Gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, or vegan baking? Not a problem for chemist Kat Cermelj

If you're an eater with no allergies or food restrictions, you might occasionally eat a gluten-free, dairy-free or vegan baked treat. And often, they're disappointing. For home bakers who want to dial in their bakes and understand the why of things, chemist and baker Kat Cermelj is your person. Founder of The Loopy Whisk, she has put together a cookbook, The Elements of Baking: Making any recipe gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free or vegan, that delves into the art and science of what she calls "free from" baking.

Evan Kleiman: Your book is completely extraordinary. I'm thrilled to have you. You have a PhD in inorganic chemistry from Oxford. Which came first, a fascination with food and baking or science?

Kat Cermelj: Weirdly enough, it was almost simultaneous, because my mom is the most amazing baker and cook. I used to help her in the kitchen, mostly just stealing bits of cookie dough but I call it helping. My dad always encouraged this love of science with me, and I was the kind of child who always asked why and looked at the stars and wanted to know about astronomy. I grew up discussing science with my dad and baking with my mom in the kitchen, so it was a simultaneous growth of both parts.

Did you end up getting a diagnosis that made you have to remove things from your diet?

Yes, during my undergraduate studies, I had some health problems. As part of the process of trying to figure out what was wrong, I eliminated gluten and dairy for quite a while from my diet. That's when I really realized how limited my options were, especially as a passionate baker. Nowadays, I can actually eat both gluten and dairy but I'm still very passionate about developing amazing, allergy-friendly recipes.

With a degree in inorganic chemistry, Kat Cermelj takes a scientific and analytic approach to baking. Photo by Robin Trade.

When you went through this process, which was extraordinary, the amount of research you did and the way you put the information that you gleaned from this research together for the home baker, did you have a tasting panel to ensure that the results met expectations?

Oh, yes. I probably annoyed all my taste testers to quite extreme levels because I was constantly asking, "Can you tell that this doesn't have eggs in it?" or "Does it taste gluten-free to you?" 

In a way, I'm lucky that I can eat regular food because that gave me a direct comparison. I would always develop a regular recipe and then a gluten-free or dairy-free or an egg-free one and directly compare the texture, the flavor, the appearance. My goal was really to get as close as possible to the regular version, so you really can't tell the difference. So yes, I really annoyed my taste testers with a bazillion questions but I wanted to make sure that I got it just right.

I've already said how extraordinary your book is. The amount of information is staggering. You even include photographs of each recipe according to its makeup, whether gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, vegan, gluten free vegan, or a regular bake. For home bakers who really want to dig in and learn how to conquer bakes that suit their particular needs, what you've done is such a gift.

Thank you, that's so kind. This book is very sciency, there's a lot of information, but I'm also very much a visual person, and I think in order for people to be able to trust the recipes, they need to see the outcome. I wanted the readers to be able to see what they can expect. So you can see the texture and the crumb of a regular cake and, directly next to it, you can see there's a gluten-free vegan version, and you can see whether or not there are any differences and what to expect.

You say that your initial experiments were rather dismal but over time, you managed to create bakes that were indistinguishable from their regular equivalents. How difficult was it for you to figure out what was needed for each ingredient that you had to take away, what you call "free from"?

It was quite challenging. I think for most bakers who are used to baking with regular ingredients, it takes a certain change in mindset and almost a change in intuition in how you approach certain ingredients. Until you either develop that or have somebody teach it to you, it can be very challenging because you're so used to operating with the standard ingredients — regular flour, eggs, dairy — and those are almost fail-safe so even if you're not using an ideal recipe, the outcome will still be quite okay. But if you take some of that away, especially gluten or eggs, if you're not using the optimal ingredient ratios or the method is wrong, you can really tell. My initial cakes were like rocks and the cookies crumbled at nothing. It really took some time to figure out the ingredients and the role that the ingredients play in bakes in order to conquer "free from" baking, in general.

Do you rely on a lot of exotic ingredients to make up for items that you're deleting?

Not really. I would say that the two most exotic ingredients, which are nowadays quite common in gluten-free baking are xanthan gum and psyllium husk. Other than that, I don't use things like chia seeds or flax seeds in my egg-free or vegan baking. I basically use the usual pantry staples that you already have in your kitchen. So if you're a gluten-free baker or a gluten-free vegan baker, then you will have to stock up with some gluten-free flour blends or gluten-free flours and xanthan gum and psyllium husk. But for everything else, it's just the usual pantry staples. 

Which ingredients did you find were the most difficult to compensate for and why?

Definitely eggs, and that's because they play so many different roles in baking. The main point that my book revolves around is that you can categorize all ingredients into four basic groups. You have:

1. structure-providing ingredients
2. tenderizing or structure-destroying ingredients
3. aerating ingredients
4. moisture sources

Flour is mostly a structure-providing ingredient. But when you have eggs, they give structure, they give some lift to your bakes, so they make them fluffy, and they are also moisture sources, which means they're very challenging to replace because you're replacing so many different aspects of what they bring to a single bake.

"I nearly finished off the whole loaf all by myself the first time," says Cermelj of her gluten-free, cheesy, garlic pull-apart bread. Photo by Robin Trade.

Is dairy the category that is easiest to go "free from"?

I would say so because as long as you find the brands and products that you're happy with, oftentimes it's a one to one substitution. The only exception, I would say, is when it comes to laminated bakes such as flaky pastry. There, you do have to take certain things into account to change the method a bit. In general, vegan butter has a greater tendency to leak out of your bakes when it's in pie crust so sometimes, you need to take a few extra steps and measures to prevent that. But for the most part, I found that dairy-free baking seems to be the easiest in terms of the tweaks and changes that you need to make.

Is there as much browning using dairy-free substitutes?

No. That's one of the main differences, I would say. In addition to flavor, browning is the one thing that people will notice is different in dairy-free and vegan baking. That's because dairy is responsible, for the most part, for browning, in addition to caramelization. Browning takes place through a process called the Maillard reaction. In order for that to take place, you need the dairy milk solids, which are present in butter (that's how it can make brown butter) but also in milk and other dairy products. When you replace dairy with vegan and dairy-free alternatives, you're missing those dairy milk solids. You will definitely notice that your bakes won't brown quite as much if you use vegan products. The main color will come through the process of caramelization due to the sugar content.

Is there a type of recipe or a recipe that you think everyone should make, whether or not we have to remove ingredients from our diet, simply because it's better?

Even if you're not gluten-free, I would recommend you make a gluten-free cake. I've had a surprising number of people tell me that they actually end up preferring the gluten-free cakes to regular ones. It's just that the lack of gluten makes the crumb even more tender and melt-in-mouth fluffy. All my taste testers agree that the gluten-free version was much better than the regular one, which is quite surprising if you think about it, because gluten free-food often has a bad reputation. But when prepared correctly, it's absolutely amazing.

I have to say, the pictures of the recipes at the last part of the book, just the recipes, they're gorgeous. Every single recipe is so enticing. Share with us a recipe that you want us to make simply for its deliciousness and beauty.

I think that's the hardest question you've asked me so far.

There are so many. The lemon crinkle cookies, you have a candy bar in there. There are just so many that are gorgeous. 

I know, it's very difficult. Can I cheat a bit and choose a favorite savory one and then a favorite sweet one? 

Of course.

The favorite savory one is definitely the gluten-free, cheesy garlic, pull-apart bread. It's the most delicious thing. I nearly finished off the whole loaf all by myself the first time I made it. It's stuffed with garlic butter and cheese. During baking, some of the butter and cheese melts out, and then it gets all caramelized and crunchy on the edges. It's the most divine thing. It's also super easy to make, which I love. That would be my favorite savory one.

The favorite sweet one, that's tough. I'm currently very much in the fall mood, so I would choose the dairy-free apple pie cupcakes for my favorite sweet one. It will probably change tomorrow but for now, I would say the apple pie cupcakes, because they are so fluffy, so full of flavor. They're basically a cinnamon cupcake filled with an apple pie filling and then frosted with a super fluffy cream cheese frosting. They're absolutely amazing.

You know, I have none of these issues, but I cannot wait to play with this book. I find it absolutely fascinating. 

Oh, thank you. That makes me so happy. 

"The Elements of Baking: Making any recipe gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free or vegan" delves into the art and science of eliminating ingredients. Photo courtesy of Hodder & Stoughton.