Baking Substitution
Baking recipe substitution
can affect the results quite drastically.
Texture, moisture, flavor and as can how
well the dough rises can be changed by
the omission or addition of even one ingredient.
While there are many good reasons to make
an emergency baking substitution, anything
from food allergies to simply being out
of an ingredient, it’s necessary to think
carefully before doing so, or risk ending
up with unacceptable results.
It’s important to know the function of
an ingredient before attempting to replace
it. Does it add structure like flour,
or flavor like sugar? Is it a leavening
agent like yeast or provide texture like
fats? When the function in known finding
the right substitution simply means finding
other ingredients that do the same thing.
While a comprehensive list of bread baking
substitution is beyond this article’s
scope, here are some suggestions.
- Wheat-Flour-Free: any
high gluten flour like spelt flour will
provide the needed structure to the
bread.
- Gluten-Free: gluten-free
flours can be mixed with vegetable gums
to mimic the stabilizing elements of
other flours.
- Leaving-Free: sourdough
starters can sometimes be used (though
not on a one-to-one basis), or a simply
giving the dough a high-speed electric
beating.
- Sugar-Free: numerous
commercial artificial sweeteners exist,
and honey is a favorite natural option.
- Egg-Free: egg substitution
in baking is tricky because they perform
a number of different functions, all
of which may be determined before finding
a substitute.
- Milk-Free: Rice milk,
soy milk and potato milk can all be
used as substitutes, but baking must
be more carefully monitored to insure
even coloring.
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