I have some aquafaba cubes I made sitting in my freezer waiting for a project…and motivation.
I didn’t think they might be useful in bread. I will have to do some research into that.
I also recently tried this VeganEgg product that is a very close imitation of an egg (I tried it “scrambled”). It wasn’t exactly the same, but in a sandwich or another dish, I think you could fool me. (I prefer scrambled tofu just because it’s less processed.) I need to do some research to find if it might be a useful egg substitute in baking.
I feel like egg substitutes for baking are really different from what you’d seek if you were trying to scramble an egg. I also suspect you sort of have to choose amongst the different egg properties and select a different egg substitute depending. So if a recipe uses eggs for holding air and structure, that might be different from creating a custardy texture, versus making things moist.
Yeah, that’s part of my problem, I don’t have that much experience baking to know exactly what the eggs are doing. But in this case, low-carb breads tend to have a lot of eggs, and I’ve read that trying to replace more than two or maybe three eggs in a recipe is fruitless. So I think I may have to find an entirely new recipe, which is what’s been holding me up in terms of re-starting low-carb. (I do have a bread that’s free of wheat/dairy/egg plus my numerous other allergens plus nuts/peanuts (which I need for when I’m in schools) that’s made by a local bakery…but it’s not low-carb at all. I think it’s actually higher-carb than “normal” bread even though it does have pretty clean ingredients.)
So… if you’re trying to make a bread, then I would guess aquafaba would be a good substitute. Because essentially gluten provides a physical structure, with its strands, that holds in air. So if you’re trying to replace that, something that holds structure (like whipped egg whites, or, in this case, whipped chickpeas) could work. i’ve also heard potato starch can make breads have a very soft texture. not sure if that also applies for gluten free breads, and I sort of have this vague idea you might be allergic to them?
Yes, very, very allergic. Potato starch definitely does something good to GF baked goods because it’s in 95% of GF products (and many cheese and egg substitutes as well).
Opinions are definitely divided, but from my own few experiments: aquafaba made from dried beans has much less bean flavour and smell than aquafaba from canned beans (although many people will say it depends on the brand). Some mild flavour and smell remain if used in a raw application, such as a frosting or ice cream (though freezing largely dulls the taste), but adding more vanilla or other flavourings can mask it. The flavour disappears in baking.
Using Great Northern, white navy or cannellini beans results in less bean flavour. Some digestive turmoil may result regardless.
For a non-egg binder in baking, my own preference would be applesauce.
Yes, the funny part here is that I make bean dishes from dried beans on a pretty regular basis, and we soak our beans in very hot water (changing the water once) to ensure that the digestive turmoil ingredients are removed and the beans can be enjoyed by everyone, and here you go using that byproduct to make whipped cream. In our house, I would need to add beano to it or hilarity would ensue.
I’ve had it at a very fancy vegan restaurant, where the food was amazing and I couldn’t figure out what it was. Not bean-y! Just really solid foam. I believe in that case it was used as an espuma/foam on its own (and if anybody is looking for amazing vegan food in Los Angeles, I can strongly recommend Moby’s restaurant Little Pine. All vegan. And amazing.)
Eric and I have found that as well. I made a smashing little gallette last night, mostly on the fly, with only apples and that GF crust and a sprinkle of sugar, and I did not bother to figure out how many carbs are in it. And we misestimated by a large percentage.
Generally GF replacements are really carb heavy in our actual experience too.
But the low-no carb diets out there would restrict most of the alternative flours I think.
