Replacing Eggs in Baking

Pin It Replacing eggs in baking is a tricky thing.  Eggs do different things in different recipes.  They can help hold things together, add volume, structure, and/or moisture.  Because of that, there isn't just one right answer to the question of what to use as a substitute for eggs in baking.  That being said, here are my favoite egg substitutes.

For most baking, if a recipe calls for just one or two eggs, I prefer to use ground flaxseed meal.  When mixed with water, it makes this wonderful gloppy goo that resembles . . . an egg!  Flax-eggs do a great job of binding.  They hold your ingredients together quite nicely.  I use flax-eggs in baked goods such as cookies, zucchini bread, muffins and such.  I also use it to hold together my meatballs and peanut butter balls.  Plus, flax has some wonderful health benefits!  You do have to use caution using flax-eggs in delicately flavored things such as vanilla cupcakes, because the flax flavor can come through in the taste.  So here's the formula:  1 egg = 1 TBSP ground flaxseed meal mixed with 3 TBSP water.  Mix it together and let it sit for a few minutes till it transforms into goo.  Lately, because I like to streamline baking, I've been adding the dry flaxseed meal in with my dry ingredients and adding the water to the wet ingredients.  I've had great sucess and haven't noticed a difference in the final product (yeah for simplicity!).  As an additional note, I have not had success using Bob's Red Mill flaxseed meal.  I think it just isn't ground fine enough.  The one product I use exclusively is Flax USA Cold Milled Golden Flax Seed.  It works every time!

Another good egg substitute is Ener-G Egg Replacer.  This one is good for things that need more leavening such as yeast breads.  There are other similar products put out by other companies.  They probably work good too, but I haven't tried them. 

Applesauce is another good choice, especially for adding moisture.  The formula is 1 egg = 1/4 cup applesauce, but if you're substituting for two or more eggs, that ends up being too much liquid so trim it down a bit.  You can also mix flaxseed meal or baking powder with applesauce to combine efforts.

Other options include tofu, baking soda/vinegar mixture, mashed bananas, and gelatin.  I haven't personally tried these so I can't give specifics on those.  Here's a link to a helpful article on substituting eggs.

Gluten-Free Seasoned Breadcrumbs

Pin It Breadcrumbs can be a very useful ingredient.  I use them when I make meatballs, meatloaf, Chicken Italiano, chicken fingers and oven-fried chicken drumsticks to name a few.  In case you can't purchase gluten-free breadcrumbs at your local store, here's a quick and easy way to make them at home.

Buy the cheapest gluten-free loaf of bread you can find.  Let's face it - most store bought gluten-free bread is quite crumbly anyway. I usually do at least 2 bread loaves at a time because, frankly, who wants to make breadcrumbs when you really want to make meatballs?  Breadcrumbs last a long time in the freezer so it makes sense to make a bunch and have them ready when a recipe calls for them.

If you have a food processor, this goes really fast.  Just toss in a few slices at a time and process to a fine crumb.

Once you've turned all your bread slices into crumbs, spread them on a cookie sheet.  You may need to use more than one cookie sheet because you don't want to pile them too thickly.  Sprinkle garlic powder and Italian seasoning on your crumbs.  Toss to mix.  Sprinkle more seasonings depending on how seasoned you want your breadcrumbs.

Pop them in the oven for a few minutes, or until they start to brown.  You can do this fast by broiling them, but watch them carefully so they don't burn (that, of course, has never happend to me).

Let the crumbs cool.  What you don't use right away, store in a zip close freezer bag in the freezer.