Substituting Flax Meal In Place Of Other Ingredients

[missy'smom]

I have several tried and true muffin recipes from pre-gluten-free that call for wheat germ. Today I was playing with flax meal as an egg replacer and wondered if I could use it in place of the wheat germ in the muffin recipes(not as an egg replacer in those particular recipes). Could I just sub it in cup for cup so to speak? with no other changes? These recipes call for flour as the primary dry ingredient so I'd sub the sorghum blend that I use and add Xgum.

[TrillumHunter]

In my tinkering too much flax leads to a rubbery, gummy texture. I mean more than a 1/4 cup of it for a batch of muffins. So if the wheat germ is that small, I would say go for it.

Good luck and post your recipe if it works.

[purple]

If you are thinking healthwise, you could add some ground nut flour too. I grind slivered almonds, sunflower nuts, sesame seeds and golden flax seed for the microwave bread posted awhile back. They all grind easily in a coffee grinder.

[missy'smom]

I went back and looked at the recipes and they call for 1/2 c. of the wheat germ in a batch. Hmmm. So I could sub 1/4c. for 1/4 c. and gluten-free flour for the other 1/4c. of wheat germ maybe?

[burdee]

I have several tried and true muffin recipes from pre-gluten-free that call for wheat germ. Today I was playing with flax meal as an egg replacer and wondered if I could use it in place of the wheat germ in the muffin recipes(not as an egg replacer in those particular recipes). Could I just sub it in cup for cup so to speak? with no other changes? These recipes call for flour as the primary dry ingredient so I'd sub the sorghum blend that I use and add Xgum.

Since I have an egg allergy, I use flax meal dissolved in hot water instead of egg in most baking recipes. I just add 1 tablespoon flax meal to 3 tablespoons hot water to sub for one egg and multiply that formula for more eggs. Mix the flax meal into the hot water, stir and let stand for 5-10 minutes. I have also just added straight flax meal (or rice bran) to recipes to increase the fiber in quick bread recipes (1/2-1 cup) to substitute for part of the gluten free flour blend. Since both flax and rice bran are higher in fiber, increase the liquids by 1/4-1/2 cup in the recipe to prevent a too dry baked product. Sometimes I'll use part applesauce and part flax meal/water blend to substitute for eggs. That works really well in quick bread recipes (like zucchini or pumpkin breads).

SUE

[TrillumHunter]

I would sub in 1/4 to begin with as there is a better chance it won't flop.

How many cups of flour total are you using?

[missy'smom]

I would sub in 1/4 to begin with as there is a better chance it won't flop.

How many cups of flour total are you using?

The recipes I'm looking at call for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 c. flour and about 1/2 c. wheat germ. One's a banana muffin and another is a carrot, zucchini muffin.

[missy'smom]

Since I have an egg allergy, I use flax meal dissolved in hot water instead of egg in most baking recipes. I just add 1 tablespoon flax meal to 3 tablespoons hot water to sub for one egg and multiply that formula for more eggs. Mix the flax meal into the hot water, stir and let stand for 5-10 minutes. I have also just added straight flax meal (or rice bran) to recipes to increase the fiber in quick bread recipes (1/2-1 cup) to substitute for part of the gluten free flour blend. Since both flax and rice bran are higher in fiber, increase the liquids by 1/4-1/2 cup in the recipe to prevent a too dry baked product. Sometimes I'll use part applesauce and part flax meal/water blend to substitute for eggs. That works really well in quick bread recipes (like zucchini or pumpkin breads).

SUE

Thanks Sue.

The muffins that I want to sub flax for wheat germ are carby ones for kiddo. For myself I have issues with eggs so want to use the flax as a sub. in lowcarb baking, which typically has 4 eggs per batch! My flour in those is almond meal. I was planning to bake them and sub out one egg at a time to see how it goes. I want to keep some protein from the eggs and not add too many carbs with the flax. If I could get it down to one or two eggs per batch that might be a good balance. Do you think it'll work to sub out so many eggs?

I appreciate the amounts. One place I looked said 2 1/2 T. flax meal and 3 T water for one egg so that's what I used. I haven't tried the muffins yet so I'll see later how they turned out.

I appreciate the other ideas too. Since I have the flax on hand I thought I might sneak some into kiddos stuff!

[TrillumHunter]

You mention wanting to get flax into your kid's diet. Have you tried Lorka's bread recipe on here? It uses flax and is a healthier gluten-free bread than most and OH YEAH! it's really soft and yummy. The flax gives it a nutty flavor.

It's my absolute favorite bread recipe.

[burdee]

Thanks Sue.

The muffins that I want to sub flax for wheat germ are carby ones for kiddo. For myself I have issues with eggs so want to use the flax as a sub. in lowcarb baking, which typically has 4 eggs per batch! My flour in those is almond meal. I was planning to bake them and sub out one egg at a time to see how it goes. I want to keep some protein from the eggs and not add too many carbs with the flax. If I could get it down to one or two eggs per batch that might be a good balance. Do you think it'll work to sub out so many eggs?

My last zucchini bread recipe called for 3 eggs. So I used 3 tablespoons of flax meal and 9 tablespoons of hot water. The bread turned out great. I also subbed applesauce (1/2 cup) for part of the oil to add more fruity flavor, fiber and moisture. I'm not always exact about measuring the water or flaxmeal. However, I suspect dissolving the flax meal in water is important to get the gooey 'egg-like' texture, before I add that to my recipe.

SUE