Chebe Without Eggs Or Dairy?

[Charlie's Girl]

Anyone ever successfully made Chebe bread without eggs or dairy? I read so many good things here and elsewhere that I really wanted to like it. I made it with Ener G Egg Replacer and Original Milk.

It was AWFUL!

Any luck anyone? Any suggestions?

Thanks folks.

[jststric]

No luck here either. I have tried MANY times with no luck.

[twe0708]

Anyone ever successfully made Chebe bread without eggs or dairy? I read so many good things here and elsewhere that I really wanted to like it. I made it with Ener G Egg Replacer and Original Milk.

It was AWFUL!

Any luck anyone? Any suggestions?

Thanks folks.

I tried making the a pizza with the frozen pizza crust they offer and it just wouldn't cook right. The dough was still very doughy even after cooking it for more than twice the recommended time!

[mommida]

I wasn't successful either. (ener-g egg replacer was just salty and a bad texture)

[MaryJones2]

I used to make chebe with water all the time and it was ok. Never tried eggless though. Maybe one of these substitutes might work better than Ener-G. Open Original Shared Link (I read somewhere that flaxseed meal works too)

[GlutenFreeManna]

Never tried to make it without eggs, but I make the pizza crust without dairy. I use almond milk and just leave out the parm. I don't think leaving the eggs will work unless you also add some xanthan gum. Does the egg-replacer have xanthan? The egs make it chewy/stretchy so I can see why it would be terrible without eggs.

[Charlie's Girl]

Ooops- meant to write Original Almond Milk in my first post.

So- I see from the responses that other folks have made it with almond milk. I knew it was the eggs.

There isn't any xanthan gum in the Ener G egg replacer- nor is there any in the Chebe. Perhaps I'll try adding xanthan.

Had an interesting conversation with a baker today. They offer gluten free cupcakes and she said they found it better to add the potato starch last and mix it in gently- taking care not to over mix. Don't know what this means for the Chebe-but I'll keep that in mind.

Any other ideas?

Thanks everyone for your help!

[Charlie's Girl]

I used to make chebe with water all the time and it was ok. Never tried eggless though. Maybe one of these substitutes might work better than Ener-G. Open Original Shared Link (I read somewhere that flaxseed meal works too)

Thanks for the link- I'll let you know if I figure this out.

[Charlie's Girl]

Never tried to make it without eggs, but I make the pizza crust without dairy. I use almond milk and just leave out the parm. I don't think leaving the eggs will work unless you also add some xanthan gum. Does the egg-replacer have xanthan? The egs make it chewy/stretchy so I can see why it would be terrible without eggs.

I will put xanthan gum on my shopping list. Thanks for the feedback. I'll post here if and when I figure this out.

[GlutenFreeManna]

I have also noticed that sometimes the dough is stiffer depending on the size of eggs I use. If I use medium eggs instead of large, for example I will end up having to add a couple more tablespoons of almond milk to make the dough workable. So you might play with the amounts of liquid. I don't think you will come up with anything exactly like the Chebe mix without eggs, but you might figure out something that is more edible with the right amount of liquid and a good gluten replacer like xantha or guar gum. You could also just not use the mix and just start from scratch with tapioca flour. Prices may vary in your area, but I have found EnerG tapioca flour to be cheaper than the Chebe mix. I make my own "Chebe" by weighing out 7 ounces of tapioca flour and then adding salt, seasonings, etc.

[Wolicki]

I don't think you need xantham gum. I don't have a bag in front of me, but I think it's a baking powder thing. I've made them from scratch with no xantham, just baking soda. I never use milk, just water. For the eggs, why not try chia? You soak chia seeds in water and it turns into gel. I think that would work. Then use Darya cheese. Remind me when we go to Girl's Night Out and I will bring you some chia! Just got figure out a date!

[MrsEverythingFree]

On 1/26/2011 at 2:48 AM, Charlie's Girl said:

Anyone ever successfully made Chebe bread without eggs or dairy? I read so many good things here and elsewhere that I really wanted to like it. I made it with Ener G Egg Replacer and Original Milk.

 

It was AWFUL!

 

Any luck anyone? Any suggestions?

 

Thanks folks.

I have! There's a trick to it, though. And it's less like bread, and more like pita/cracker.

This is Chebe's response to the egg-free issues:

"There are a few options to substituting egg with our mixes.

1. You may use an egg replacer, such as Enger-G. Follow package instructions for replacing 2 eggs.

2. You may use 3 Tbs. liquid gelatin. If dough is too dry, add water by the tsp. until you reach correct consistency.

3.You may use flaxseed. Mix 2 tsp. flax seeds in 2/3 c. of water. Bring to a boil, simmer gently for 15 minutes, then cool. Use 3 Tbs. of the simmered flaxseed. If dough is too dry, add water by the tsp. until you reach correct consistency.

Using an egg substitute is a little tricky. We suggest you roll the dough into smaller or thinner pieces so that the center of the product is more certain to bake thoroughly."

Here's how I do it:

I boil 2/3 c of water and add 2 tbsp of golden flax meal. When it's cooled, it tends to gel up nicely.

Add this to any Chebe box mix (Focaccia is my favorite), along with 2 tbsp of olive oil.

Once mixed, I roll it out VERY THINLY - like no more than 1/8th of an inch thick. To make it easier, I separate the dough into 4 measures and roll out each ball separately. It's easiest to do this between two sheets of parchment paper (as it tends to be VERY sticky).

(Additional tip: make sure to separate the dough from the parchment paper periodically because it stretches and pulls the paper into creases, which makes it difficult to remove after baking. I flip the parchment paper sandwich over and peel it away from the paper before the next step.)

Then, I prick the dough all over with a fork, and pre-cut it into cracker-sized squares with a butter knife (I find this makes more of a crispy cracker, but it could also be left whole and used as a pizza crust/pita after it's baked). Bake each batch for 20-25 mins.

This method eliminates the "gummy" texture that using egg substitutes tend to produce.

Hope this helps!