooking. These six recipes cover the range from weekday muffins to a celebration carrot cake. ## 1. Simple Organic Sourdough Loaf Makes 1 loaf · Active time: 30 min · Total time: 24 hours - 500g organic bread flour

• 350g water
• 100g active sourdough starter
• 10g salt Mix flour, water, and starter until no dry flour remains. Rest 30 minutes. Add salt and fold in. Over the next 4 hours, do four sets of stretch-and-folds every hour. Shape into a round and place in a floured banneton. Refrigerate overnight (12–18 hours). Bake in a preheated Dutch oven at 250°C for 20 minutes covered, then 20 minutes uncovered at 230°C. The long cold fermentation is what gives sourdough its flavor. The active time is short, the passive time is long. Organic priority: flour. ## 2. Blueberry Lemon Muffins Makes 12 · Prep and bake: 35 min - 250g organic flour
• 150g organic sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• Zest of 2 lemons
• 180ml organic milk
• 80ml organic olive oil or melted butter
• 2 organic eggs
• 1 cup organic blueberries Whisk dry ingredients with lemon zest. Whisk milk, oil, and eggs separately. Combine with minimal stirring. Fold in blueberries. Divide into lined muffin tin. Bake at 190°C for 22 minutes. Cool in pan 5 minutes before moving to a rack. Organic priority: blueberries, milk, eggs, butter. ## 3. Banana Walnut Bread Makes 1 loaf · Prep and bake: 1 hour 15 min - 3 very ripe organic bananas, mashed
• 200g organic flour (half whole wheat works well)
• 150g organic brown sugar
• 100g organic butter, melted
• 2 organic eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 100g walnuts, roughly chopped
• Pinch of salt Mash bananas. Whisk in sugar, butter, and eggs. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt. Stir just to combine. Fold in walnuts. Pour into a lined loaf tin. Bake at 175°C for 55 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin 10 minutes. Keeps 4 days on the counter, longer in the fridge. Slices freeze beautifully. Organic priority: flour, bananas, butter, eggs. ## 4. Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting Makes 1 two-layer cake · Serves 10 · Prep and bake: 1 hour 30 min Cake:
• 300g organic flour
• 200g organic sugar
• 3 organic eggs
• 200ml organic oil
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 300g organic carrots, grated
• 100g walnuts, chopped
• 100g raisins
• Pinch of salt Frosting:
• 400g organic cream cheese, softened
• 100g organic butter, softened
• 300g powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla Whisk eggs and sugar until pale. Add oil. Whisk dry ingredients. Combine. Fold in carrots, nuts, raisins. Divide between two 20cm round tins. Bake at 175°C for 30 minutes. Cool completely. Beat cream cheese, butter, and sugar until smooth. Add vanilla. Frost between layers and on top. Organic priority: carrots, cream cheese, butter, eggs. ## 5. Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies Makes 20 · Prep and bake: 30 min - 225g organic butter, softened
• 150g organic brown sugar
• 100g organic white sugar
• 1 organic egg + 1 yolk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 300g organic whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 250g organic dark chocolate chips Cream butter and sugars. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda, salt. Stir in chocolate chips. Chill dough 1 hour (it's worth it). Scoop onto a lined sheet. Bake at 180°C for 11 minutes. The centers should look slightly underdone, they'll firm up. Organic priority: butter, flour, chocolate. ## 6. Simple Focaccia Makes 1 large flatbread · Prep and bake: 2 hours - 500g organic flour
• 400g water
• 10g salt
• 3g instant yeast
• 30ml organic olive oil, plus more for pan
• Flaky salt, rosemary Whisk flour, water, salt, yeast. It will be a wet, shaggy dough. Cover and let rise 1 hour. Pour into a well-oiled baking pan (25×35 cm). Let rest another 30 minutes. Dimple with your fingertips. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with flaky salt and rosemary. Bake at 220°C for 22 minutes until deep golden. Best eaten the day it's made. Leftovers make good sandwiches the next day. Organic priority: flour, olive oil. ## Baking Notes Organic flour behaves similarly to conventional flour. Organic butter is often richer and slightly more yellow. Organic eggs generally have firmer whites, which helps in meringues and cakes that rely on egg structure. The ingredient where organic makes the biggest flavor difference is butter, a well-made organic cultured butter in a simple recipe (a loaf of bread, a batch of shortbread) is genuinely noticeable. Flour is harder to taste the difference but it's one of the foods most worth buying organic given the scale of consumption. Baking is forgiving. These recipes will work with substitutions, regular flour for whole wheat in the cookies, Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, oat milk for regular. The organic upgrade makes more difference in the pantry than at the mixer.