Understanding the Basics
Baking is food science.  The final product is simply the end result of reactions or combinations that occur between the ingredients under certain variables (e.g., oven temperature, rack position, baking time, pan size and color, and kitchen atmosphere).  Oven temperature affects texture, consistency, appearance, and baking time.  The amount of heat absorption or reflection depends upon pan color and material, rack position, and product size and shape.  These factors also affect the total baking time.  Atmospheric pressure and humidity determine how much liquid and leavening agents are needed and also impact the total baking time.

Surprisingly, most of the information needed to understand substituting ingredients is right in your home.  Many cook-books provide a wealth of information if you read beyond the recipes.  The text and tables explain many of the basic measuring concepts, functions of commonly used ingredients, and common food substitutions.

In addition, your six senses (smell, sight, taste, touch, hearing, and an inner "gut" feeling) can help guide you in your substitution choices.  Your senses and instincts can provide valuable clues to how much and which substitutes are best, based on taste, water content, melting point, texture, and ability to absorb moisture and heat.

What function do ingredients serve in baking, beyond overall taste and nutritional value?  Specific ingredients and amounts are chosen to create a final crumb texture, structure, and mouth feel (literally how the product feels in your mouth).  Most recipes and mixes include one or more of the following ingredients:

• whole (3.3 to 3.7 percent fat content) cow's milk.
• large chicken eggs (where 1 egg = 1/4 cup liquid).
• real butter, corn oil, or solid shortening (i.e., Crisco).
• wheat flour.

When you cannot eat one or more of these ingredients, substitutions become necessary.  And these substitutes have unique properties that differ from their "real" counterparts and affect the baking process.

Wheat Flour

Wheat flour is one of the toughest ingredients to substitute successfully.  The problem is that no single alternative flour works as well.

Wheat flour provides structure or bulk, crumb texture, moisture absorption, and particularly in the case of breads and pizza dough, vital gluten protein.  Think of gluten protein as a waffle that can trap air inside its cell structure and stretch like a rubber band.  This elasticity helps provide the chewy texture.  The waffle-like structure allows leavening gases (created from the byproduct of baking powder and/or yeast) to be trapped, causing the product to rise.

Wheat-free/gluten-free flours differ from wheat flour in starch content, texture, taste, and ability to absorb moisture.  Since no single wheat-free flour has all the attributes of wheat flour and since each has some less-than-preferred qualities, the trick is to blend several wheat-free/gluten-free flours using final product texture as a guide.  

For example, if a lighter end product with softer crumb is desired (like cake), use a higher ratio of starchy, lighter, refined flours.  For a heavier, heartier crumb texture (like bread), use less of the starchy flours and more of the heavier, grittier flours. 

Bette Hagman, a pioneer in gluten-free baking, provides a good basic flour blend in her cookbooks that can be used in equal (1:1) substitution for regular wheat flours.  Her gluten-free flour blend suggests that for every 3 cups of flour, use 2 cups white rice flour plus 2/3 cup potato starch plus 1/3 cup tapioca starch well blended with the appropriate amount of xanthan or guar gum.  Once you're comfortable with this blend, you can further refine it using the principles discussed above.  Any additional protein that can be added (e.g., milk, egg or gelatin) helps offset the lack of gluten protein.

Depending on the product and its reliance on the gluten structure, a substitute binder for gluten will be needed.  Breads rely heavily on gluten for structure, cakes to a lesser extent, and cookies almost not at all.  The more starchy and/or more refined the crumb, the less the need for gluten.  Most wheat-free/gluten-free recipes rely on xanthan or guar gum as a binder replacement.

Here's a quick rule of thumb for how much binder to use:  For every cup of wheat-free/gluten-free flour, use 1 tsp. xanthan or guar gum for cakes, 2 tsp. xanthan or guar gum for breads or pizza, and 1tsp. or no xanthan or guar gum or most cookies.

Wheat/gluten-free flour dough will be stickier, heavier, and softer than regular wheat flour dough.  There is little to no elasticity to the dough.  For these reasons, use a batter beater, not a dough hook, and a heavy-duty stand-up mixer to beat extra air into the dough and blend it thoroughly.

Milk

Milk provides mouth feel, flavor, moisture, richness, protein, and a creamier, softer crumb texture to baked goods.  Most milk substitutes available today work well in baking if you account for how they differ from whole milk and modify accordingly.

Milk substitutes differ in water and fat content, sweetness, and ability to color the baked goods.  For example, rice milks, powdered milks, skim milk, and juices all contain more water than whole cow's milk.  Rice milk and juices tend to be sweeter and, therefore, may affect the final taste of baked goods.  Soy milk tends to brown baked goods prematurely, while a potato-based milk tends to whiten products.

Milk is the least crucial ingredient in baking, so if you need to cut back somewhere on liquids, start here.  As you become comfortable with your baking skills and more experienced, you may find that some milk substitutes are easier to work with than others.  And you may learn to accommodate for shortcomings.  For example, when using rice milk, I find that adding 2-3 tablespoons of extra oil helps offset the watery consistency in the dough.

Eggs

Most baking problems start when substituting eggs for fats.  Eggs are a challenge to substitute.  In baking, eggs provide richness, color, protein, and tenderness.  When beaten, egg whites provide extra volume and air.  Eggs also create leavening (or rise) and/or binding.  The trick is figuring out the purpose the egg serves in your recipe - is it binding, leavening or both?

A general rule of thumb is to look at the number of eggs required in the recipe.  If the recipe calls for 1 egg, typically it serves as a binder.  In this case, almost any egg substitute will work.  Some possibilities (for one egg substitution) include the following:

• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed plus 3 tablespoons warm water.
• 1 tablespoon unflavored, unsweetened gelatin plus 3 tablespoons warm water.
• 1/4 cup ground soft tofu.
• 3 tablespoons pureed fruit.

If the recipe uses 2-3 eggs or more, the eggs provide leavening.  Several good substitutes (for one  egg) include:

• 1 heaping tablespoon Ener-G Food Egg Replacer® plus 2 tablespoons warm water.
• 1 heaping tablespoon baking powder, 1 tablespoon oil plus 1 tablespoon warm water.
• 1 heaping tablespoon baking powder, 1 tablespoon cider or apple vinegar plus 1 tablespoon warm water.

When in doubt, assume that eggs are in the recipe to provide leavening, and use the second set of substitutes.  More than 3 eggs may be difficult or impossible to substitute successfully.  And in some cases (e.g., angel food cake and some brownie mixes), only real eggs will work, so check the recipe box for details.

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This is an excerpt of an article featured in a past issue.
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