Dairy-Free Baking (Tips and Ingredient Swaps to Conceal to Your Guests)

Dairy-free baking is beneficial for many reasons, but it may be challenging. When baked, certain dairy replacements behave differently than regular dairy products. There are a few things you need know in order to have the right texture and flavor in your dairy-free baked products!

This article will teach you all you need to know about baking without dairy, so keep reading to find out why dairy-free baking is so fantastic and how to make it work in a variety of settings.

Why Bake Dairy Free?

There are several reasons why you would want to bake dairy-free or live a dairy-free diet. Allergies are the most common reason why individuals begin eating a dairy-free diet.

Several individuals are allergic to lactose, which is found in a substantial percentage of dairy products. Lactose may be difficult to digest, producing stomach ache after consuming dairy products.

Others may have hives, wheezing, or itching around their lips and mouth after consuming dairy. A dairy allergy is a compelling reason to avoid baking with (and eating with) dairy products.

It has also been established that eliminating dairy from your diet has various health advantages. Dairy elimination has been demonstrated to aid in weight reduction as well as skin clearing.

Some find that eliminating dairy from their diet helps their overall digestion. Even if you do not have an allergy or sensitivity to dairy, eating less of it will result in reduced bloating and cramping since it is tough to digest.

Another important reason to avoid dairy is that milk and dairy products might be high in growth hormones. Some commercial farmers provide growth hormones to their cows in order to increase milk production. Antibiotics may also be used on the cows to prevent disease, which may then be passed on to the milk.

This, of course, does not apply to all dairy products. There are several organic, antibiotic-free, and humanely reared choices available. That is something to be aware of, and it may force you to avoid dairy entirely!

A healthy adult diet does not need dairy in general. In truth, eliminating dairy from your diet is entirely healthy and has no negative consequences. Dairy has several health advantages, but many of them may be found in other foods.

Baking without dairy may also be an excellent method to include more nutrients into your baked products. Certain dairy replacements used in baking provide several health advantages that surpass those provided by dairy alone.

If one of the above arguments appeals to you or you are just out of dairy and want to cook, I can teach you how to bake dairy-free! Preheat the oven and continue reading!

How to Bake Dairy Free

Before you start baking dairy-free, make sure you understand what dairy is. Cows milk, cheese produced from cows milk, and butter are the most prevalent dairy items used in baking. If you are baking dairy-free, you must avoid using these items.

Some tend to believe that eggs cannot be used in dairy-free baking, however this is not true- you may use as many eggs as you like! Eggs are produced by hens and contain no dairy at all—a new animal, a different meal, and a dairy-free diet.

Finding recipes that already omit dairy components is the easiest approach to start baking dairy-free. If you start with a dairy-free recipe, you won’t have to worry about making substitutes or changes to the recipe.

Several popular baked items are already dairy-free. Most angel food cake recipes, for example, do not include dairy, and you can easily locate a dairy-free banana bread recipe. Look for recipes that have previously been tried and shown to be tasty on dairy-free baking blogs or cookbooks.

Discovering dairy-free ingredient alternatives is the next step in making any dish dairy-free. Of course, all dairy-free substitutions will behave differently when baked, but there are several excellent options available.

When searching for a dairy-free baking replacement, examine the label to ensure that the product contains no milk or lactose. You may also look for vegan items, which are guaranteed to be free of dairy.

If you attempt a nondairy substitution in a recipe and it isn’t quite right, don’t give up; just try another one! Baking is a science that takes time to perfect, particularly when you’re experimenting with different components.

Dairy Free Baking Substitutes

These are a handful of the most frequent and effective dairy-free baking substitutions. Although I will discuss numerous things that may be used in lieu of dairy in baking, there are many more!

Substituting Butter

Since butter is a common component in many baked items, it is critical to substitute it appropriately. Butter contributes to the texture, taste, and richness of baked foods.

However, there are several dairy-free options that will perform the same functions as butter in your baking.

Vegetable Shortening

Shortening has a similar feel to butter in that it is quite solid when cold, soft at room temperature, and melts when heated. You may use the same amount of shortening as butter in the recipe and get pretty comparable results.

Shortening has no taste and some claim it has a greasy texture, but you shouldn’t detect this in your baked products.

Dairy Free Butter

There are numerous excellent vegan butters on the market that look, behave, and even taste like butter. To create delicious cookies, pie crusts, bars, fillings, and cakes, use dairy free butter in the same way you would conventional butter. It’s even good for making delightfully flaky, buttery croissants!

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil has a consistency comparable to butter and shortening in that it is solid when cold and melts when heated. When beaten with sugar, coconut oil becomes light and fluffy, much like butter!

While coconut oil has a faint coconut flavor, be sure it will work well in your recipe. Again, you may substitute butter with coconut oil in a 1:1 ratio—the quantity remains the same!

Vegetable or Canola Oil

You may substitute one cup of vegetable oil for one cup of butter in a recipe, but your baked products will most certainly suffer as a result. Since oil is thick, it will not yield the same baking results as conventional butter or another nondairy equivalent. Just use a tiny quantity of oil if necessary.

Substituting Milk

Whenever a recipe asks for milk, you have many possibilities for substitutions. Every year, more and more milk replacements enter the market!

The proteins in ordinary dairy milk may aid in the creation of a firm batter that will keep its shape when cooked. Milk also contains sugar, which sweetens and tenderizes baked foods.

The substitution you choose will also be determined by what you’re baking and the role milk plays in the recipe. These are a handful things I’ve discovered to work well in dairy-free baking and behave similarly to normal milk.

Nut Milk

Almond milk, coconut milk, and hazelnut milk are all excellent baking ingredients. Protein is still present in the milk because of the nuts used to produce it.

Almost every nut milk contains natural sugars. Use a nut milk that does not have added sugar or is labeled sweetened to avoid throwing off the sweetness balance in your dish.

The taste of the nuts will enter your baking depending on the nut milk you choose. At a 1:1 ratio, replace conventional dairy milk with nut milk.

Soy Milk

Soy milk, like nut milk, functions similarly to dairy milk. Avoid the sweetened soy milks and use it as normal milk for great baked items.

Oat Milk

Since oat milk has more carbohydrate and less protein than cow milk, using it in baking may alter the texture of your baked products somewhat. When you just need a little amount of milk in a dish, go for oat milk. A dab of oat milk in cookie dough, for example, is perfectly OK.

Homemade Buttermilk

If your recipe asks for buttermilk, you may simply substitute nondairy milk. Measure out the quantity of nondairy milk you’ll be using, and then add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar to each cup. Let the mixture to settle for at least a minute after stirring.

The mixture may get lumpy and curdled depending on the kind of dairy-free milk used, but that is OK! Use it in your baking exactly as you would ordinary buttermilk.

Non Dairy Yogurt

This is an excellent substitute for full milk or heavy cream in recipes. Nondairy yogurt is thick and adds a beautiful texture to your baking. Use unsweetened, unflavored yogurt and substitute one cup of milk with one cup of nondairy yogurt.

Water and Non Dairy Butter

When you think of milk, you may think of how much water it contains and how little fat it contains. You just need water and nondairy butter to create this mix! Use one cup of water + one teaspoon of nondairy butter for every cup of milk in your recipe. The end outcome will be fantastic!

Canned Coconut Milk

Because of its high fat content, canned coconut milk is an excellent alternative for whole milk or heavy cream. Be sure you get unsweetened coconut milk and shake the can well before opening. Next, in your recipe, use the same quantity of canned coconut milk as cow’s milk.

Substituting Cheese

You may want to make a certain baked item that asks for cheese. Perfect examples are cheese croissants, tiramisu, and cheesecake. When baking with cheese, it’s preferable to seek for a vegan cheese alternative.

There are many excellent products available that taste and behave like cheese but are manufactured with dairy-free alternatives. Most grocery shops should have dairy-free cream cheese and vegan shredded cheese.

Most dairy-free cheeses are created using nuts (typically cashews), although they lack a nutty flavor.

Substituting Yogurt

If your recipe asks for yogurt, the ideal option is dairy-free yogurt! There is coconut milk yogurt, soy milk yogurt, and almond free yogurt!

Although the texture of dairy-free yogurt is very comparable to that of cow’s milk yogurt, the amount of fat may differ. If your dairy-free yogurt is fat-free but your recipe asks for whole milk cows yogurt (which has a high fat percentage), substitute 1 tsp dairy-free butter for each 1 cup of yogurt in the recipe.

If your recipe just calls for skim milk yogurt, you shouldn’t have to make any adjustments to produce a great baked dish.

Substituting Chocolate

Cows milk is found in milk chocolate, white chocolate, and even certain black chocolates. Fortunately, vegan chocolate exists! Vegan chocolate chips of any sort will work nicely in recipes that call for chocolate. You may also check the labels of your chocolate to determine whether it contains lactose.

Dark chocolate may not contain dairy and may be consumed as is. Dairy free chocolate can melt differently and not be as smooth as normal chocolate, so if your recipe asks for melting or mixing melted chocolate, use conventional dark chocolate rather than a dairy free version.

Dairy-free baking is not difficult, and there are many excellent dairy-free baking products to select from. Experiment in the kitchen to see which substitutes work best for your individual recipes.

Or, choose a dish that is already dairy-free! After all, a healthy diet does not have to contain dairy products, but a well-rounded diet must include baked goods!