An Important Tip To Keep In Mind When Making Flax Eggs

Vegan egg substitutes come in many forms depending on the dish in question. While tofu, garbanzo flour, and liquid egg substitutes will mimic the texture and taste of eggs in vegan scrambles and omelets, flax eggs mimic the binding and moisturizing characteristics eggs bestow on baked goods.

Flax eggs are a simple blend of flax meal or ground flax seeds and water made with a 1:3 ratio of flax to water. These two ingredients react to create a gelatinous paste that you can use instead of an egg to bind and hydrate batters and doughs. While all it takes is a quick stir and a few minutes of waiting for the flax and water to form a flax egg, using hot water fresh off the stove or out of the kettle is key to successful execution.

Using cold water or a refrigerated environment will impede the flax meal from becoming the sticky, slimy, raw-egg texture that you're looking for. While some recipes say you can add cold water to flax meal, it takes upwards of 15 minutes to congeal. In contrast, room temperature or warm water reduces wait times to under ten minutes. With hot water, the transformation of flax meal into a flax egg is almost instantaneous.

Flax meal and whole flax seeds are available in most grocery stores in both brown and golden varieties. There's not much of a difference in taste or nutritional value between the two colors; They both offer a subtle nutty flavor that'll pair well with sweet cookie doughs, brownie batter, and plenty of cake and muffin batters. However, dark flax seeds will darken your dough and batter, so if you'd rather keep a blondie recipe blonde, golden flax seeds might be better suited.

Ground flax meal is more convenient than grinding whole flax seeds, but freshly ground flax seeds are quicker to gel. The best way to grind flax seeds is in a coffee grinder, but a mortar and pestle will work in a pinch. You can also swap ground flax seeds with chia seeds for the same jelly-like texture and binding capabilities. Chia seeds can even be used to substitute the fluffier egg whites.

While flax eggs are perfect substitutes for binding and hydrating baked goods, they are not leavening agents. Consequently, flax eggs are best in denser recipes like cookies, pound cakes, muffins, and brownies. In these recipes, flax eggs will ensure a tender and moist crumb that won't fall apart or crumble. They'll also work well to bind savory recipes like vegan meatballs or lentil burgers.