Day 5 of Our Gluten-Free Blog Hop!

Our Contest is now closed, but I’d still love to hear from you:

• Which Blog Hop post was most helpful to you?
• Did you discover a new gluten-free blogger to follow because of our Blog Hop?
• Do you have a great gluten-free baking tip you’d like to share?

Leave a comment and tell us all! Thanks!

Egg-Free / Vegan Gluten-Free Baking

Consider the egg. It does so much for baked goods: it’s an emulsifier (preventing the separation of ingredients like oil and water); a texturizer; a tenderizer; a strengthener; an aid in leavening and in moisture. Eggs help make your baked goods smooth and creamy, light, fluffy and moist.

But what if you cannot use eggs or choose a vegan lifestyle? For many people living gluten-free, adding restrictions like no dairy or no eggs, puts them over the edge. No need to fret! You just need a quick primer in egg substitutes!

(See yesterday’s post for dairy-free substitutes!)

Tips:

• One trick to transforming many recipes to egg-free is to choose the right pan. Many quick breads, muffins and cakes will not have the same structural integrity without real eggs, so cheat a little bit and give your recipe more support by using smaller pans or muffin tins.
• In any given recipe calling for more than two eggs, reconsider if you really must try it egg free.
• In recipes calling for 3 eggs or more, try not to use more than two recipes of the same substitute (e.g. replace 3 eggs in a recipe by using two recipes of egg substitute #1 plus one recipe of egg substitute # 6 – see below).
• Keep the fat in your recipes to help stand in for the lack of eggs, especially in recipes calling for more than 2 eggs. Thus, in a recipe calling for 3 eggs and milk, use egg substitutes and milk like coconut or almond which have more fat and body than a milk like skim dairy or rice milk.

Substitutes

Like gluten-free flours, there is no one-egg-substitute-fits-all for every kind of recipe. Try some of my preferred substitutes in your gluten-free baking to see which works best for you!
(Note: each substitute given will replace one large egg)

Egg-Free Gluten-Free Bread made with Flaxseed Meal + Water Egg Substitute

Mayonnaise

Best for: Casseroles, Dressings and Quick Breads
Egg-free mayonnaise dressing alternatives help bring lots of salads, baked goods and casseroles back to the table for those avoiding eggs. Look for Follow Your Heart Vegenaise® or Earth Balance® Mindful Mayo as reliable and readily available alternatives for these recipes.

Ener-G® Egg Replacer

Best for: Cookies, Cakes and Quick Breads
Pre-made Ener-G® egg replacer is gluten and egg free; the manufacturer states that this product is free of gluten, wheat, casein, dairy, egg, yeast, soy, nut, and rice.

Although this product is billed as a substitution for a full egg, egg white, or egg yolk, I personally do not like its performance as an egg yolk substitute, largely because this egg substitute is fat-free and yolks are largely comprised of fat. In recipes calling for yolks, try using this egg substitute plus 1 teaspoon canola oil to improve the texture of your dish.

Homemade Egg Substitute #1
Best for: Quick Breads, Cakes, Brownies and Some Cookies:

• 1 Tablespoon milk powder (dairy, soy or Dari-Free®)
• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 Tablespoons warm water

Homemade Egg substitute #2:
Best for: Quick Breads, Cakes, Brownies and Some Cookies:

• 1 Tablespoon canola oil
• 2 Tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder

Homemade Egg substitute #3:
Best for: Quick Breads, Cakes, Brownies and Some Cookies:

• ¼ cup yogurt (dairy, soy or coconut work best)
• ¼ teaspoon gluten-free baking powder

Homemade Egg substitute # 5:
Best for: Savory Dishes and Cheesecakes

• ¼ cup firm or extra firm silken tofu, blended in a food processor or blender
• ½ teaspoon gluten-free baking powder

Homemade Egg substitute # 6:
Best for: Quick Breads, Brownies and Pancakes:

• ¼ cup mashed, very ripe bananas, or apple purée, apple butter, applesauce or canned pumpkin
• ½ teaspoon gluten-free baking powder

Homemade Egg Substitute #7:
Best for: Quick Breads, Yeast Breads, Batters and Some Cookies:

• 1 Tablespoon flaxseed meal
• 3 Tablespoons very warm water

Once the flaxseed meal is added to the water, stir and allow it to gel and absorb all the water before adding to your recipe; you can speed this process along by heating over low heat until a viscous liquid is formed.

For more egg substitutes (including egg yolk substitutes) consult with my book, Free for All Cooking: 150 Easy Gluten-Free, Allergy-Friendly Recipes the Whole Family Can Enjoy.

Don’t forget to check out my blogging friends’ Blog Hop posts and enter to win goodies from each of us during this 10 Day Blog Hop!

Each Monday – Friday of the next 2 weeks, I join 9 other gluten-free bloggers to offer you bite-size tips on all aspects of living a full life, free of gluten! Hop from my post to others each day to get your nuggets of information, and to enter to win fun prizes from each of us! You can enter each day by commenting on each of our posts.
Congratulations to Wendi S! She’s won a free FIVE POUND BAG of my Jules’ Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour*! Check out the other prizes on each of the other blogs’ posts too.

Good luck and enjoy!

• Getting Started – The Gluten-Free Homemaker
• Resources – Celiacs in the House
• Traveling – Gluten-Free Travel Blog
• Eating Out – Gluten-Free Cat
• Frugal Tips – Gluten Freely Frugal
• Cooking – Ginger Lemon Girl
• Baking – Jules Gluten Free
• Kids – Lynn’s Recipe Adventures
• Lunch Boxes – Tessa the Domestic Diva
• Shopping – Gluten Free Pantry