Flour Farm Ingredient Substitution Guide
We are frequently asked how to replace ingredients in our Flour Farm recipes. We’re here to help! This Flour Farm Ingredient Substitution Guide was designed to assist in the navigation of replacement waters. Please find the ingredient listed below that you would like to substitute and follow our suggestions. Note that we may not have used each of these substitutions in our recipes – they are to be used as a guide. If you have success using a recommendation – please send us a message and let us know, or post your comment on the recipe page. We strongly believe that it takes a village to create success – we learn more about ourselves and our practices when we look to others who may be wiser or more experienced in areas that we are not. Thank you!
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Ingredient Substitution Guide
How to use Flour Farm’s Ingredient Substitution Guide: Find the ingredient you would like to replace and follow the recommendations. Let us know if there is an ingredients that you would like to add to this list. Thank you!
Arrowroot Powder: See “Starches.”
Butter: This link takes you to our “go to” substitution guide when looking to replace butter – click here. We like to use avocado oil, applesauce, coconut oil and non-dairy butter as butter replacements for many of the recipes that we create or adapt.
Buttermilk: True buttermilk is in a league of its own; however, we suggest that you replace store purchased buttermilk by making your own: use 1 T (15 ml) organic apple cider vinegar or lemon juice added to 1 cup of milk or dairy alternative. Allow the mix to sit for 15 minutes before using.
Buttermilk Powder: You may use regular milk powder or a non-dairy milk powder. If making pizza, you may also omit and replace with Flour Farm.
Cake Flour: When you have an original recipe that you want to adapt and it calls for cake flour, measure out 120g (1 C + 1.5 T or 4.2 oz) of Flour Farm and remove 2 T (16g). Replace with either 2 T of Tapioca Flour or 2 T Corn Starch (2 T of either weighs about 15g, so you are not off the weight mark) per cup of cake flour required.
Corn Starch: See “Starches.” Do not replace the cornstarch with tapioca flour when dredging food in preparation for frying – this creates a gummy texture that is most unpleasant.
Cream Cheese: Try a lower fat version. We like to use Neufchatel Cream Cheese, which has 1/3 less fat than regular cream cheese. To make your own cream cheese substitute, use plain Greek yogurt. You can also puree cottage cheese (strain if the cottage cheese is too watery). As a dairy free alternative, try a gluten free, vegan cream cheese. Here is a link to a delicious, easy DIY vegan cream cheese recipe.
Eggs: The best egg substitution to use with Flour Farm is commercial GF egg replacer (follow directions on package, and our favorite is Bobs), or liquid lecithin (we use sunflower). To use liquid lecithin, substitute 1 tsp of lecithin for 1 Large egg + 2 T of warm water. Add the liquid lecithin to the dry mix and blend. Add the water to the wet ingredients. This is very important. We do not recommend powdered or granular lecithin – it needs to be dissolved first, and the taste and texture are questionable. Silken tofu (by weight), or pumpkin puree (by weight) also worked well in recipes using chocolate. Flax eggs or chia gels, are not recommended as they each create a mushy product.
Egg Wash: Use a non dairy milk.
Egg Dredging: Use vegan/egg free mayonnaise with a bit of (non-dairy) milk added to thin it out a bit for dredging.
Gelatin: Replace gelatin 1:1 with agar agar powder, which is made from red algae.
Gums – Guar, Xanthan & Tara: We use these gums sparingly in recipes that require “stretch” such as pizza dough or bread. Sometimes, we like to use a combination of these gums in bread recipes, as they are synergistic. If you are sensitive to xanthan gum, try guar or tara gums (1:1 by weight) or vice versa. If you prefer not to use gums, we have successfully substituted both psyllium powder and psyllium husk in recipes. We find that the rise is not as high, or that the dough may be a bit more chewy when using psyllium. Generally, replace gums 1:1 by volume with psyllium powder (1 tsp gums = 1 tsp psyllium powder.) If replacing gums with whole psyllium husk fiber, use 2 to 2 1/2 Tablespoons of whole psyllium husk fiber (not the powder) for each teaspoon of gums. We have also found that substituting an equal amount of a combination of psyllium husk powder and ground chia powder work just as well. For example, if a recipe calls for 1 tsp of xanthan gum, use 1/2 tsp of ground psyllium powder, and 1/2 tsp ground chia powder. Click here to read a comprehensive article about replacing gums that includes products such as gelatin, pectin, chia, flax, and egg whites. Happy experimenting!
Milk: We use organic whole milk in most of our recipes containing milk. You may substitute a lower fat version. Keep in mind that the lower fat content may change the taste and texture of the final product. In addition, whole milk may be substituted with any non-dairy milk of your choice – or water. Our favorite milk substitution is homemade almond milk. We prefer homemade nut milks to commercially made milks available in stores because we don’t add gums, sugars, colors or preservatives to our milk. Those additions have the potential to change the final baked product. For alternative milk recipes, click here (we are not affiliated with this company.)
Milk for Buttermilk: Many people ask if they can substitute buttermilk for milk in a recipe. The answer is yes! Buttermilk is more acidic than sweet milk, so you will need to make a few adjustments. In general, 1/2 tsp of baking soda plus 1 cup (237 ml or 8 fl oz) of buttermilk replaces two teaspoons of baking powder. However, gluten free can sometimes throw a monkey in that generalized wrench. You may need to experiment if buttermilk directions have not been provided. For an excellent article on how to use dairy, acids and leaveners, please click in this link.
Potato Starch: See “Starches.” Potato starch and potato flour are not the same products. Do not use them interchangeably.
Psyllium: One teaspoon of ground psyllium powder is the equivalent of 1 tablespoon of whole psyllium husk fiber. See “gums”.
Salt: We use Extra Fine Pink Himalayan salt as our go to salt. Use a 1:1 conversion if using regular table salt or sea salt. If you use Kosher salt, double the amount listed.
Sour Cream: Try your favorite vegan sour cream or make your own. There are many recipes on the internet that use a range of ingredients such as cashews, soy and almond milk. Another alternative to sour cream is yogurt – either dairy or non-dairy varieties, preferably Greek style.
Starches: The most commonly used starches that we use, and that may be substituted by weight 1:1 (not volume) in our recipes, are arrowroot starch, potato starch, tapioca starch/flour, and corn starch. Each has their own nutrient value and personality – you decide which starch works best in your recipe.
Sugar: We use organic granulated cane sugar or brown sugar in our recipes, as these sugars are less refined than classic white sugar. We are not huge fans of sugar, but its properties give the baked product structure and longevity. We use the minimum amount possible to maintain the integrity of the recipe. Members of our community have had success with unrefined coconut sugar (1:1 replacement), honey, agave, applesauce, and maple syrup (click here for a substitution chart. We are not affiliated with this honey product – we just like the way the company displayed the information in both weight and volume.) We do want to say that our experience with coconut sugar has led us to add a bit more water to the recipe than called for.
Tapioca Starch/Flour: See “Starches.”
Vinegar: To replace vinegar in a recipe, use lemon juice 1:1.
Whipped Cream: Our favorite non-dairy alternative to whipped cream is coconut cream or milk. Delish! When choosing a can of coconut cream/milk (full-fat,) choose a can that feels heavy and does not contain a lot of liquid. Also be aware that some companies put extra gunk in their brand of milk so look for a can that contains no more than two ingredients: coconut and water. Put the can in the refrigerator for several hours to overnight. Before using, scoop out the cream and leave the liquid for another use. Whip up the cream with a bit of sweetener and vanilla (we use 1 T cane sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract.)
Yeast: There are two options: 1) sub with equal parts double acting baking powder and an acid such as vitamin C (ascorbic acid) or 2) baking soda and lemon juice. For example, if the recipe calls for 8 grams of yeast, replace with 4g of baking powder and 4 grams of vitamin C powder, or sub 1/4 tsp of baking soda for every cup or 120g of flour + 1 T of lemon juice for every 1/4 tsp of baking soda that you use. When replacing yeast, place the bread in a preheated oven – no need to proof or rise the dough.
Yogurt: We typically use whole milk Greek yogurt or Siggis yogurt in our recipes. You may use low-fat or non-dairy yogurt in your version of the recipe. If your yogurt is runny or thin, strain it first through cheesecloth to remove excess liquid before adding to the recipe. Another yogurt alternative is sour cream or non-dairy sour cream. There are many non-dairy yogurt options available.
Hope this information helps! How did the Flour Farm Ingredient Substitution Guide work for you? Please leave a question or comment in the section provided below. We love to hear from you.
Peace & LOVE – Teri
P.S. Flour Farm gives back. We are committed to bringing healthy food to members of our community. If you are looking for replacement ingredients, please consider supporting Flour Farm and 2nd Harvest by clicking on our Amazon Associate link. We donate 50% of the profit made from Amazon purchases to 2nd Harvest, which is a local organization dedicated to feeding our children, our community and helping those in need. You will be sent directly to Amazon.com; we do not store any of your information. Thank you and share the love.
– Teri & Dave
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Hello,
My name is Annie. I am allergic to yeast and vinegar as well as not only glutinous grains but also sorghum flour and that’s what prompted me to purchase four pouches of your flour from Amazon.
I was searching your site for a bread recipe I can use but found none. I hope you can help me as I am unsure how to use this flour.
Thank you!
Hello, Annie!
Thank you for reaching out. Our Irish Soda Bread recipes, biscuits and quick bread recipes do not contain yeast. You can replace vinegar with lemon juice for any recipe that calls for vinegar. Also, to substitute yeast, there are two options: 1) sub with equal parts double acting baking powder and an acid such as vitamin C (ascorbic acid) or 2) baking soda and lemon juice. For example, if the recipe calls for 8 grams of yeast, replace with 4g of baking powder and 4 grams of vitamin C powder, or sub 1/4 tsp of baking soda for every cup or 120g of flour + 1 T of lemon juice for every 1/4 tsp of baking soda that you use. When replacing yeast, you place the bread in a preheated oven – no need to proof or rise the dough. In all honesty, I have not tested the yeast replacement in our recipes, but I certainly plan to, and can touch base when I do. Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. Wishing you the best. -Teri
Can you use regular oats for in place of the quick cooking oats?
We use old fashioned rolled oats interchangeably with quick cooking oats. Be aware that quick cooking oats will absorb liquid quicker than rolled oats and you may need to add a few more minutes to cooking time when replacing with rolled oats. For example, we recently used rolled oats to replace quick oats (same weight) in our breakfast cookie recipe. The dough was very wet and we had to add another 2 minutes to baking time. The cookies came out perfect after baking. Thanks for checking in! T & D