Alternative Baking Tips + Tricks from Natural Chef Kasey Caletti

Below you’ll find some interesting and educational tips, from Bauman College Natural Chef Kasey Caletti, to help you make your holistic baking adventures a success. Chef Kasey says, “Don’t be afraid to make mistakes!  That’s how you learn; it’s part of the process.”

She is excited to share with you some ways to use real, whole, nutrient-dense, foods in your baked goods as opposed to highly refined flours and sugars, which spike your blood sugar and create inflammation and imbalance in the body. There’s no reason that we can’t use high quality organic whole foods in our sweet treats as well as our savory dishes!

Fruits + Veggies

  • Try adding mashed sweet potato, roasted squash, ripe bananas, etc. to your baked goods in order to provide moisture and boost nutritional value

Nut Flours/Meals

  • Almond and hazelnut flours (meals) are great, high-protein options to replace refined white flours
  • Try grinding your own in a food processor
  • Finely ground nuts will more closely resemble conventional gluten baked goods; more coarsely ground nuts will be slightly more rustic. Grind to your liking to add delightful flavors and textures to your baked goods.
  • Higher-fat nuts (like macadamia) are more suited for making nut butters

Coconut Flour

  • When substituting for wheat flour in a recipe, use only 1/3 to ¼ cup, per cup of wheat flour
  • When baking with coconut flour, eggs greatly improve texture and quality
  • Use approximately 3 eggs +  ½ cup liquid for every 1/2 cup of coconut flour
  • Coconut flour is incredibly absorbent: use extra liquid!

Starch

  • Arrowroot can used as a substitute for cornstarch, is easily digestible, and is a more health-supportive choice
  • Adding a small amount of starch helps improve texture of baked goods

Flour Blend

  • My favorite “all-purpose” blend is 2 parts sorghum flour: 1 part brown rice flour: 1 part arrowroot

Dry/Granulated Sugar Substitutes

  • Date sugar (dehydrated dates) can be substituted 1:1 for white sugar.  It contains fiber (so it will thicken the baked good slightly)and is somewhat less sweet than white sugar
  • Coconut (palm) sugar: A low glycemic option with a molasses-like flavor, it can be substituted 1:1 for white sugar
  • Maple sugar (dehydrated maple syrup): can be substituted 1:1 for white sugar

Liquid Sweeteners

  • Maple syrup: ½ to ¾ cup in place of 1 cup white sugar, reduce liquid in recipe by 3 Tbs
  • Honey: ½ to ¾ cup in place of 1 cup white sugar, reduce liquid by ¼ cup

Tune in to this weeks radio show by An Organic Conversation, Flour, Sugar and Fat: Holistic Baking Alternatives to hear more on holistic baking from Chef Kasey, this week’s featured guest.  Follow the link to enjoy!