Baking without Eggs

Taken from: The Teen's Vegetarian Cookbook by Judy Krizmanic

Baking without eggs can be a little tricky because eggs do several important things. For one thing, they provide leavening, which means they make things rise. They also provide binding, which means they hold things together. They also add some liquid. so if you're leaving out the eggs, you have to find something else to do all of those things.
In baking, there's definitely a chemistry going on between the liquid ingredients, the dry ingredients, and the leavening ingredients. In place of the eggs in your favorite recipes, try the following:

Applesauce: Add about 1/4 cup in place of an egg. This holds things together and adds moisture, but it doesn't do that much in the way of helping things rise. For that, you might need to add a little extra baking powder (about 1/2 teaspoon).

Banana: Use 1/2 banana, mashed, for one egg in sweet baked goods. (This is good only in things that will work with a banana taste.) Also add about 1/2 teaspoon extra baking soda.

Tofu: Use about 1/4 cup mashed silken tofu for one egg. Also add 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon extra baking powder.

Prune puree: You can puree your own or purchase pureed prunes in the baking aisle of the supermarket. You can also use baby food prunes. Use about 1/4 cup prunes plus 1/2 teaspoon extra baking powder. (Prunes will add sweetness to a recipe.)

Baking powder: Add and extra 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and about 2 tablespoons extra liquid to replace one egg in a recipe.

Powdered egg replacer: This stuff is great. It's a powdered mix, available in natural foods stores (Whole Foods, for exampled), that you blend with water to replace an egg in recipes. It works really well. It seems pricey ($7 or $8 a box) but the box lasts a really long time, so it's worth it.

Flax seed: Flax seeds are available at natural foods stores. This flax seed mixture can be used in place of 2 eggs: Grind 3 tablespoons flax seed to a very fine powder in a blender. Add 1/2 cup water and blend until the mixture becomes thick, resembling raw egg white. Fold it into cake batter at the end of mixing for light vegan cakes, but only use in recipes that call for 2 or 3 eggs at the most. (This recipe used with permission for Good News About Good Food by Carol M. Coughlin, R.D.)

Homemade Fake Egg: Use the following recipe in place of one egg in baked goods; it works really well in cookies. It's best to whip it up right before adding it to the recipe. (Note: *this recipe is NOT meant to replace eggs in really eggy dishes, like scrambled eggs.)

Fake Eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 Tablespoons flour

3 Tablespoons water

Combine ingredients in a small bowl and mix together with a fork or wire whisk until foamy.

Eggless baking can sometimes be a daring adventure. If you end up with hockey pucks instead of cookies, don't worry. Try something different next time.

*Tomorrow I will blog about my favorite Tofu Scrambler recipe!