Mistakes With Omission, Substitution, and Miscalculation

I have a lead regarding vegan substitutes for laminated pastry: http://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/fats/vegan-butters/vegan-butter

This seems very well researched.


That is a really useful link - thank you.

I was going to suggest coconut oil and I see that is recommended in the article.

I have to adapt lots of recipes to be gluten free and dairy free. I also make them vegan and nut-free if I am cooking for a friend too. So I've had lots of failures :D

I've got a list of tips - more like a list of links to lists of tips (I'll fish this out and post). One thing I found out this week is that gf flour does not absorb as much liquid so I now measure the amount suggested in a recipe but add in slowly until the consistency looks right as I did for the cupcakes I made this week.


Bread is a particular favourite when it comes to spectacular failed attempts. I have tried MANY times. Hard on the outside and uncooked in the middle, flat and solid. I can do flatbread, but I failed that once when we had a chef coming for lunch. I used gf breadflour instead of gf SR and the things were solid.

I must start taking photos of the failed appempts:laugh:

Oh, I've just remembered one of the first meals I made my husband. We were students and I had heard about how economical dried pulses are (my mum only used the soup mix - pearl barley, etc. so had only used that before and that does not need soaking.) So I soaked and boiled the butter beans and added to a sauce (if I recall correctly, this consisted of onions and a can of tomatoes and some dried herbs.) The beans were almost as solid as if they had just come out of the packet :laugh: We picked them all out and ate rice and the tomato sauce.

I now use dried pulses all the time (though scared of kidney beans).
 
I think you are right. The cold margarine is much softer than butter (due to the water content, I think). So when it melts in the layers of pastry in the oven, it all goes soggy.

I had no specific vegan recipe. I was just using a butter croissant recipe and I substituted margarine for butter. So er - what do I use instead?

On the stork packet assuming it is the one in the cardboard container, there are directions that tell you what ratio of stork to use compared butter.

Also it is not that difficult (just not cheap) to make a vegan butter. the nicest one I have made was a 'european cultured vegan butter' from the non dairy evolution cookbook.

https://www.amazon.com/Non-Dairy-Evolution-Cookbook-Modernist-Plant-Based/dp/1499590423
 
On the stork packet assuming it is the one in the cardboard container, there are directions that tell you what ratio of stork to use compared butter.

Also it is not that difficult (just not cheap) to make a vegan butter. the nicest one I have made was a 'european cultured vegan butter' from the non dairy evolution cookbook.

https://www.amazon.com/Non-Dairy-Evolution-Cookbook-Modernist-Plant-Based/dp/1499590423

Thanks for this. I couldn't find anything on the stork packet but found this on their FAQ:
  • Can I substitute Stork packet or tub for butter/oil in any recipe?
    No it depends on the recipe. We do not recommend Stork packet or tub to be used for puff or flaky pastries or deep-fat frying.

 
A few years ago my husband made a batch of chilli sauce, it was delicious. We gave some to colleagues and advised them to treat it as you would a mustard rather than ketchup because it was quite strong. One colleague who thought of herself as an expert decided to make her own using his recipe, she didn't have some if the ingredients so used substitutes, big mistake as it tasted awful. I don't think she fully understood the ingredients themselves as not everything marries very well.
 
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