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Oost · Amsterdam · Netherlands

Baking Lab Amsterdam

A circular bakery and cafe in Amsterdam Oost where sourdough craft, fermentation science, and food waste reduction come together over a vegetarian menu.

The essentials, at a glance

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Impact score
3 - Endorsed
→
Documented practices
Local sourcing
Low waste
Social impact
Health-intentional kitchen

Style
Café
Casual
Alternative

The delicious details

Baking Lab Amsterdam is a circular bakery, cafe, and educational space on the Linnaeusstraat in Amsterdam Oost. Founded in 2017, it brings together traditional sourdough craft, fermentation science, and a mission to reduce food waste. The kitchen transforms surplus ingredients into new products: old bread becomes the base for fresh loaves, juice pulp enriches cakes, and stale croissants find a second purpose as pudding.

The cafe serves a fully vegetarian menu with vegan options, from stone oven toasties with organic goat cheese to vegan bowls and freshly squeezed juice. Beyond the counter, Baking Lab runs workshops and educational programmes in partnership with the University of Amsterdam and Artis Micropia, drawing around 100,000 visitors each year.

Menu
What's on the table, and what's left off

The cafe serves a fully vegetarian menu with vegan options clearly marked. Breakfast and lunch items include stone oven toasties, labneh sandwiches, vegan bowls, and wraps alongside freshly baked sourdough breads. Cakes are made in house, and the kitchen integrates fruit and vegetable fibres into baked goods to enhance fibre content and nutritional value.

Dietary options
Vegetarian options
Vegan-friendly
Health-intentional kitchen✓
Specific health practices named in at least one sub-area
Self-declared

Sourdough bread made through long fermentation with whole grain and rye flours is complemented by fruit and vegetable fibres from juicing integrated into breads and cakes, described as promoting healthier food that helps train the gut. The bakery runs seminars on carbohydrates and health, publishes 'brain food' content, and hosts nutrition-focused workshops. Fermentation is presented as both a craft and a health practice.

Impact score
How this restaurant rates
3 - Endorsed

Baking Lab's circular approach to food waste defines its kitchen. The bakery transforms old bread into new loaves, integrates fruit and vegetable pulp from its juicer into baked goods, and uses fermentation to extend ingredient life. This method was recognised as a best practice by the Dutch Platform for Circular Economy, and the bakery has received editorial coverage in Trouw's Groene Gids and on the iamsterdam platform.

The cafe also demonstrates a verifiable social commitment. Run by a young team, it offers internships, training programmes, and volunteer positions, while collaborating with the University of Amsterdam, Artis Micropia, and the Dutch Bakery Centre on educational projects that reach around 100,000 visitors annually.

The impact dimensions
Local & direct sourcing✓
Seasonal cooking
Low waste & circular practices✓
Social impact✓
Plant-forward menu

Local collaboration with growers and millers, though suppliers are not individually named.

The bakery describes working with local grains, natural fermentation, and surplus ingredients from the city, and collaborates with 'local farmers, millers and partners.' The COSH.eco directory independently confirms these sourcing claims.

Strongest sourcecosh.eco ↗

Seasonal variation through changing specials and surplus ingredient use, though the core menu is largely fixed.

The cafe features 'different specials from our stone ovens' and integrates surplus fruit and vegetables that change with ingredient availability. The core menu of bread varieties and cakes remains largely consistent year-round.

Strongest sourcebakinglab.nl ↗

Multiple named circular practices—bread and croissant reuse, fibre integration, milk transformation, fermentation—with independent validation from the Dutch Platform for Circular Economy.

Circularity is the defining identity of this bakery. Old bread is systematically reused as an ingredient for new loaves, stale croissants become croissant pudding, fruit and vegetable fibres from juicing are integrated into breads and cakes, surplus milk is transformed into new products, and fermentation and preservation extend ingredient life. In the energy sub-area, residual oven heat is used to power composting.

The Dutch Platform for Circular Economy selected the bakery's bread reuse method as a best practice. The iamsterdam platform confirms the bakery won a prize for its circular approach. Editorial coverage in Trouw's Groene Gids and The Amsterdammer further corroborate these practices.

Strongest sourceiamsterdam.com ↗

Youth employment and internships; partnerships with University of Amsterdam, Artis Micropia, and the Dutch Bakery Centre; approximately 100,000 annual workshop participants.

Baking Lab operates as a social enterprise with a mission centred on youth employment and community education. The bakery employs young staff and promotes personal growth and autonomy through meaningful work, internships, and volunteer positions.

Named institutional partnerships include the University of Amsterdam, Artis Micropia, the Dutch Bakery Centre, the University of Gastronomic Sciences, and the City of Amsterdam. The School for Circular Innovation, formalised in 2024, teaches circular entrepreneurship. Around 100,000 visitors engage with workshops and educational programmes annually.

Independent corroboration comes from The Amsterdammer, which describes the social mission, diverse volunteers, and intergenerational community building. Folia (UvA publication) confirms the university partnership.

Strongest sourceThe Amsterdammer ↗

Fully vegetarian with 15 vegan options; menu centred on bread and pastry rather than vegetables.

The cafe menu is fully vegetarian with no meat or fish. RestauPlant counts four vegan and eleven vegetarian dishes, including bowls, vegan carrot cake, vegan egg salad, and pita with tahini.

The kitchen is structured around bread and pastry. Grains and flour-based products dominate the menu, with vegetables appearing in sandwiches, bowls, and as accompaniments rather than as the primary focus.

Strongest sourcebakinglab.nl ↗
Sourcing signals
✓
In-house preparation

Sourdough breads, pastries, cakes, and fresh juice made in house; vegan bowls sourced from Planti More.

Visit & practical info
Address, price, and more
Address
Linnaeusstraat 99, 1093 EL Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Open in Google Maps ↗
Price
€
Format
Cafe, fully vegetarian
Hours
Monday09:00–15:00
Tuesday09:00–15:00
Wednesday09:00–15:00
Thursday09:00–15:00
Friday09:00–15:00
Saturday09:00–15:00
Sunday09:00–15:00
Style
Café
Casual
Alternative
Web
bakinglab.nl
Reviewed by My Treats
Last reviewed 26 Apr 2026
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How we score
The My Treats impact scale

Every restaurant is assessed against SEERO, our six-dimension sustainability framework — covering sourcing, seasonality, waste, animal products, social impact, and plant-forward cooking. Each finding is weighted by how strongly it is corroborated. The combined result is translated into a planet rating from 1 to 5.

The five levels

SEERO is an acronym for Starting, Engaged, Endorsed, Recognised, Outstanding:

Starting First verified signals of sustainable practice.
Engaged Credible practice across two dimensions.
Endorsed Meaningful practice across three or more dimensions.
This place
Recognised Strong practice across four or more dimensions, with independent corroboration.
Outstanding Top-tier practice, confirmed by recognised third-party audit.

How a level is reached. Each level needs two things together: a minimum number of dimensions covered, and a minimum overall strength of evidence across them. A dimension only counts once its evidence is specific and substantiated — a passing mention doesn't qualify. Meeting only one of the two keeps a restaurant a level lower.

Ratings of four or five planets require human validation and, at the top tier, an external audit. Scores are based on publicly available evidence and restaurant submissions at the time of assessment.

Full methodology→
Impact dimension
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How this dimension works
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How evidence is weighted
Self-declared Stated by the restaurant on its website, menu or in a submission. Plausible, but not yet independently corroborated.
Researched Found through independent research; one credible third-party source backs the claim.
Vouched Corroborated across more than one independent source. Some gaps may remain.
Audited Fully corroborated across independent sources or by a recognised third-party certification.
What the sourcing checkmarks mean
✓ Full check — independently verified: corroborated across more than one source, or audited / third-party certified (vouched or audited).
✓ Light check — self-declared or from a single source. Not yet independently verified.
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