Earlier this week I posted an Ask the Readers question about the best dairy free milk. I loved hearing the tips and thoughts my readers left. If you have not shared your thoughts I would love to hear what you think on that question.
Today I wanted to talk about dairy free and gluten free baking. I have not made many things yet, but I have tried a few things which ended up in deciding to just ask my readers for help because the results were just not quite right. Not horrible, but not great either.
What is your favorite dairy free substitute to use for butter in gluten free baking?
I did some reading on it and many people use coconut oil in place of butter in regular baking, but the few things I have tried that were gluten free using coconut oil were very greasy. The taste was fine, but the texture was off.
So I would love to hear what you all use for gluten free dairy free baking and what differences you think it makes in the final results?
Honestly, I just use straight up shortening. I’ve used Earth Balance and coconut oil before but they are both expensive. Crisco sticks it is.
And, it also depends on what I’m baking. Examples….
If I’m baking cakes/muffins, I will use 1/2 canola oil and 1/2 applesauce. If I’m trying to make a flaky crust or do an apple pie, I use natural lard which is what the pioneer women use to use. If I don’t care too much about the crust being flaky, I use canola oil.
Other favorites I’ve used include Earth Balance and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter (sticks only), but soy is pretty toxic over time. Palm oil in Earth Balance is more saturated fat than butter, so I avoid Earth Balance. Hydrogenated palm oil is a lot worse. Crisco is pretty much a brick of hydrogenated oils, so I don’t use it…even though danishes and cream puffs would come out well. I use I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter or Imperial in some of my baking sometimes (only the sticks of margarine, not the tubs). It’s been a while since I checked the label, so the good news is that companies are changing the ingredients to be healthier to meet the demands over time. So, it would help to check the labels again.
My son can’t have cow’s milk or soy, so I use Earth Balance soy free butter, so far everything I have made has turned out very well.
I bought some of that last week, but have not baked anything with it yet. I am glad to know it works well.
I use coconut oil instead of butter when baking gluten free bread.