As you know, I belong to the bestest baking group the world has ever seen, The Bakers Dozen. If you love to bake, whether you make money at it or not, you can join. We have 4 meetings a year, and they're all worth calling in sick for. A wealth of inspiring information buzzes through the meetings, and questions and answers and friendships and better cakes and jobs and cookbooks are just a few of the benefits of being a member.
One of my favourite parts about being part of the Bakers Dozen is the opportunity to be in a room full of my heros and heroines, and becoming the same for others. Eggbeater's Guest Author of today's post, Anastasia Kellow, Bakers Dozen member extraordinaire, is one such person!
I feel forever grateful to be in her field of vision. I have no idea where she came from, but Anastasia has been a support and mentor and idea maker for me for a few years now. Not to mention that she brought her entire family to one of my classes a few years ago.
The Bakers Dozen has a Yahoo Group for sharing ideas, asking & answering questions, finding equipment and professional kitchens to rent, looking for staff and announcing wondrous events within the greater Bay Area baking community. (No I am not being paid to do PR for the BD.) recently someone started a thread based on "alternative baking," and Anastasia's answer/comments were so down-to-earth, funny, practical and knowledgable, I asked her if she would be willing to expound more and give a piece to my blog.
Please brew a cup of tea with almond milk and give a warm welcome to Anastasia Kellow, first time guest blog author to eggbeater ~
Vegan
Baking Tips
I
am not a vegan. I was born
with heavy cream coursing through my veins. My grandmother had a
Hobart in the garage, and would buy unsalted butter in huge 20 kg
blocks. I had a diet rich in both animal and plant sources. One day
my body betrayed me. Unable to distinguish friend from foe, it
started panicking and doing crazy things. In order to appease it,
I started following a whole food, organic, plant-based diet for
nearly a year. I’m no Nazi though– I follow a 97/3 rule: 97% of the time I’m on the straight and narrow and 3%
is for when, for instance, I’m at Ubuntu, and I have to have
the lemon parfait with citrus granita. I've used gelatin for panna
cotta, and sometimes eat butter on popcorn. You can eat whatever you
like. I may judge, but I’ll never mention it.
I
am not a baker. I was
formally trained and have worked in professional kitchens, but I can
no longer eat any of the primary building blocks of baking. No butter, sugar, eggs, or wheat. In baking terms, that’s
like trying to build a house from sand. It’s risky, and you
need to approach it very, very carefully.
Clearly
these are Shuna’s top two reasons for asking me to post my
vegan baking tips.
Vegan
baking can be rough going. Most of the cookbooks are written by
vegans in search of baked goods, rather than by bakers in search of
vegan alternatives. This can mean the focus is not on flavor and
texture; it’s about creating a faux product.
In the real vegan
world, Earth Balance butter is a rock star. Substitutions like
Earth Balance and Ener-G egg replacement are easy, and are the crux
of many recipes. If you use margarine in your every day life, have
at it. But if like me you’re of the “food should taste
great” camp, these sorts of ingredients fall short.
I don’t eat
faux meat, and I’m certainly not eating what I consider to be
faux cookies!
Rather
than rely on vegan baking books, I have found it much more satisfying
to create my own recipes based on excellent conventional recipes I
trust.
Below are some starting points for converting recipes.
Many of the ingredients are expensive, making them unsuitable for
most production baking. You have to rely on your knowledge of baking
science, instinct and some amount of tinkering. In the case of
substitutions like tofu for eggs, you may also need to alter your
technique.
Basic
Points:
Focus
on flavor. Use best quality fats, spices, grains, chocolates,
extracts, etc.
Have
all your ingredients at room temperature.
Don’t
try to make crazy stuff like angel food cake or soufflé that
totally rely on eggs for their execution.
You
are creating a new recipe. Don’t expect the same result when
you’re altering ingredients.
Aim
for deliciousness by any standard. Vegan food should not have a
lesser standard.
Feature
fruit. It’s super easy and delicious to roast fruit, or make a
vegan pie or crisp. Fruit at its peak of flavor takes some pressure
of your other elements. Fruits and veggies add moisture and flavor.
Pumpkin, zucchini, apples, bananas, and carrots are all good
additions..
My
disclaimer is that I have not done vast testing. I only bake once or
twice a month (see 97/3 rule). I don’t use all-purpose flour
and mostly use agave nectar. Multiple substitutions often mean
trouble, so start with one element at a time.
Keep in mind that
these are all substitutions that work well for me. Plant-based diets
are a very personal thing. They range from super healthy to
shockingly unhealthy. Please use what works for you, and leave the
rest behind.
My
Substitutions
For
butter, substitute 75% oil
or coconut oil. (1 cup of butter – ¾ c. oil)
Butter
is not just a fat – it is a huge flavor enhancer. Consider how
much flavor butter usually brings to the table when making your
substitution.
Nut
oils lend a great flavor if you can afford them. I use walnut
oil over something like grapeseed. I don’t use canola, because
I find it coats the tongue. If I use oil, I fall back on the quick
bread technique – mix liquids, sift dry ingredients, fold
together.
Nut
butters, like almond, hazelnut, or peanut, can be substituted for a
portion of the fat.
Coconut
oil is delicious, and can be creamed like butter. It does have an
underlying coconutty flavor. Despite being called oil, this fat is solid
below 76 degrees Farenheit. [click here for a farenheit to celcius converter] I believe the melting point for butter is 90-95F,
so it’s going to bake differently.
Also, Coconut Oil is a saturated fat.
There is much brouhaha these days about the nutritional
viability of saturated fats. Harbinger of death or nutritional messiah? I can’t
say. My nutritionist says it may be a lesser evil than butter, but
even she’s not sure.
Coconut
butter is not the same as coconut oil. It includes both oil and
coconut meat, making it drier and slightly textured. In baking, coconut butter needs to
be supplemented with extra moisture. I have used it successfully in
pie crust, but mostly I stick to the coconut oil.
For
eggs, 1 egg = 1/4 c. firm
silken tofu = 1 T ground flaxseed + 3 T water whisked together. I
have only done up to 3 eggs.
Tofu
adds more structure than flaxseed. I like it better for cakes and
some muffins. The tofu needs to be blended until completely smooth
so you don’t end up with lumps. I usually blend all the
liquids together, and then fold them into the dry ingredients. I
despise the smell of tofu (and most soy products), but the flavor and
aroma mostly bake out (or are at least camouflaged by other
elements.) Though, as of yet I have not been able to make a successful vanilla
flavored item.
Flaxseed
is more of a binder than a leavener. It has an earthy flavor that's
not always desirable. It works well in cookies that can take the
unique flavor-- oatmeal, nut, spice. You can grind up flaxseeds in a
coffee grinder, then whisk in the 3T of water. Whisk until you get the gloopy egg white-like consistency. If a cookie has only 1 egg, you can
usually go commando.
For
buttermilk, 1 c = 1/2 c
almond milk + 1/2 c soy yogurt
For
cream, equal part (= direct conversion) coconut
milk. This works well for ganache as well as caramel. I have
never attempted whipping it up like cream, but I think it would work
if you removed some of the water. David Lebovitz has a great recipe
for chocolate-coconut sorbet in The Perfect Scoop.
For
milk, equal part
alternative milk. I use almond milk because I like the flavor.
Grains:
before going off wheat, I was using sprouted spelt flour, sprouted
wheat flour, oat flour and barley flour. Alternative flours can have
strong flavors, which can be a benefit or detriment depending on your
perspective.
I often substitute up to 1/3 nut flour, which helps
bring some added flavor to the final product. You can certainly stick
to AP. If you switch up flours, expect some adjustments in your
liquids. Different flours absorb moisture differently.
Though
not technically baking, pancakes are an excellent place to start
substitutions. They come together quickly, so you can see and taste
your results in minutes. If they fall flat, there is still time for
toast.
Here
is my go to pancake recipe ~
Sprouted
Grain Pancakes
-- makes
around 12 4” pancakes
½
c. sprouted spelt flour
½
c. sprouted wheat flour
1
t. baking powder
½
t. baking soda
¼
t. salt
1T
agave nectar
¼
c silken tofu
¾
c. plain or vanilla soy yogurt
3/4c.
almond milk
2
T coconut butter, melted
½
t vanilla
Whisk
together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Pour all the
liquids (agave nectar through vanilla) into a blender, and mix on
high speed until tofu is completely smooth. This might take a couple
minutes. Pour the liquids into the dry ingredients, folding gently, taking care not to overmix.
Heat
a non-stick griddle over medium low heat until water beads dance on
the surface. Pour 1/3 c. (or any size you like) pancakes on the
grill and brown on each side.
Serve
with genuine maple syrup.
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