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I have never written a post like this before and to be honest… I’m a little scared. I’m about to say a few things that most bloggers never would.
I’ve been blogging for over 10 years (!) and in that time I’ve been asked thousands of questions and have received a lot of comments about baking and recipes.
The most frustrating question I get is definitely about baking substitutions: swapping out ingredients, techniques, or equipment.
It’s even more frustrating when the comment isn’t posed as a question but instead goes a little something like this:
“I made this recipe and followed it to a T except [insert substitution here] and it didn’t turn out. Disappointed.”
Granted, this is more rare. Luckily the amount of positive comments I receive far outweighs these ones.
But I’ve refrained from speaking my true feelings on this subject for fear of offending someone. Or fear of bringing even a hint of negativity to my usually joyful corner of the internet.
But as my audience grows (which I’m eternally grateful for) this theme has become increasingly common.
So I want to say once and for all…
I HATE BAKING SUBSTITUTIONS.
They drive me crazy.
They simply won’t achieve the same taste and texture as the original ingredient, equipment, or technique called for in the recipe 90% of the time. They basically just waste YOUR time, money, and food!
DISCLAIMER: I realize some of you are working with serious food allergies and I understand that substitutions can’t be avoided in those cases. For those of you dealing with that, you probably know what will work, what won’t, and how the results will be different than the original. You don’t expect identical results without using identical ingredients unless you undergo rigorous testing with trial & error.
I feel the need to underscore something because it’s a question I get asked often: I don’t publish allergen-free recipes. I don’t publish diet recipes.
Why?
Because right now at this time in my career I don’t want to. I only publish recipes and content I’m actually passionate about and excited to share.
I don’t have much experience with these other topics. There are PLENTY of bloggers and publishers online who do and have far more expertise and their advice would be much better for you than my educated guesses.
But I also simply can’t accommodate every recipe for every allergen or diet.
One – because I simply don’t have the resources.
Two – because I know baking is a science. And swapping out even one ingredient can completely alter the chemistry of the recipe, often with less than stellar results. Just check out my infamous Guide to Chocolate Chip Cookies.
This is something I address specifically and in depth in my Magic of Baking online class. Take a peek at a few baking substitutions side by side below:
(Learn more about Cake Flour here, and why the DIY sub doesn’t really work.)
(From my Ultimate Muffin Guide.)
Once you understand how baking ingredients work you’ll understand that something as simple as reducing the sugar in a recipe, for example, doesn’t just reduce the sweetness or calories.
Sugar can also contribute moisture, tenderness, lightness, and is involved in complex chemical reactions that give us flavors and textures that are essential to some sweets.
Occasionally you can reduce the sugar (typically by no more than 20%), but sometimes even a small reduction will completely compromise the integrity of the recipe.
Often someone comes along and reduces the sugar then complains the cake turned out dry and doesn’t understand the connection. Which of course is frustrating for both of us! This is just one example.
I’ll say it again: Baking is a science. The more you understand that the more you can customize recipes and tweak them with success.
But when you come to me asking about subtitutions, it’s disheartening.
I work tirelessly on developing my recipes. I have a whole process that involves a lot of time and effort to make sure I’m creating recipes that will be successful for my readers.
When you want to change something to a creation that I’ve worked so hard on, and when I know the result likely won’t be as good, it’s hard not to get disappointed.
Especially since it’s a challenge to keep up with the amount of comments and questions I get on ALL the platforms at all hours every day.
That’s why I’m enacting a NO SUBSTITUTION POLICY.
Moving forward, if I know a substitution will work because I have personal experience with it, I will include that information in the recipe post.
However, if I haven’t personally tested that substitution then I can’t in good conscience give an answer to your question because I can’t guarantee it will be accurate.
It would simply be my educated guess and would likely require you to trial and error your way through it which takes time and ingredients.
So when I say “no subs” I simply mean I won’t be making it a habit of attempting to answer questions on this topic.
You, of course, are free to bake my recipes any way you want and use Google as your tool to get possible answers to your specific questions!
It would be impossible for me to test every recipe to see if it would work without eggs, gluten, or dairy, or to try out a vegan, keto, or other dietary version.
Luckily I have a few seasoned readers in my community who like to share the results of their allergen-free or special dietary baking. Join my Facebook group if you’d like to see their tips and posts.
I also have a baking substitutions guide you can download here.
However, as I mentioned, I can’t guarantee any substitution will work as well as the original ingredient.
Little details are what makes the difference between average desserts and stellar desserts. That’s what the experts know. So when you don’t want to go back to the store to get an ingredient in the recipe and try to make something else work instead, just keep that in mind.
You can also search the comments of a recipe to see if anyone has reported success using a substitution.
TIP: use Control+F, or Command+F on a Mac to bring up the Find feature so you can pinpoint any mention of “gluten free” or whatever you’re looking for on the page.
If that’s a problem for you, I’m sorry. There are PLENTY of bloggers focused on creating content that might be a better fit for you.
My hope is that enacting this policy will allow us to continue to cultivate a positive and joyful community of people who love traditional baking.
LOVE YOU!
Tessa
First image by Constance Mariena. Portraits by Lauren Hansen.
Well said!!! I love your recipes and they’ve always turned out amazing. And baking is totally a science! If they’d taught baking instead of chemistry in school I might have grown up to be a scientist LOL
You go Girl!! It is about time someone made a stand. It angers me to see people change your recipes and then complain. If they are not happy they should just find another recipe. Boy does that strike a nerve.
I agree with your decision to post this!
I am always reminded of the funniest post from a long -ago site about making ice cubes and all the questions about substitutions and method changes from posters! Was hilarious except it seems so true !
Good for you!
I’m actually shocked that there are people who are disappointed with results when they change the original and somehow connect that to the actual recipe! Whatever- I guess people can never blame themselves when things don’t go well!
That being said, THANK YOU TESSA, for posting great recipes and all the hard work you put into perfecting them!
I recently made your peanut butter filled brownies and had to make several substitutions just because I’d have to buy different pans, or materials etc. My results weren’t quite up to par with yours, but it was still enjoyable for me, and I realize it was to be expected! Hopefully I can share those results in the comments soon so readers can know what to expect!
-Daphne
Please don’t worry about your comments offending someone. This is YOUR show sweet girl. The reason you have so many faithful followers and growing, is that we love you and your amazing recipes for sweets, sweets and more sweets. We should all have respect for your tips and recommendations because you are the expert. . . period. It’s a shame that some people have to eat gluten-free, or must use sugar substitutes in their recipes, but they have other options to follow from experts in that arena. It’s true, the results of certain specialty recipes cannot perfectly mimic the original, but it’s a price some must pay I suppose. Keep doing what you are doing and I fully support your “NO SUBS” policy.
Bravo!! do NOT substitute ingredients, people! find a different, appropriate recipe if you can’t us it as written. Baking is chemistry, it really really is. Unexpected and sometimes really bad things happen when you put the wrong stuff or proportions in combination. I have been baking a long time, and can assure you Tessa’s recipes are solid chemistry. As written. As tested. As duplicated. Thank you Tessa for the great new things you have posted every month!
I applaud you for this statement! The recipe is the recipe. One of my others pet peeves on recipe comments in general is that following a posted recipe there are many who say how good something looks, but you have to dig to try to find someone who actually made it and has a comment based on the results. I like where you ask people to check of if they made something. Questions are good unless they ask abbot substitutions. My two cents.
Good for you! Anyone who has read your blog should know how much time and effort you put in to making sure your recipes are perfect and should work for everyone if followed as written. It’s frustrating for your readers to see the comments that say someone make the recipe as written “except”… When I read comments it’s because I want to see what people thought of the recipe they are commenting on, not on their version.
Thank you so much for having the guts to admit this. It drives me crazy when someone “reviews” a recipe and then lists all the substitutions they made and then have the nerve to say it was terrible. And more often than not they obviously know little about cooking as the substitution(s) make no sense.
Tip: if you don’t like or can’t eat many of the ingredients in a recipe, find another recipe!!
AMEN!
This is one of my pet-peaves, as well. I’ve shared recipes over the years and heard the same thing. “Your recipe wasn’t that good”.
“Did you follow it exactly?”
“Yep, except I substituted agave nectar instead of sugar.” THAT’S NOT FOLLOWING IT TO A ‘T’.
Instead of telling me my recipe sucked when you substituted things, how about you tried my recipe, but did the substitution and it didn’t turn out so well OR, it turned out great.
I’ve really been into baking the last 7-10 years. I’ve always baked cookies (for 45+ years), but in the last few years I got into cakes/cupcakes, pies and pastries. I’ve learned tons…..much by mistakes and substituting things. MY FAULT, but I learned and I DIDN’T BLAME the recipe. There have been recipes that I knew wouldn’t work as stated because of the ingredients; then I’ll try something different.
A few things I’ve learned from reading (especially here) and trying things out – DON’T CHEAP OUT. Good, quality ingredients and good, quality pans, etc. are worth their weight in gold.
Tessa – thanks so much for your recipes, insight and help. I really appreciate it.
The Bald Baker
I think this is a great decision on your part! 100% agree with you. After reading books and watching docs like Salt Fat Acid Heat, you learn that every component of a dish or a recipe is there for a reason and substituting it or changing it for something else, detracts from the initial thing your trying to make. I live in Venezuela, and sometimes some ingredients are hard to come by. The only substitution I fully stand behind is the vinegar/lemon juice in milk to make buttermilk. Anything else, I simple move on to a different recipe or desist altogether. Luckily for me, I don’t have to stop making your bakery style chocolate chip cookies! Keep up the great blog, I’m a big fan!
Great policy. KUDOS!! I always shake my head at people who are “rating” a recipe, yet they’ve changed it right out of the gate. You can’t rate a recipe if you don’t make it the way it is given. I agree that if people who need specific foods, or can’t have specific ingredients, they will know what to substitute. I am 150% behind you on the not giving substitutions to everybody who asks for them. You give us fantastic recipes, and I thank you for that!