MAKING IT VEGAN - HOW TO ADAPT GLUTEN FREE RECIPES TO BAKE FOR A VEGAN

                                          Vegan GF Flan Cake with Coconut "Whipped Cream"

Posted by Bryna Bear aka Gluten Free Baking Bear

     I often have to adapt recipes to cook for my son, who is a vegan.  Vegans do not use any animal, fish, reptile or insect products or anything that was produced by them. They do not want to take advantage of their fellow creatures in any way (including no animal testing) so they do not use honey from bees, dairy from any creatures, eggs from poultry or reptiles, products made from animals, fish, reptiles or insects such as leather or wool and of course you can not eat any living creatures.  You must carefully read labels and be sure sugar is vegetarian and food is not colored with dyes from insects (some red dye - carmine or carminic acid is made from insects).  Please note that artificial dyes are tested on animals so they are not vegan.

     Be careful to avoid ingredients such as casein, lactose or whey in diary substitutes.  Lactic acid is usually vegan.  Bees wax and lanolin are also not vegan.  Some oil based vitamins such as A, D & E must be checked to see if it was made from fish or lanolin (sheep).  Orange juice (fortified from the store) contains D3 which usually comes from sheep lanolin. Some wine is filtered through charred bones, contains isinglass (animal or fish gelatin), or albumin (egg).  Read labels, look for vegan products and/or contact the manufacturer to check if it is vegan.  

     In gluten free vegan baking it is a little more complicated than with wheat baking because you have to make the recipe taking into consideration not only the delicate balance of GF baking, but also compensating for how the differing reactions that leaving out eggs or dairy will have on your baked goods.    

     Making things dairy free is simple, just replace the dairy item with a dairy free Item of the same sort.  Replace butter with margarine or shortening or vegetable oil; replace cream cheese or sour cream with dairy free cream cheese or sour cream, replace cheeses with dairy free cheeses; replace milk or cream with dairy free milks or creamers, etc., and you are good to go.  

     In some recipes, I find that using DF margarine will change up the texture a bit due to the extra moisture content of the margarine.  Replacing butter with half margarine and half non hydrogenated shortening produces better results than using all margarine.  Some shortenings are ‘butter’ flavored, but still DF and vegetarian.  For pie crusts and other baking I will exchange butter with all of this type of shortening.

     If the recipe calls for melted butter, I just use a mild flavor oil (canola, etc.) instead of butter.  Using oil in cakes makes a nice moist cake.

     In some recipes, like banana bread or other ‘heavier’ cakes, you can replace some of the oil with apple sauce to save some calories without changing up the results.  I’ve seen recipes where other fruits and vegetables are used in the recipe (such as peach sauce, avocados and mashed beans).

     For whipped cream I use a refrigerated can of full fat coconut milk or coconut cream.  I whip the cold and hardened parts of the coconut cream with an electric hand mixer and add some powdered sugar or other sweetener to taste.  To make it more stable (to keep its fluff for many hours), I add some xanthan gum.  

Vegan GF Chocolate Cream Pie with Coconut Whipped Cream

     Replacing milk in a recipe with any non dairy milk usually works without any problems.  If a richer milk is needed to replace cream I use either non dairy creamers such as So Delicious coconut creamer or full fat coconut milk or coconut cream.     

     Making things egg free is where the real fun starts.  Eggs have many uses in baking.  They are used as binders, as leavening and to add moisture to baked goods.  They are also used to brush on top of baked goods to give them a nice shine when they bake or to help seeds, sugar, salt, herbs, etc., to adhere to the top.

     There are many egg replacers that work well in baking when you need a leavening agent.  One egg equals 1/4 cup of liquid.  I usually make an ‘egg‘ by adding, 1 Tbs. cornstarch (or other starch like flour), 1/2 tsp. oil, 1/16 tsp. xanthan gum and 1/8 tsp. baking powder to 1/4 cup of water and mix it up before adding it to a cake.  You can use a store bought egg replacer also, just follow the directions.  

     For cookies, I just add 1/4 cup of water to the recipe and it works well.

     For breads I use chickpea/garbanzo flour: 3 Tbs. water plus 3 Tbs. chickpea flour/per egg.   In some recipes I use flax eggs:  3 Tbs. of water plus 1 Tbs. of flax seeds/per egg.

Vegan GF Brazilian Cheese Bread with Chickpea Flour and water as an egg replacer. 

Vegan GF Pizza using flax eggs

     If the egg is being used to add moisture to the recipe you can use water, mashed tofu, applesauce or any commercial egg replacer of choice.

     If the recipe has 1 or 2 eggs it is easy to use one of the many egg replacers. If the recipe uses 3 or more eggs, then you must do some research before using egg replacers in the recipe.  I usually look up a vegan recipe for something like cake or challah bread and then replace the flours with GF flours and add xanthan gum.  See my post on replacing wheat flour with GF flours.

     To make the tops of breads, pretzels or pies shine I use some oil instead of egg whites.  I think you could also brush on some non dairy milk.

    Tofu is very useful for replacing dairy and egg in some recipes.  It works well as a binder in “meat loafs”, matzo balls and other foods. Tofu can be used to make egg like dishes such as quiches and scrambled eggs. I like to use a combination of mashed tofu and non dairy cream cheese to make a replacement for ricotta cheese in lasagna, or “cheese” fillings in blintzes or Danish.  There are different types of tofu - firm, extra firm, silken, etc., that each work differently in dairy replacement.  Silken is good to replace creamy textured dairy items like yogurt or mousse or pudding.  Pureed firm or extra firm tofu will bake into a cheesecake or quiche texture.  

Vegan GF Cheese Blinzes with extra firm tofu and vegan cream cheese filling.

     

     Being a Gemini, I prefer charts or lists to reading info in paragraph form.  So, here is all the above information in an easy to read chart.  

INGREDIENT	SUBSTITUTE
Milk	Non Dairy Milk such as almonds, soy, coconut, etc.
Cream	Canned Coconut Cream, Full Fat Canned Coconut Milk, Non Dairy Creamer (such as So Delicious Coconut or Soy Creamers.)
Whipped Cream	Refrigerate a can of coconut milk or coconut cream for several hours or overnight.  Whip the hardened parts with an electric mixer, reserve the liquid for other uses. Some xanthan gum can be added to thicken and stabilize the “whipped cream”.  Add vanilla and/or some sweetener to taste, if desired.
Butter	Vegan Margarine, Vegan Shortening (non hydrogenated), or a combination of the two.  In some recipes using all margarine changes the texture due to the higher moisture content of  margarine (pies, biscuits, cookies, etc.) so I prefer to use half margarine and half shortening or all shortening.
Melted Butter	Liquid Vegetable Oil.  You can replace some oil with Apple Sauce to reduce calories in cakes.
Yogurt	Use vegan yogurt.  Or puree silken tofu in a food processor.
Sour Cream	Use vegan sour cream or plain vegan yogurt. Or puree silken tofu in a food processor.
Cream Cheese	Use vegan cream cheese.
Ricotta Cheese	Use mashed firm tofu + vegan cream cheese, this makes a creamier ‘cheese’ than tofu alone.
1 Egg - in cakes Can replace 2 eggs safely in your favorite recipe. If 3 or more eggs are needed it is better to find a recipe that is already vegan.	1/4 cup water+1 tsp. oil+1/16 tsp. xanthan gum+1/8 tsp. baking powder+1 Tbs. cornstarch.  Mix together and add to recipe where the egg is added. Or flax eggs: 1 Tbs. ground flax seeds+3Tbs. water Or any store bought egg replacer-follow directions.
1 Egg - in bread	3 Tbs. of chickpea flour and 3 Tbs. of water Or 1 Tbs. ground flax seed and 3 Tbs. water
1 Egg - in cookies	1/4 cup water
Egg - to make the top of bread, pretzels, pie crust, etc. shinny.	Use vegetable oil to brush the top.
Eggs - to make quiche or scrambles eggs	Tofu - firm
Eggs - as a binder	Mashed tofu or corn starch or bread crumbs in ‘meat loaf’, ‘burgers’ ‘meat balls’, etc. Or water - in cookies.
Honey	Maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup, corn syrup (Non GMO), etc.
Red Dye	Juice from beets, cherries, raspberries or pomegranates. Achiote seeds. Natural food color store bought.
Yellow Dye	Turmeric. Natural food color store bought.
Purple Dye	Juice from grapes, acai or blueberry.  Natural food color store bought.
Green Dye	Juice from kale, spinach, parsley or other greens. Use sparingly as some of these juices have a strong flavor that you may not want a lot of in frosting or cake. Natural food color, store bought.
Blue Dye	Red Cabbage juice.  Natural food color, store bought.
Brown Dye	Golden Beet Juice. Coffee or Tea. Natural food color, store bought.
Black	A combination of all the colors or Swiss chard juice. Use with care the flavor is very strong.  Natural food color, store bought.
Orange	Carrot juice. Mix red and yellow substitutes. Natural food color, store bought.
Sugar	Make sure it is vegetarian sugar (not whitened by passing it through animal bones).  Organic sugar, evaporated cane juice crystals, sucanat, maple sugar etc. are vegetarian.  Jack Frost brand is vegetarian, Dominos is NOT.  Check with manufacturer to see how they process the sugar or choose one from the above list. Some sugar says vegetarian on the package.
Sugar in pre-made products such as chocolate chips, cookies, mixes, etc. that you use in a recipe.	Read labels and choose products labeled vegan.
Gelatin	Agar, carrageenan.

MAKING IT VEGAN. HOW TO ADAPT GLUTEN FREE RECIPES TO BAKE FOR A VEGAN. Posted by Bryna Bear aka Gluten Free Baking Bear I often have to adapt recipes to cook for my son, who is a vegan. Vegans do not use any animal, fish, reptile or insect products or anything that was produced by them. They do not want to take advantage of their fellow creatures in any way (including no animal testing) so they do not use honey from bees, dairy from any creatures, eggs from poultry or reptiles, products made from animals, fish, reptiles or insects such as leather or wool and of course you can not eat any living creatures. You must carefully read labels and be sure sugar is vegetarian and food is not colored with dyes from insects (some red dye - carmine or carminic acid is made from insects). Please note that artificial dyes are tested on animals so they are not vegan. Be careful to avoid ingredients such as casein, lactose or whey in diary substitutes. Lactic acid is usually vegan. Bees wax and lanolin are also not vegan. Some oil based vitamins such as A, D & E must be checked to see if it was made from fish or lanolin (sheep). Orange juice (fortified from the store) contains D3 which usually comes from sheep lanolin. Some wine is filtered through charred bones, contains isinglass (animal or fish gelatin), or albumin (egg). Read labels, look for vegan products and/or contact the manufacturer to check if it is vegan. In gluten free vegan baking it is a little more complicated than with wheat baking because you have to make the recipe taking into consideration not only the delicate balance of GF baking, but also compensating for how the differing reactions that leaving out eggs or dairy will have on your baked goods. Making things dairy free is simple, just replace the dairy item with a dairy free Item of the same sort. Replace butter with margarine or shortening or vegetable oil; replace cream cheese or sour cream with dairy free cream cheese or sour cream, replace cheeses with dairy free cheeses; replace milk or cream with dairy free milks or creamers, etc., and you are good to go. In some recipes, I find that using DF margarine will change up the texture a bit due to the extra moisture content of the margarine. Replacing butter with half margarine and half non hydrogenated shortening produces better results than using all margarine. Some shortenings are ‘butter’ flavored, but still DF and vegetarian. For pie crusts and other baking I will exchange butter with all of this type of shortening. If the recipe calls for melted butter, I just use a mild flavor oil (canola, etc.) instead of butter. Using oil in cakes makes a nice moist cake. In some recipes, like banana bread or other ‘heavier’ cakes, you can replace some of the oil with apple sauce to save some calories without changing up the results. I’ve seen recipes where other fruits and vegetables are used in the recipe (such as peach sauce, avocados and mashed beans). For whipped cream I use a refrigerated can of full fat coconut milk or coconut cream. I whip the cold and hardened parts of the coconut cream with an electric hand mixer and add some powdered sugar or other sweetener to taste. To make it more stable (to keep its fluff for many hours), I add some xanthan gum. Replacing milk in a recipe with any non dairy milk usually works without any problems. If a richer milk is needed to replace cream I use either non dairy creamers such as So Delicious coconut creamer or full fat coconut milk or coconut cream. Making things egg free is where the real fun starts. Eggs have many uses in baking. They are used as binders, as leavening and to add moisture to baked goods. They are also used to brush on top of baked goods to give them a nice shine when they bake or to help seeds, sugar, salt, herbs, etc., to adhere to the top. There are many egg replacers that work well in baking when you need a leavening agent. One egg equals 1/4 cup of liquid. I usually make an ‘egg‘ by adding, 1 Tbs. cornstarch (or other starch like flour), 1/2 tsp. oil, 1/16 tsp. xanthan gum and 1/8 tsp. baking powder to 1/4 cup of water and mix it up before adding it to a cake. You can use a store bought egg replacer also, just follow the directions. For cookies, I just add 1/4 cup of water to the recipe and it works well. For breads I use chickpea/garbanzo flour: 3 Tbs. water plus 3 Tbs. chickpea flour/per egg. In some recipes I use flax eggs: 3 Tbs. of water plus 1 Tbs. of flax seeds/per egg. If the egg is being used to add moisture to the recipe you can use water, mashed tofu, applesauce or any commercial egg replacer of choice. If the recipe has 1 or 2 eggs it is easy to use one of the many egg replacers. If the recipe uses 3 or more eggs, then you must do some research before using egg replacers in the recipe. I usually look up a vegan recipe for something like cake or challah bread and then replace the flours with GF flours and add xanthan gum. See my post on replacing wheat flour with GF flours. To make the tops of breads, pretzels or pies shine I use some oil instead of egg whites. I think you could also brush on some non dairy milk. Tofu is very useful for replacing dairy and egg in some recipes. It works well as a binder in “meat loafs”, matzo balls and other foods. Tofu can be used to make egg like dishes such as quiches and scrambled eggs. I like to use a combination of mashed tofu and non dairy cream cheese to make a replacement for ricotta cheese in lasagna, or “cheese” fillings in blintzes or Danish. There are different types of tofu - firm, extra firm, silken, etc., that each work differently in dairy replacement. Silken is good to replace creamy textured dairy items like yogurt or mousse or pudding. Pureed firm or extra firm tofu will bake into a cheesecake or quiche texture. Being a Gemini, I prefer charts or lists to reading info in paragraph form. So, here is all the above information in an easy to read chart. INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTE Milk Non Dairy Milk such as almonds, soy, coconut, etc. Cream Canned Coconut Cream, Full Fat Canned Coconut Milk, Non Dairy Creamer (such as So Delicious Coconut or Soy Creamers.) Whipped Cream Refrigerate a can of coconut milk or coconut cream for several hours or overnight. Whip the hardened parts with an electric mixer, reserve the liquid for other uses. Some xanthan gum can be added to thicken and stabilize the “whipped cream”. Add vanilla and/or some sweetener to taste, if desired. Butter Vegan Margarine, Vegan Shortening (non hydrogenated), or a combination of the two. In some recipes using all margarine changes the texture due to the higher moisture content of margarine (pies, biscuits, cookies, etc.) so I prefer to use half margarine and half shortening or all shortening. Melted Butter Liquid Vegetable Oil. You can replace some oil with Apple Sauce to reduce calories in cakes. Yogurt Use vegan yogurt. Or puree silken tofu in a food processor. Sour Cream Use vegan sour cream or plain vegan yogurt. Or puree silken tofu in a food processor. Cream Cheese Use vegan cream cheese. Ricotta Cheese Use mashed firm tofu + vegan cream cheese, this makes a creamier ‘cheese’ than tofu alone. 1 Egg - in cakes Can replace 2 eggs safely in your favorite recipe. If 3 or more eggs are needed it is better to find a recipe that is already vegan. 1/4 cup water+1 tsp. oil+1/16 tsp. xanthan gum+1/8 tsp. baking powder+1 Tbs. cornstarch. Mix together and add to recipe where the egg is added. Or flax eggs: 1 Tbs. ground flax seeds+3Tbs. water Or any store bought egg replacer-follow directions. 1 Egg - in bread 3 Tbs. of chickpea flour and 3 Tbs. of water 1 Tbs. ground flax seed and 3 Tbs. water 1 Egg - in cookies 1/4 cup water Egg - to make the top of bread, pretzels, pie crust, etc. shinny. Use vegetable oil to brush the top. Eggs - to make quiche or scrambles eggs Tofu - firm Eggs - as a binder Mashed tofu or corn starch or bread crumbs in ‘meat loaf’, ‘burgers’ ‘meat balls’, etc. Or water - in cookies. Honey Maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup, corn syrup (Non GMO), etc. Red Dye Juice from beets, cherries, raspberries or pomegranates. Achiote seeds. Natural food color store bought. Yellow Dye Turmeric. Natural food color store bought. Purple Dye Juice from grapes, acai or blueberry. Natural food color store bought. Green Dye Juice from kale, spinach, parsley or other greens. Use sparingly as some of these juices have a strong flavor that you may not want a lot of in frosting or cake. Natural food color, store bought. Blue Dye Red Cabbage juice. Natural food color, store bought. Brown Dye Golden Beet Juice. Coffee or Tea. Natural food color, store bought. Black A combination of all the colors or Swiss chard juice. Use with care the flavor is very strong. Natural food color, store bought. Orange Carrot juice. Mix red and yellow substitutes. Natural food color, store bought. Sugar Make sure it is vegetarian sugar (not whitened by passing it through animal bones). Organic sugar, evaporated cane juice crystals, sucanat, maple sugar etc. are vegetarian. Jack Frost brand is vegetarian, Dominos is NOT. Check with manufacturer to see how they process the sugar or choose one from the above list. Some sugar says vegetarian on the package. Sugar in pre-made products such as chocolate chips, cookies, mixes, etc. that you use in a recipe. Read labels and choose products labeled vegan. Gelatin Agar, carrageenan.