Substitutions for baking!

During the pandemic of 2020, I found myself hopelessly searching for things like baking powder and flour. I'm here to share with you some alternatives you can use so you can keep baking you hearts out!

No flour?! Don't give up! If you're out of all purpose flour, there is something you can do to make your own! It's as easy as combing bread flour and cake flour.

All purpose flour is a combination of hard flour (like bread flour) and soft flour (like cake flour). So, one cup of all purpose flour is 130 grams. To make one cup (130 grams) of all purpose flour, you'll 70 grams of bread flour and 60 grams of cake flour. If you don't have a scale to measure this out you can just do a half cup of each. I do, however, suggest investing in a scale for the kitchen. It'll give you better accuracy when baking.

So, run on out to the store, and be sure to always have bread and cake flour on hand!

No baking powder, no problem!! Picture this, you're ready to bake something delicious. You're gathering all your ingredients, and "GASP!" you're out of baking powder. Don't stop! You can use other things to substitute it.

My favorite is using cream of tartar and baking soda. To get one teaspoon of baking powder, all you need is 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar and 1/4 tsp baking soda. If you plan to store it for later use, add 1/4 teaspoon of corn starch to the mix. This absorbs any unwanted moisture.

The next thing you can use, an can find just about anywhere is lemons. Yup, lemons. 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda will give you one teaspoon of baking powder. The only down side to this is that lemon is a very dominate flavor, so I would suggest only using this if the recipe only calls for a teaspoon or two.

Lastly, whipped egg whites. Small air bubbles in whipped egg whites will give you that volume in your baking, just like baking powder would. The amount needed will vary with different recipes. For example, pancakes may only need two or three egg whites where something like an angel food cake may need up to twelve. You'll have to play around with it to get it perfect.

Baking Substitutions

Don't have eggs, don't crack! Did you run out of eggs? Have someone allergic to eggs? I got you! I've used this before, and it's one of the best I've found.

All you need is 1-1/2 TBSP vegetable oil, 1-1/2 TBSP water and 1 teaspoon of baking powder to equal one egg.

Got milk? No? For those times you run out of milk or you are baking for someone with a milk allergy or doesn't drink milk. There's a few things you can use instead.

Evaporated milk is one of the best substitutions since it is milk with some of the water content evaporated. All you need to do it take one can of evaporated milk and equal parts water. Use the milk combo measure for measure in you recipes.

Plain yogurt is also a great substitute for milk. Use the same measurements you would for milk in your recipes. This can be used for both sweet and savory dishes.

Using plain rice, almond, soy or oat milk are a perfect dairy free alternative. You can use them measure for measure in your recipes that call for milk. Keeping in mind that rice milk is thinner, so it won't be creamy like regular milk and almond milk may add a nutty, sweet flavor to your recipes that may not be ideal for savory dishes.

If you don't have any of those on hand, you can use water. It will, however, change the texture and may change the flavor ( less rich, fluffy and creamy). You can add a tablespoon of butter for each cup of water used in a recipe. By doing that, it will replace some of the milk fat you're recipe is missing.

There you have it, some baking substitutions! Now, lets do this!

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