Linseed/Flaxseed as a egg substitute

Egg Free Baking tip

It seems the older I get  the list of things that I'm intolerant too grows.   Apart from a variety of Pulses, fruit and veg I can still eat Fish and Egg's.  After 20 years of having IBS I'm well used to exclusion diets and keeping a food diary's.  Over the last year along with being caffeine and dairy intolerant Iv had to cut out  yeast,  high sugar,  leafy green veg, onions, garlic, meat and poultry.  Lets just say that the person who gave me food poisoning has a lot to answer for!!!!!

I love egg's but they have to be free Range and I treat them as a main protein source in my meals.  I'd rather not have to bake with them, and I refuse to buy battery egg's just to bake/cook with.  So iv been looking for egg substitutes for baking.  I did some research and found commercial egg re-placers can be really expensive.  Also not every Dairy free recipe needs an egg, so why spend that much money. 

One of the best natural egg substitutes Iv found is Golden Linseed or Flax seed as its sometimes called.  I know you can buy ready ground Linseed/Flax seed, but it goes against my principles to buy something I can do myself. (I am Scottish!!!) Their ready available in most supermarkets and the whole seeds are usually a lot cheaper to buy than the ground.  If I'm baking cookies Iv found you don't always need to grind them before using them.



Before

After





Flax seed/Linseed egg substitute       - equal to 1 large egg

                       

Version 1                                                               

1 Tablespoon of Flax seeds                                   

3 tablespoons of hot water                                     

                                                                            

Add hot water to the Flax seeds and leave till cool. 

Version 2

1 Tablespoon of Flax seed (ground in a spice/coffee grinder)

3 Tablespoons of hot water

Tip the ground Flax seed into a small bowl or cup and add hot water. Leave to cool before use.

The water draws out the seeds natural oil, changing the water's texture.  This results in a liquid that looks and acts like egg white.  Version 1 is good for making Cookies, while version 2 is best in cakes.  Some other recipes suggest using cold water, to me this takes longer i prefer using hot. 

Potential Problems - I speak from personal experience. I'm really good at finding all the ways that don't work......  So you don't have to xxx

 - Leave the mixture to cool, as if still hot/warm it could curdle your batter/dough.

- Mortar and Pestle versus Grinder - I tried using my pestle and mortar a few times before I caved in and bought a Coffee/Spice Grinder.  It saved me from Flax seeds flying all over my kitchen, I also got bored because it took so long....   If you have bigger muscles than me and more patience, the Mortar and Pestle may work for you. 

- Whole seeds work just as well as the ground in cookies.  They are also good for binding homemade  mushroom or bean burgers.

- Ground works best when converting Muffin, loaf and coffee cake type recipes to egg free. 

- It may look and act like egg white as a binder in baking, but you can't whisk it like egg white.  So wont work for  Meringues or Angel cake