Viable Strategies I've found:
!/4 cup lowfat silken tofu per egg
this is my fave, easy, works well, tastes good
Flax Seed Gloop (1/4 c. per egg, again)
don't panic, you get to toss the oily seeds
(see method below)
Mediocre Strategy:
Ener-G egg replacer (dry, comes in a box)
either you love it, or you can taste it...
Non-viable (ok, I have on my asbestos suit):
Soy flour
I've tried this in side by side tests with all of the above,
and the muffins didn't rise in comparison to the rest
If you use tofu or flax gloop, try subbing a couple Tbs of tapioca flour
for part of your regular flour (look for it at asian groceries in little
plastic bags if you can't find it at your bulk grocery). It's one of the
ingredients of Ener-G, and it helps make things hold together.
The following is something I posted a year or so ago, before the list was
reconstituted. It's about flaxseed egg replacer.
* * * *
I've just been experimenting with using the flaxseed egg replacer, and it
works better than anything I've seen. Some people grind them up into
flaxmeal, add warm water, and use that as egg, but that tastes like
flaxseeds, which is ok if the context is nutty-tasting to begin with. I
prefer the method where you keep the seeds whole and strain them out at the
end.
The suggested ratio of one part flax to 3 parts water can be made more
efficient if you have time to soak the seeds, 1 hr to overnight. If you
want to bake immediately, just simmer 1 part seeds in 3 parts water for
about 7 min. With a long soak and a 20 minute simmer, I've used as little
as 1/4 cup seeds in 3 cups water. Letting the gloop cool with the seeds in
makes it thicker. To get rid of the seeds, pour the gloop into a bowl lined
with cheesecloth, and squeeze out the goop into the bowl, retaining the
seeds in the cloth. The stuff is so thick that it just sits in a strainer,
that's why I tried the cheesecloth. An egg is about 3-4 tbs liquid; I use
1/4 cup (4 tbs) gloop to replace 1 egg.
If, like me, you're impatient with flattish heaviness of eggless cakes, you
can whip this flax gloop like meringue, though it doesn't set in the heat
like egg whites do. But you can fold it into cake batter at the very end of
mixing to incorporate the air bubbles for lighter cakes; I did this
yesterday and made my best vegan cake yet.
Using the lowfat silken tofu as an egg replacer also gives very good
results. I like both better than the powdered egg replacer, which tends to
push the baking powder level up to where you can taste it (ick).
Note on flaxseeds: their oils go rancid, and that tastes nasty. Keep them
in the freezer. Pre-ground ones are likely to be rancid when you buy them,
as the oils have been exposed to air for quite some time. If you want them
ground, do it in a coffee/spice grinder just before you use them. But I'd
recommend the whole seed, strained gloop recipie.
Noel
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