Gluten AND Dairy-Free Baking

29 Posted on September 29, 2012 - by Jules Shepard

Categories: Baking Tips, Gluten Free 101

Tags: , Allergy Friendly, Almond Milk, Blog Hop, Coconut Milk, Dairy Free, Daiya Cheese, Earth Balance, GFCF, Green Valley Organics, Hemp Milk, Lactose, Lactose Free, So Delicious, Soy Milk, Tofutti, Vegan, Vegetarian

Gluten AND Dairy-Free Baking

A lot of us gluten-free bakers are also faced with the challenge of baking dairy-free. Lactose is the biggest culprit (did you know that 60% of the adult population is lactose intolerant? Did you know that number is much higher for the celiacs amongst us?!) Want to know more about dairy and why it might be bothering you? Read my post all about it! If you’re looking to bake dairy and lactose-free, I have a few recommendations for you.

Making the switch from butter

If you’re used to baking with butter and really crave that buttery flavor in your baked goods, there is really only one dairy-free solution: Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks. This product contains soy but no dairy, and works seamlessly as a substitute for butter in recipes calling for butter. I try to avoid unhealthy fats, hydrogenated oils, unnatural preservatives, emulsifiers or trans-fat, and this product works for me in everything.

If your family needs to avoid soy and dairy, I suggest palm oil shortening. Products like Spectrum® Palm Oil Shortening are a great substitute, although they lack the butter flavor. Straight up coconut oil is another option for you. Coconut oil brands like Kelapo® Coconut Oil (coconut oil is a solid at room temperature) is a great baking alternative to shortening, or even butter. Another option is Earth Balance® Coconut Spread. It acts a lot like shortening, but has a really nice flavor that is lacking in most shortenings. It’s also soy and dairy-free, as well as free from trans-fats or hydrogenated oils.

Other Dairy-Free Substitutions

When confronted with recipes calling for milk, yogurt, sour cream or even whipped cream, don’t despair. There are loads of dairy-free alternatives that will make your gluten-free, dairy (or lactose-free) baking delicious!

Dairy-Free (soy, almond, coconut or other-based) milk, kefir, yogurt, sour cream, cream cheese, sliced cheese, shredded cheese, whipped toppings, and more are readily available for recipe substitutions. Look to brands like Daiya™, So Delicious®, Follow Your Heart®, Teese™, Tofutti®, Lisanatti®, MimicCreme™ and others for every conceivable dairy-free ingredient need. Dairy-based, but lactose-free options are also springing up with more frequency. If the products suit your needs, brands like Green Valley Organics® offer organic, humane, hormone-free and lactose-free dairy-based products. Even Yoplait® has now introduced a lactose-free yogurt!

More ingredients, products and recipe substitutions for dairy (and nearly every other conceivable food allergen) can be found in my newest book, Free for All Cooking: 150 Easy Gluten-Free, Allergy-Friendly Recipes the Whole Family Can Enjoy.

Don’t ever let dairy stand in your way of having healthy, safe gluten-free recipes!

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This entry was posted on Saturday, September 29th, 2012 at 2:51 am and is filed under Baking Tips, Gluten Free 101. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

33 Comments

We'd love to hear yours!

Jessica B said: on May 10, 2012

Thanks for all the dairy-free and soy-free options.
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Emma said: on May 10, 2012

I don’t have to be dairy free, but I have been using more dairy free “milk” and “butter” options because they are a less expensive alternative when trying to buy natural or organic products. They also tend to be healthier…in moderation of course.
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Lynn said: on May 10, 2012

thanks for all the dairy free info… love all your ideas and info
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Penny said: on May 10, 2012

Thanks for this! I’ve never thought of palm oil spread before!
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Natalie Callier said: on May 10, 2012

Thanks for the gluten free and dairy free ideas and for your giveaways.
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Melisa said: on May 10, 2012

I’ve been curious about the palm oil shortening so I’m glad to hear from someone who has tried it.

Why are you avoiding trans-fat free stuff? I thought trans-fat was BAD?
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- Jules said: on May 12, 2012
  
  Melisa – LOL! Yes, I meant that I try to use trans-fat free products!
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KATHI BASNER said: on May 10, 2012

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP AND RECIPES
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julie said: on May 10, 2012

I shared on facebook
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Paula said: on May 10, 2012

My youngest son and I are dairy-free, yes, it’s a bit more of a challenge, but once you get used to it, it’s normal life.
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Heather S said: on May 10, 2012

Thanks for your tips and we love your flour.
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- Jules said: on May 12, 2012
  
  So glad you’re loving my flour!
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pat said: on May 10, 2012

I am very lucky that I can use most dairy but not a lot of it. It is good to know about the other alternatives though.
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Jena said: on May 10, 2012

I’ve been enjoying what “normal digestion” feels like for the last two months after many years suffering and never knowing why. At first I thought going dairy-free would be impossible, but it most certainly is not. Your post today provided even more tips to help me discover other options out there
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Becky said: on May 10, 2012

Thanks. We are dairy free too
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Becky said: on May 10, 2012

Shared on fb
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T. Earp said: on May 11, 2012

I try to bake DF for a couple of reasons: 1) dairy is hard on my system
2) dairy from humanely run dairy farms is expensive and harder to come by

Thanks for the great tips!
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Jeannie Parker said: on May 11, 2012

Thanks for all the tips and suggestions.
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Cindy B. said: on May 12, 2012

This was very helpful. I’m trying to go dairy free, but find it harder than going gluten free. Do you know if goat milk products would be better tolerated than cow’s milk?
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- Jules said: on May 12, 2012
  
  Cindy B – take a look at my post on going dairy-free. Hope that helps you! http://blog.julesglutenfree.com/2011/01/milk-protein-allergy-lactose-intolerance-casein-free-making-sense-of-milk/
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L.Manfredi said: on May 13, 2012

Hi Jules, I have seen in your blog the alternatives for palm oil shortening (I am unable to buy this due to living in the Middle East). I fancy using the coconut oil as this may be easier for me to buy. Would I use the same measurements as the shortening or would it need to be adapted? Cheers
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- Jules said: on May 13, 2012
  
  You should be able to use the same measurements of coconut oil since it’s a sold it room temperature – it’s a good sub for regular shortening. Hope that helps!
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  - L.Manfredi said: on May 13, 2012
    
    Thats great, thanks Jules…I’ll be giving that a go soon!!
    Reply
Susan said: on May 17, 2012

I’m glad I don’t have to cut out dairy, but someday I might need to. When that day comes, I know I will appreciate this list. Thank you!
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Wendi S said: on May 17, 2012

I use coconut oil as a butter substitute. I started using it for my dairy free son, but we now prefer it over butter for most of our baked goods.
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Helen said: on May 18, 2012

Good info – my friend’t daughter needs to avoid wheat and dairy. I’ll share it with her.
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Angel R said: on May 18, 2012

Great information!
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Cindy W. said: on May 18, 2012

Great suggestions.
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Kathy Tiney(Baket) said: on May 27, 2012

I am excited about your website! My daughter and I have lactose-free problems and she has ,in addition to the lactose intolerance, celiac, glucose, and frutose intolerance. I probably have the last three as well but I have not been to a doctor for an official diagnosis! I (we) would love to find recipes that have all if these nemises (nemisis) in each recipe(s). Any help? If we discover any we will gladly share them! My daughter gets very sick if she consumes any of these ingredients! Thank you! Kathy Tiney( Baker). Kthtn76@gmail.com
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Patricia Minnigh said: on September 30, 2012

Jules,

What do you think about Cabot Cheddar cheeses? They say that they are lactose free and my daughter-in-law (who is lactose intolerant) can eat them with no problem.

Pat
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- Jules said: on October 5, 2012
  
  Pat, if a manufacturer advertises cheeses as being lactose free, they are adding lactase enzymes to the product, so if lactose is your only problem, the cheese should be well-tolerated. Hope that helps!
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Joan Knowlton said: on October 20, 2012

I have found a wonderful flavored olive oil store in Arizona. They have a butter flavored olive oil that I have used on baked potatoes, etc. Could I use that instead of palm oil, since it would still have the butter flavor? I can’t have coconut or any soy products, along with the dairy free! Finding no soy is the most challenging! Thanks, I am excited to try your products!
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- Jules said: on October 20, 2012
  
  Joan, that sounds amazing! I use olive oil for lots of cooking and baking – I would certainly give it a try in any recipe calling for oil. In recipes calling for shortening or butter, the consistency will differ when using a liquid fat, but it still might turn out well. You never know until you try! The melting point will also be lower than some other “high heat” oils, so if you’re sauteeing with that oil, it may get smoky. It’s a worthy experiment, though – let me know how some recipes turn out!
  Reply