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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.
I’m totally on board with this thought. What you present is what you want to present – IT’S YOUR BLOG. Keep doing what you do, and what you love. You have good reasons, not least of which is “this is my space”.
If I decide to change things later because I want to substitute something, then it’s my fault – not yours or your recipe’s – if things don’t turn out. Imagine telling an automotive blogger “I tried your suggestion, only I used the 8mm box wrench instead of the 11mm socket. It didn’t come off. DISAPPOINTED.” HA! People are funny.
And if I do substitute something that works well, I’m happy to share my results so others can do the same if they like – and thankful for those who do share their work.
Keep doing you. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.
Tessa – I’ve got your back. When I find I recipe I’m interested in making, I’ll go to the comments to see what others thought of it. The minute I see,”well I substituted” or any other comment that mentions changing the recipe I skip right over the comment. What I have found though – when I see a recipe of yours, I don’t need to check the comments because I know your recipe will work and always works.
It takes courage to post a blog like this one. Taking a stand for what you believe in and not wavering because of followers. I too agree with you because by the time you post a recipe, you have done endless hours of experiments and research. I for one wouldn’t want to use baking substitutions but it’s because of the country that I live in, we don’t get most of those “rare” ingredients. Yes, Everytime I use substitutions they come out perfect for me because I haven’t had the chance to use the actual ingredient
I live in a third world country and many common ingredients are unavailable in my area, so sometimes I am forced to make a substitution. I had to do DIY cake flour for the longest time until I found a store that sold it. So yes, I make substitutions, but I would NEVER leave a bad review on a recipe I didn’t actually follow. ♀️ I just keep searching for recipes that I like…. and yes, it took me over 2 years to find a pizza dough recipe that was good without bread flour. but well worth the efforts. I promote that recipe frequently
Just wanted to say we have a “rule” in our house that you always ALWAYS bake (cook) a new recipe as written. No substitutions. If you don’t have everything, don’t make it! After that, if you find there are things you didn’t like, either don’t make it again, or substitute at your own risk. My sister, and daughters all follow this rule, and it works.
I agreed with your stance on the issue. I am not an expert in baking. If anything, I am a hacker. But I have long understood that I should not expect my recipe to come out precisely as demonstrated. I usually substitute ingredients to make the recipe my own.
Please know that I am currently standing in my kitchen, at my baking island, giving you a standing ovation! The dogs are giving me side eye. Have you read ‘Delicious: A Novel’ by Ruth Reichl? You’d love it.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for addressing a HUGE pet peeve of mine. I have never understood how people can honestly give a recipe a bad review when they state in their review that they did not make the recipe as written. So, THANK YOU for saying what needed to be said. ♥️♥️♥️
I have loved your recipes. I have substituted with my own because I know what works and what doesn’t. As you said, “Baking is a Science.” and it is true, I have been told that my entire life. Change one thing and you compromise the entire dish. You have spent so much time perfecting your items to share with us, I don’t know why people would ask you half the things they do. I even had food allergies and would never go on a site and ask someone to make something different to see if it works. It’s my allergy, I’ll figure it out. Luckily my allergy doesn’t affect my baking. Thank you for all you time and effort you put into this blog.
Good for you! We live your recipes!
One of my grandmothers made great pound cakes that everyone loved. She shared the recipe with everyone and even stood beside several of them to watch them make her recipe. They would be upset because the ones they made at home weren’t the same. Took one of my cousins to figure out 1) Granny’s sugar cup was a Fiesta that actually help 1-1/4 cups and 2) she was using duck eggs instead of chicken (they cracked both kinds of eggs in a measuring cup and adjusted the recipe). Granny let everyone know the changes and all were happy.
Amen! Great post!
I would however, love to see a once a month “blooper” post on the craziest “sub” comments. Cause really they can be so humorous! It’s NOT fair to give a recipe/chef a low rating on a recipe when you don’t follow the step by step instructions.
This may sound daft, but I never considered baking to be a science. Since learning that, I consider how ingredients will perform. Substitutions have never worked for me, and now I know they just don’t perform the same way as the intended ingredient. I have tried using substitutions, like applesauce, in order to make something low sugar for my husband, but it does not work. Perhaps it’s my lack of baking skill. I am not sure. Artificial sweeteners, like Equal, are out of the question. They just don’t deliver the same result. Now I know it’s more than just the difference in taste – now I know that chemically, substitutions just don’t perform like the real thing. Other people have told me they bake very well with artificial sweeteners, so I don’t know what I am doing wrong. Husband likes the (expensive) low sugar cookies and pies the supermarket sells, so I will leave it to their bakers.