Substituting for egg and dairy

As I have mentioned, my diet-challenged spouse also is unable to eat egg or dairy.

For gluten free cooking, this adds an extra dimension of challenge. In most gluten free recipe at least on egg is used to add extra 'stickiness to the dough. Dairy products such as milk, butter, or cream add richness and good 'mouth feel.'

Stickiness is needed in baking items such as breads (or even cakes and cookies) to hold everything together. Wheat has a protein called gluten which, when moistened and kneaded, gets very sticky and traps air bubbles. These air bubbles expand during baking and create the 'rise' that cakes and bread have. Since gluten free flour does not have this, other substances must be used to add 'stickiness.'

When I tried to find a substitute for eggs, first I started with commercial egg substitutes. Items such as 'Egg Beaters' are made from egg white so they are unsuitable for those with an egg allergy. Energ-G corporation (producers of a lot of gluten free items) make an excellent egg replacer:


This egg replacer, when mixed with water, is supposed to replace an egg in a baked good. It DOES work but I often found that the results were hit or miss.

Then I started to wonder: What gives an egg its stickness? I did some research and decided that it was protein, specifically, the protein in the egg white, that trapped air bubbles and helped baked goods to rise.

In looking around to find substitutes for this protein, I was limited by my wifes other allergens.  Finally, it struck me:  Gelatin.

Gelatin is high in protein and chemically very pure.  A dietary sensitivity to pork ruled out ordinary supermarket gelatin, as the maker used both beef and pork gelatin.  I have since found an excellent beef gelatin:


If you have religious restrictions on eating pork, this one is beef, and is Kosher.  If you buy it in your local healthfood store:  The company produces a beef gelatin and a pork gelatin.  The containers are very similar.  I know from experience that it is annoying to get home and discover you bought the wrong thing and have to go back to the store to exchange it.

An egg has about 6 grams of protein in it.  1 tablespoon of gelatin has about 8 grams of protein in it.  This  is how you can substitute one egg:

Egg Substitute

2.5 teaspoons gelatin
1/4 cup (2 ounces) water

Typically I do NOT mix these items together as gelatin makes lumps unless mixed into hot water.  I simply mix the gelatin in the dry ingredients, and add the water to the moist ingredients.

Milk is not as difficult to substitute as egg is, as there are many commercial dairy substitutes.  Be aware, though, that something may be listed as 'Non Dairy' yet it still has dairy products in it.  Many non dairy coffee creamers and dairy free cheeses have 'caseinate' in it.  This is milk protein.  If you are lactose intolerant, a casein should not give you problems (I am not a doctor.  Please speak to your medical professional if you have any questions.  Do not diagnose yourself from my comments.).  But, if you are like me, and allergic to milk protein, you cannot use casein compounds.

Soy milk, rice milk, almond milk all come in casein free variations and are fine to use. My personal preference: I don't like soy milk, and find that rice milk does not cook like dairy milk does, though I do like its taste.  Almond milk works best for me.

My current favorite almond milk is an unsweetened almond milk by Blue Diamond.  It is only 40 calories per cup and I buy it at the supermarket in the refrigerator case.  It also comes in a shelf stable, no refrigeration required until open, packaging.

I have  made almond milk many times.  It is very easy to to do, and can be very thrifty to make. Here is what I do:

Almond Milk

To make almond milk, you will need ground, blanched almonds.  You can either blanch and grind them yourself, or you can buy ground blanched almonds.  I have blanched and ground almonds and find the procedure time consuming and tedious (and as per my previous comment, we cook everything from scratch so one more step is not necessarily welcome.  I find that Bob's Red Mill (again!) has a superior ground blanched almonds, which I receive on Amazon Subscribe and Save.
If any of my readers would like instructions on how to blanch and grind almonds, let me know and I'll post them.

Anyway, once you have ground blanched almonds the process is very simple.  All you have to do is this:

Combine in a saucepan:

1/2 to 1 cup of ground, blanched almonds (depending on taste)
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 quart water

Bring to a simmer and simmer for 20 minutes.  Don't wander off, because it can boil over quickly and/or scorch. I know this from experience! After 20 minutes or so, remove from heat and let cool.  When cool, stir in 1 teaspoon of gluten free vanilla.  Now, you have choices for how to serve it:

• Refrigerate and use as is (it is a little lumpy which is not so good in tea or coffee, but fine in baked goods)
• Whiz it in the food processor or blender then strain
• Strain

If you decide to strain the almond milk, the bits can be saved and added to bread and/or cookies.  If you have some other digestive issues such as diverticulitis, you might not want to do that.

Tomorrow I'll discuss some common kitchen equipment that will make gluten free baking easier, in addition to the items you probably already have in your kitchen. They aren't absolutely necessary, just make the job a little easier.