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If you love baking, you must know how important a role milk plays. Milk contributes to the texture, flavour, and overall quality of a wide range of baked goods. It serves as a versatile ingredient that offers moisture and tenderness to various recipes, including cakes, cookies, muffins, and bread. The proteins in milk, such as casein, help create structure and stability in baked goods, while the lactose sugars contribute to browning and flavour development during the baking process.
However, what happens when you suddenly realise that you ran out of milk in the middle of baking? This feeling can be quite frustrating. In such a situation, what we often do is knock on the neighbour’s door to ask for milk. But that can't always be the solution. If you think that your baking will stop because you’re out of milk, then that’s not true. There are several alternatives that you can use if you don’t have milk. Look in the kitchen; you’ll find multiple options that substitute milk for your baking. The results would be the same and would work quite well every time.
Check out the five best milk substitutes for baking:
- Heavy Cream
It is a great substitute for milk for baking as it doesn’t change the flavour and keeps the baked treats moist. Its high-fat content imparts a luscious, velvety quality to baked goods, making them exceptionally moist and tender. However, the cream needs to be diluted to get similar results as milk. For this, mix one-part heavy cream with one part water. Give it a nice mix and simply add it to the recipe, like you would with the milk. It will give you a similar result.
- Soy Milk
If you’re lactose intolerant, you can switch from regular cow’s milk to soy milk, almond or cashew milk even. This substitute doesn’t require any such major modifications. The only difference is that it’s dairy-free and adds a distinct flavour of soy. Besides, soy milk has less fat as compared to regular milk. This quality can alter the richness of the final baked product. Thus, we must be mindful of how much to add it.
- Sour Cream
This is a last-minute milk substitute that can be added to your baking. Similar to heavy cream, sour cream has a high fat content. Again, add a bit of water to achieve the desired result just as you might try with heavy cream. Follow a 1:1 ratio while adding this ingredient to your baking. Sour cream works exceptionally well for breads and cakes. Note that this cream is sour in flavour, so you might have to add extra sugar to balance the sourness.
- Almond Milk
Another dairy-free alternative is almond milk. It provides similar results to baking goods, just like soy milk or regular ones. If you do not like the flavour of soy milk and are lactose intolerant, then you can easily use almond milk, which works well with almost every baking recipe and adds a nutty flavour to the recipe. However, make sure not to add too much, as its flavour can be overpowering.
- Yoghurt
This is one of the most amazing milk substitutes for milk. When using it in your baking recipes, add the same quantity of yoghurt as you do to the milk. But you have to dilute it with water to achieve the desired result. Yoghurt is slightly tangy in taste, which you must balance with adding extra sugar. Also, make sure to use plain yoghurt and not any sweetened version.
