August 8, 2023 - 3:23pm
Egg replacement
So I know egg acts as an emulsifier and adds fat and moisture to a recipe, but my kid has an egg allergy.
I’ve been wanting to make a soft bread but I haven’t seen one without an egg.
should I just add more oil if I were to leave it out? Assuming it’s just 1 or 2 eggs.
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I avoid animal products so for breads that only take 1-2 eggs either Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer or for each egg I mix together 1 Tbsp. ground flax seeds plus 3 Tbsp. water and let sit a minute to thicken.
I've tried identical recipes using each of these, and found them to be nearly identical in how well they did to replace eggs as a binder. Bob's Red Mill was slightly better, but it is also more expensive per "egg". (Like you note, though, this won't work for breads that have loads of eggs.)
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2018/03/26/introduction-to-tangzhong
Eggs are approximately 74% water so if you replace the weight of a whole egg with just oil your hydration of your dough will be off.
I like to use aquafaba to replace the egg white and water and then some sort of oil that you feel will either compliment the flavor of the bread or be neutral. Aquafaba is the water from a can of beans (chickpeas work extremely well) and older cans work even better than newer cans of beans. But make sure there is no added salt to the beans you purchase otherwise it will completely throw off your salt in your dough. If you haven’t tried it yet, aquafaba makes amazing meringue that you cannot tell isn’t made from egg whites. It has high protein similar to egg whites which is why it can be made into a meringue and is such a good substitute for egg whites.
You got it - and be cafeful with the oil. Enjoy!