How to bake with no eggs
Quite a lot of our followers, as well as our own Fit Girls, tend to be vegan. Often they come across delicious baking recipes that fit their diet perfectly and then there is one thing that ruins it all; an egg. But lucky for us, there is always an alternative that can be found to eggs!
The product you are substituting the egg with depends a lot on the function that the egg has within the recipe. An egg can act as a binding agent, a leavening agent or can be used as a way to create a glossy finish. Below I will discuss alternatives for each of these functions. If you want to keep the flavor of an egg within a dish, but you don't want to consume the actual product itself, then you can use kala namak as an additional ingredient. Kala namak is also known as 'black salt' and comes pretty close to the taste of an egg. Tip: season some tofu with kala namak and you can get yourself the perfect egg-free scrambled eggs.
Binding agent
In sweet dishes you can replace eggs with fruit. Instead of using an egg, mash half a ripe banana or roughly add 1⁄4 cup of apple sauce to the recipe. If you're making a savory dish, then 1⁄4 cup of tomato puree, pumpkin puree or mashed potatoes can be used as a substitute for an egg. You can also mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, chickpea flower or potato starch with 2 tablespoons of water. If you have flax seed at home, then you can grind this and mix it together with 3 tablespoons of water to act as a binding agent for your batter. What also works, but is quite tricky in regards to using the right proportions, is to use cooked oatmeal or rice. It will take some trial and error to know how much oatmeal or rice has to be mixed with how much water and how long it has to cook it in order to create the perfect consistency for it to bind properly. But, once you figure this out, rice and oatmeal act as great binder alternatives for egg in savory dishes!
Leavening agent
In order for your baked goods to rise, you can replace the egg in the recipe by mixing 3 tablespoons of baking powder and 3 tablespoons of water with 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil. You can also mix 1 tablespoon of baking soda with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. This is how you can create your own leavening agent!
Glossy finish
If you want to create a nice, glossy layer on top of your cake, you can substitute the egg wash with (apricot) jam. Keep in mind that jam does have a stronger flavor, so make sure to see which flavor you like and what fits the recipe the best! What you could also do is add a thin layer of soy milk on the top of your cake just before sliding it into the oven. Due to the protein in soy milk, the cake will get a shiny finish, creating the same effect as using an egg!
Baking without eggs might seem as a challenge at first, but, due to the many alternatives that exist, it's not that hard after all! Wil you let us know if you made something delicious with an egg replacement? We are very curious!
If you love eggs just a bit too much to let them go, then you should take a look at our other yummy breakfasts with egg recipes.
