Need A Substitute For Butter/margerine

[Claire]

I am just beginning to try Gluten-free Casein-free cooking. Most fat substitutes are soy based. I seem to be able to drink soymilk (predigested) but not eat soy products without annoying though not severe reaction. As my immune system doesn't need to be over stimulated I am looking for a sub for the soy based spreads. I find that liquids don't do well as a sub for a solid.

No butter. No soy. What else is there? I suppose the Canadians here have found the very very fine Canadian lard.

Any ideas from all the experienced gluten-free bakers out there? Claire

[tarnalberry]

I am just beginning to try Gluten-free Casein-free cooking.  Most fat substitutes are soy based. I seem to be able to drink soymilk (predigested) but not eat soy products without annoying though not severe reaction. As my immune system doesn't need to be over stimulated I am looking for a sub for the soy based spreads. I find that liquids don't do well as a sub for a solid.

No butter. No soy. What else is there? I  suppose the Canadians here have found the very very fine Canadian lard. 

Any ideas from all the experienced gluten-free bakers out there?  Claire

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I primarily use oils - olive and canola, depending on the recipe, and adjust the other liquids in the recipe to compensate. (Butter has water in it, so usually when subing liquid oil, you have to *add* water, but in baking, it's always "try it and see what you get".)

[elisabet]

extra virgin coconut oil is fine,very easy to digest.

[Claire]

Thanks for these replies.

Any idea what I can use to substitute for butter where a liquid oil will not do - specifically making scones or anything else that requires 'cutting in' a solid fat? Claire

[cornbread]

Yeah, you can get coconut butter. It's essentially coconut oil but solid. I use it as I can't have casein and soy makes me sick (plus I don't trust it!... )

[Kasey'sMom]

Clarie,

This is what I use.

Open Original Shared Link

[Claire]

Clarie,

This is what I use. 

Open Original Shared Link

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Thank you. Can you use the oil in equal measure to replace a solid fat? For scones I would need to use the solid shortening. Claire

[RiceGuy]

I wouldn't be surprised if, after some recovery time, that soy no longer causes any problems for you. I'm hoping not to have to give up margarine. I know the one I use has some sort of whey protein stuff in it. But since eliminating gluten, I'm getting positive results, so maybe by some miracle I don't react to dairy.

I just found out about Open Original Shared Link, which has veggie butter, cheeses and so forth. Many listed as gluten-free and lactose free. Most contain soy isoflavones, but their rice based ones are listed as soy free too. Some are casein free, but have the soy.

I have only just found these, but the mozzarella slices I got seem to be even better than I had expected.

[quantumsugar]

I primarily use olive oil in my cooking as well, but I don't do much baking. Also, here's an email I recieved from The Food Allergy & Anaphalaxis Network:

"We've had good success with Fleishmann's Unsalted Margarine. Don't forget to read the label yourself to be sure it is still safe for a milk and soy allergy, and to determine if it is gluten-free. Studies show most soy allergic individuals may safely eat soy lecithin and soybean oil. Check with your allergist if you have questions about these ingredients.

Debbie"

Now, I haven't been brazen enough to test the margarine and see if those will work for me, but if your soy problems aren't too bad, you might want to check it out. (It looks like you would have to double check and see if it is gluten-free as well).

[jerseyangel]

Kaseys Mom--I bought the Spectrum solid shortening last weekend at Whole Foods. I plan to use it to make a pie crust for Thanksgiving. This will be my first try at a crust gluten-free. Have you ever used it in a crust? If so, how did it work? Thanks Patti

[Kasey'sMom]

Thank you. Can you use the oil in equal measure to replace a solid fat? For scones I would need to use the solid shortening. Claire

Claire, I always use the same amount of coconut oil/butter for the amount of "Criso" shortening that the recipe calls for. I've even put the coconut oil/butter (it's the same thing) in the refrig. to make sure it's solid before I incorporate it into my flour. Most of the time it is in a solid state when it's on my shelf.

JerseyAngel, I've used coconut oil in biscuts, pie crust and other baked goods. One of my friends just recommend the Spectrum Organic Shortening. I have some that I plan on using for my pies but I haven't tried it yet. I'll be baking on Wed. and I'll let you know how it goes. I'm baking 5 or 6 pies so I'm planning on trying the shortening on a couple to see how it works.

[Claire]

I primarily use olive oil in my cooking as well, but I don't do much baking.  Also, here's an email I recieved from The Food Allergy & Anaphalaxis Network:

"We've had good success with Fleishmann's Unsalted Margarine.  Don't forget to read the label yourself to be sure it is still safe for a milk and soy allergy, and to determine if it is gluten-free.  Studies show most soy allergic individuals may safely eat soy lecithin and soybean oil.  Check with your allergist if you have questions about these ingredients.

Debbie"

Now, I haven't been brazen enough to test the margarine and see if those will work for me, but if your soy problems aren't too bad, you might want to check it out.  (It looks like you would have to double check and see if it is gluten-free as well).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I will look into Fleishmann's when I am next at the market. I have found that I can drink soymilk without any obvious kickback but have some trouble when I eat a solid soy based producted. I made scones this week and I soured soymilk and used a soy based margerine.

The product was quite good - just a wee bit crumbly. However it was an overkill on soy and I did react to it. Probably not just too much of a good thing but souring the milk adds fermentation to the mix. As I am bothered by yeast that probably isn't a good idea. Now I will work with that basic recipe but play a bit to get the soy - or at least some of it out. Too bad - souring the milk gives a lighter product.

Thanks for your help. Claire

[Kasey'sMom]

Claire,

My dd reacts to even the smallest amount of soy. However, I can tolerate soy much better. Sorry you felt crummy.

Just wanted to let you know that I often use gluten-free rice milk with Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar as a "soured milk" / buttermilk replacement. I've also used Vance's DariFree Milk with the vinegar in recipes. For one cup of buttermilk I use 1 cup minus 1 Tbsp. of rice milk, plus 1 Tbsp. ACV.

[darlindeb25]

I cant have soy, but I can tolerate soy lecithin and some soy oil--I can do dairy though, so I just am very careful to get a magarine that isnt just soy oil. I use olive oil often too. Deb

[RiceGuy]

As for pie crust, I haven't yet tried a gluten-free one, but when I used to make it with wheat flour, I just followed a recipe in an old cookbook, which turned out beautifully every time. Everyone would say it was as good or better than from a fine bakery. It is just flour, ordinary cooking oil, and a tiny bit of water. However, I found that by replacing some of the oil with margarine gives a nicer flavor, and might help with the texture too. I don't know how the gluten-free flours might work for this exactly, but it seems to me that since the crust should be crumbly, not doughy, the absence of gluten might actually help. I'm guessing the gluten-free flour blends would work out, since they typically have tapioca flour to help the texture.

The recipe for a two part (top and bottom), 9 inch pie crust is something like this:

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4-7/8 cup cooking oil

2 Tablespoons luke warm water

I would typically reduce the oil to about 2/3 cup, and make up the difference with margarine. An exact blend didn't seem necessary to get a good crust, as the original recipe was just oil anyway. I would warm up the margarine on the stove first, or in the microwave on VERY LOW in order to just melt it. Then add it to the oil, so it would get evenly distributed into the final mixture.

First, add the oil to the flour and mix it thoroughly, to get an even texture. Then (this is the part that people seem to mess up) add the water and blend in. It is VERY IMPORTANT not to use too much water! (This is why dough shrinks back when you try to spread it out) At first, it will get a marbly appearence, like light streaks in the dough. Blend until the streaks begin to fade, but stop before they disappear completely. Let stand for about five minutes, which will allow excess oil to drain out.

The dough will probably seem too oily, but don't worry. Remove from the bowl, or pour off the excess oil. I would typically fold it in on itself a bit at this point, then split it into two parts, and use as normal. Sometimes I'd place it between two pieces of wax paper, and roll it out nice and thin, while attemping to keep it more-or-less circular. When doing that instead of just spreading it directly into the pan, remove the top piece of wax paper, and carefully lift the rest, placing it upside down into the pan. Then lift off the wax paper, leaving the dough in the pan, hopefully in one piece

Remember, only the small bit of water, as we aren't making bread. The book stressed the importance of the water being luke warm, and I never tried it any other way. The gluten-free flour is likely to require a bit of modification to the recipe and/or procedure, but I'd hope it's fairly close.

I'd really be interested in making a gluten-free pie or two, apple turnovers, and all that sort of stuff. I'm only just begining to explore the gluten-free flours and stuff. Until now, I have simply avoided all those things, and any food requiring flour. It sure has been boring! If anyone tries this recipe, please post the results. I am going to attempt a pizza crust soon, which will be my first gluten-free flour thing.

[Jenn2005]

I use Crisco Shortening Sticks - Regular or Butter Flavor. Neither contain gluten or casein. I verified this on the Delfi List.

From the Delphi List:

Crisco (000.000.0000) (00/00/00)

Shortenings and Oils, all varieties (NOTE: the Butter Flavored has NO milk protein or lactose. Even though it does have a butter flavoring which comes from milk)

My husband is very sensitive to the casein - he becomes very nauseous with the slightest amount and he never has any reaction to things made with the crisco.

Jennifer